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SECTION
I: THE RESEARCH PROCESS
A. The Research
Publishing Cycle
Primary Sources
Consulting primary sources
is essential to any literature search. A primary source is
the original report written by a researcher, describing the methods employed,
analyses, and conclusions.
- A graduate student researcher
may conduct original research and present findings as a thesis or
dissertation, which will often include a thorough review of the
literature in the field.
- A researcher may share
findings through informal communication with colleagues (sometimes via
Internet listservs or email), or through a presentation at a conference
and subsequent publication in conference proceedings.
- In cases where a researcher's
work is being sponsored or funded by an organization, university, or
government agency, a technical or grant report to the funding
source may be published.
- The researcher may then
write up the research and submit it as a journal article, which
may later be adapted into a chapter in a book about the topic.
Articles in professional and
scholarly journals are one of the most important products of the publishing
cycle. Articles usually present new research results in an authoritative
manner. Before it is published, an article will go through a peer-review
process. Experts in the field evaluate the researcher's methods and
conclusions, and they may suggest additions or revisions for the author
to make prior to the article's publication.
Now that many researchers
maintain research-oriented Web sites and/or publish their findings in
electronic journals that are available on the Internet, the Internet
is expanding as a new medium for publishing primary research. It is important,
however, to recognize that a vast majority of what is currently available
on the Internet has nothing to do with scholarly research. This topic
will be covered in Sections IV and
V.
Next:
Secondary & Tertiary Sources
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