Academic Writing and Research

Effective Research

At the university level, there is an expectation as to the quality of research you will use to complete your work. Part of this process is learning how to find, read, and cite resources, which you can find on the TMU Library website.

So why can’t I just use Google? Or AI?

It’s true you can find some good sources by searching Google, but the majority of academic level sources you need for your assignment are locked into expensive databases owned by private companies. 

The Library pays for access to these databases and as a student, you have free access to them if you search through the library's website. 

You can still use Google to search for government or non-government reports, but remember, relying solely on Google for your sources won’t cut it at the university level. 

It may also be tempting to use an AI service, like ChatGPT to complete your work: remember that this shortcut is often in violation of the TMU Academic Integrity policies, and defeats the purpose of you learning how to conduct research for yourself. Be sure to be aware of the risks of asking a tool like this for help: it could lead to course failure or even expulsion.
 

So where should I start?

• Start by looking through your textbook or course readings to find the content your professor has recommended.
• Do some background research online: Wikipedia and Google are a good place to start to get a sense of your topic, but remember: online sources are not always reliable, and you have to ensure you find content that is authoritative and (often) peer reviewed.
• Peer reviewed resources have been checked by experts in the field, so you can feel comfortable trusting their conclusions. Most reputable journals have been peer reviewed (if you're not sure, do a web search for the journal name and 'peer review').
• You can find these authoritative items on the TMU Libraries catalogue: search for your keywords and look for peer reviewed results.
• If you are having a hard time, reach out to your friendly TMU Librarians at our research support page for chat help, or book a one-on-one meeting. 

Why you need to learn the skill of searching for information:

Your research assignments are designed to help you develop an important life skill - the skill of finding, evaluating and using information to answer questions and develop new ones. This is a pretty important life skill that you will use to write your essays, buy a new car or complete a very important report for your boss at work.

By the time you graduate you will know...

Your topic is part of a bigger conversation:

This conversation has been going on for a very long time with many different viewpoints. Your paper is part of this conversation and you know you should look at sources with opposing viewpoints to engage in this dialogue.  

Your research process involves false starts, repeating steps and asking increasingly complex questions.

You’ll start out finding information on the simple questions like “what does my topic mean?” Once you know the answer to the simple questions, you will move onto finding sources that help answer the more fundamental questions of your topic like “why does this matter?”

You ask critical questions about the “authority” of your source.

You ask relevant questions about the origin, context, and suitability of the information before you use it. You understand that there are authorized forms of information for discipline or career specific situations (like peer reviewed journals).   

You know formats like Academic Journals strive for information quality and accuracy.

You understand that different types of formats (a book vs. a social media post) will affect quality of information.

You find sources using different search strategies and you budget time to go back and find even more sources.

You try different keywords to find a broad range of information sources (books, journals, newspapers) and seek out different avenues (Databases, Government websites etc.).

You always cite your sources because you understand that information has value

You understand that citing is a legal responsibility to respect the work of others just as your work should be respected.