Introduction

*This image was created using napkin.ai; however, the concept, design direction, and creative vision were conceived by Dr. Knight and Chris Cardenas

Research is an ongoing process that grows by connecting with and building on what others have already discovered. It’s part of an ongoing conversation where scholars learn from and build upon one another’s work. Reading and citing other people’s research is how we join that conversation. It allows us to build on existing knowledge, avoid repeating work, and contribute to a larger body of understanding.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to engage with research purposefully and efficiently. You’ll be given the tools that will allow you to develop your own research strategy, and you will learn how to evaluate the quality of what you find.  You will learn how to identify effective keywords, choose suitable academic databases, and quickly review article abstracts to determine whether a source is relevant and valuable for your research topic. Once you’ve found a helpful article, we’ll walk through how to read it strategically, focusing primarily on understanding complex sections like the results. Finally, you’ll learn the importance of proper citation, including how to cite sources using APA format, and the purpose and stucture of a literature review – it’s not just there to show off what you know!

By the end, you will be more confident navigating scholarly literature and better prepared to start your review.

* AI was used to help organize my thoughts and suggest clarifying sentences, but all ideas and final writing are entirely my own.