Does cell phone use cause brain tumors?

What steps can law enforcement take to help prevent stalking?

How does fan violence affect sporting events?

Is it true that about a million children in the United States are homeless?

Why is cyberbullying so widespread?

You You may ask questions like these, discuss them with friends, or read about them. If so, you are conducting informal research to satisfy your curiosity. Just as revision means “seeing again,” so research means “seeking or hunting again” — reconsidering information to revise and deepen what you know.

In your day-to-day life, you conduct practical research as you solve problems and make decisions. You may want to buy a digital camera, consider an innovative medical procedure, or plan a vacation. To become better informed, you may talk with friends, search the Internet, request product information, compare prices, read articles, and check advertising. You pull together and weigh as much information as you can, preparing yourself to make a wellinformed decision based on the available evidence. At work you may do the same — conduct research by gathering information, pulling it together, and using it to make decisions about feasibility, marketing, or best practices.

When one of your college professors assigns a research paper due in a month or two, you won’t be expected to discover the secrets of the human brain or to solve the problem of world hunger. On the other hand, research isn’t merely pasting together information and opinions from others. Instead, the excitement lies in using research to draw conclusions and arrive at your own fresh view.

The key is to start your investigation as professional researchers do — with a research question that you truly want to learn more about. Like a detective, you will need to plan your work but remain flexible, backtracking or jumping ahead or going sideways if you meet an obstacle. Whenever you use research to come to a conclusion based on facts and expert opinions — whether in your personal life, for a college class, or on the job — this research manual will provide you with effective, efficient strategies and procedures.