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Jessie Ball duPont Library

Research Writing

A beginner's guide to creating a research strategy for all of your papers.

The “Right” Way for the Right Discipline

Not every discipline conducts research the same way. This page offers the general step-by-step procedures in three major research methods. 

•Experimental Sciences: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, medical fields, physics, astronomy, mathematics, computer science

 

•Social Sciences: psychology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies (by language), religious studies, economics, politics, women’s and gender studies, international and global studies, education
 
•Humanities: English (literature), history, philosophy, classics, theology, art, music, theatre, dance, film studies, rhetoric

Humanities

•Steps
•“Reading” the primary source (author, philosopher, historical account, theological treatise, artistic production)
•Forming an opinion
•Then, reviewing the secondary literature (i.e., What has been said before?)
•How can you enter the stream of conversation/criticism?
•How good is your reasoning?
•Write-up and Publication•
•Common Issue: Students are often first taught how to research using the humanities model. Other disciplines do research in a different order.

Social Science

•Steps
•Literature Review: What has been done before?
•Forming a Research Claim
•Choosing Methodology
•Collecting Data (Quantitative/Qualitative)
•Analyzing Data (Statistical/Categorical)
•Findings and Interpretations (i.e., How does your research apply to people)
•Write-up and Publication

Experimental Science

•Steps
•Literature Review: What has been done before?
•Forming a Testable Hypothesis
•Creating the Experiment: controlling the environment
•Collecting Data (Quantitative)
•Analyzing Data (Mathematical/Statistical)
•Validating Data – Demonstrable, Generalizable, Repeatable
•Write-up and Publication
•Hidden Step: Others recreating experiments to ensure validity