How To Conduct Research For University
- Dickson Wong
- Jun 4
- 7 min read
Research—for those who are not sure what they are doing, that’s staring at a blank word document, surrounded by scattered notes, five open textbooks, and around 47 browser tabs. But research need not to be so complicated, it just requires a bit of strategy, patience, and discipline. So today, I’m going to give you five key tips on how to conduct research effectively for university.
1.Where Does The Truth Comes From?
When it comes to research, the type of sources you engage with can make or break the credibility of your work. It is not just about what you find, but where it comes from. If you have ever played a game of telephone as a kid, you will know that the further information travels from its original source, the more likely it is to get distorted. That is why understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources is crucial to academic research.
A primary source is a direct, firsthand account of an event, discovery, or original work. These sources are as close as possible to the subject of study because they have not been filtered, interpreted, or altered by another researcher’s analysis. In other words, primary sources are the purest form of evidence available.
Here are some examples based on different fields of study:
History – Diaries, letters, speeches, government documents
Science – Lab experiment results
Social Sciences – Surveys and interviews
Art & Media – Paintings, photographs, films, music recordings
Primary sources are valuable because they provide the raw data needed for original analysis. Instead of relying on someone else’s interpretation of an event, you get to analyse the information firsthand, thereby gaining authentic, unfiltered insight. However, the challenge is that they can be difficult to interpret—especially if they are complex, old, or written in a different language or style. That’s where secondary sources come in.
A secondary source is an interpretation, summary, or analysis of a primary source. These sources do not offer direct evidence; instead, they provide a discussion about the primary source.
Examples of secondary sources include:
Biographies about historical figures
Literary critiques discussing themes in novels
Scientific review articles that summarise multiple studies
Secondary sources are useful because they summarise large amounts of information in an accessible way, provide expert opinions and interpretations and compare different viewpoints. However, secondary sources can be biased or incorrect.
For instance, if you are researching World War II, a modern documentary might present events with a certain political slant. A textbook written 50 years ago might contain outdated or disproven information. That is why you should not rely solely on secondary sources—they are helpful, but not always objective.
2. Online Research vs Offline Research
Research today is easier than ever. With the internet at our fingertips, we have instant access to millions of sources, from academic papers to expert blogs. The sheer volume of information is overwhelming, and the convenience of finding it in seconds makes it tempting to rely entirely on online research. However, depending solely on digital sources comes with risks. The credibility of online materials varies greatly, and search engines often prioritise popular or paid content rather than the most accurate or scholarly sources. That is why offline research such as books, academic journals, archives, and special collections remain invaluable.
The key to successful research is balancing both methods. Online research provides speed and accessibility, allowing students to quickly gather background information, track down recent studies, and explore different perspectives. A simple keyword search can yield thousands of articles, but not all of them are reliable. While academic databases like Google Scholar and PubMed contain peer-reviewed materials, the broader internet includes biased blogs, misinformation, and unverified claims. That is why verifying sources is crucial. Checking the author’s credentials, leverage citation trails, and comparing multiple sources to filter out unreliable information.
Offline research, though slower, offers a level of reliability that the internet sometimes lacks. Books and journal articles undergo rigorous editing and peer review before publication, ensuring a higher standard of accuracy. University libraries contain vast collections of scholarly work that might not be available online, including historical documents and firsthand accounts. Many of these materials are not digitised, meaning the only way to access them is through physical research.
The best research approach integrates both methods. A strong strategy starts with online research to gather an initial understanding of the topic, identify key debates, and locate relevant sources. After building a foundation, offline research provides depth and verification. Consider a student researching climate change. Online databases offer the latest studies from scientists and government reports. News articles provide insights into recent political debates and public opinions. However, a deep dive into historical climate records, books on past environmental changes, and firsthand accounts from affected communities would offer a richer and more nuanced perspective.
3. Use Peer-Reviewed Texts
Peer-reviewed texts are considered the gold standard in academic research. They provide the highest level of credibility, ensuring that the information has been rigorously evaluated by experts in the field before being published. Unlike blog posts, opinion articles, or even some news sources that we see today, peer-reviewed texts go through a strict process of review, critique, and revision, making them the most reliable foundation for serious academic work.
A peer-reviewed text is one that has been assessed by experts in the same field before publication. When a researcher submits an article to an academic journal, it is sent to other anonymous specialists who carefully review the work, assess its methodology, check for logical consistency, and ensure that the conclusions are supported by evidence. If weaknesses are found, the author must revise and improve the work before it is accepted. This process, while rigorous, ensures that published research meets high academic standards and contributes to the field in a meaningful way.
In disciplines such as medicine, law, science, and social studies, where evidence and accuracy are critical, peer-reviewed texts are the backbone of reliable research. When writing an essay or research paper, professors will expect you to use sources that have undergone peer review, as it signals that the arguments are based on solid verified works and the sources these sources because they represent the most authoritative voices in the field.
4. Document Your Research
There are few academic nightmares worse than spending hours researching a topic, gathering insightful quotes, collecting journal articles, and carefully piecing together arguments—only to realise later that you have lost track of where all that information came from. It is a common and painful experience for students who fail to document their research properly. Keeping careful records of research allows student to stay organised and easy to reference when writing the final paper.
Proper documentation of research begins from the very first source. The correct approach is to record full citations at the time of discovery, including documenting the author, title, publication date, and page number. This habit not only saves time but also eliminates the risk of unintentional plagiarism.
There are various methods for documenting research, and choosing the right one depends on personal preference. Traditional note-taking, using notebooks or index cards, remains a reliable option for those who prefer working with physical materials. However, with the vast amount of digital research available today, technology offers more efficient solutions. Reference management tools such as EndNote allow students to save citations instantly, organise sources into folders, and even generate bibliographies in the correct citation format. These tools remove the tedious work of formatting references manually and make retrieving sources easier when writing your University dissertation.
5. Reading Smart, Not Hard
One of the biggest challenges university students face when conducting university research is dealing with the sheer volume of reading required. They fall into the trap of reading every word carefully, trying to absorb every detail, only to realise that they have spent hours on a single article without finding the specific information they need. This is where learning how to scan texts effectively becomes an essential research skill. Scanning allows students to quickly identify the most relevant sections of a text, saving time while still gathering the necessary information for their work.
Scanning is different from both skimming and deep reading. Skimming involves quickly glancing over a text to get a general sense of its content, which can be useful for identifying whether a source is worth reading in full. Deep reading, on the other hand, is a slower, more detailed process used when analysing complex ideas in depth. Scanning falls somewhere in between—it is a targeted approach that helps researchers locate specific points, key facts, or important arguments without reading every single word.
The first step in scanning effectively is knowing what to look for. Before even opening a book or article, it is important to have a clear idea of the research question or the information needed. Instead of passively reading, students should approach a text with a purpose. Looking for keywords, phrases, or topic-related terms helps in quickly locating relevant sections. Many academic texts are structured with headings, subheadings, and bolded terms, which make it easier to jump directly to the most useful parts.
Tables of contents and indexes are invaluable tools for scanning books efficiently. Instead of flipping through an entire book hoping to find useful material, checking the index for key terms directs the reader straight to the relevant pages. Reading the first and last sentences of paragraphs can also help in quickly identifying key arguments without getting lost in unnecessary details.
Using digital tools can further enhance scanning efficiency. For example, when reading PDFs, using the "Find" function allows students to search for specific words or phrases instantly. This is especially useful for locating definitions, key statistics, or references to specific concepts within a long document.
Conducting research is not just about finding information—it’s about understanding, analysing, and presenting it effectively. By engaging with primary and secondary sources, balancing online and offline research, using peer-reviewed texts, tracking citations properly and reading smart, you will not only survive university research—you will excel at it.
Are you ready to unleash your full potential through consistent practice? The choice is yours, and the possibilities are endless. Start today and pave the way for a brighter academic future! Stay Connected with Dickson!
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