Five Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them (In Research Process)

1. Deciding on the right answer to your research question before you begin

Deciding on the conclusion you will draw in your research paper before you actually do the research and become aware of the scholarly conversation around your topic is a bad idea. Starting your research by looking for books and articles that confirm what you have already decided is the right answer is not research.

As you start your research, you are beginning to participate in the scholarly conversion, and that participation entails having an open mind. You should listen to what others have to say on a subject before you draw your own conclusions and decide how you can add to what they have said. So by all means form you own ideas and theories and use them to guide the development of your research strategy, even guess at where you might end up, but keep an open mind throughout. You must be willing to see your topic from a new angle, willing to follow new information and go in directions you had not originally considered, willing to change your mind on the basis of what other scholars have written. Such flexibility will make your conclusion strong and well-informed.

2. Not evaluating your sources and, as a result, using bad information

You cannot know about every single Web site that posts fake, biased, incorrect, or satirical information. Determining whether or not the sources you are considering are accurate and trustworthy is only the first step. You should also decide whether or not they are appropriate for your paper, whether or not they provide the best way for you to make your points.

For example, Wikipedia may not be the right source for you to use for a college-level research paper. Like any encyclopedia, it provides general, factual information on a variety of topics. But the secondary sources your professors want you to use to support the points you make in your research paper are generally those that analyze or interpret a work of literature with the goal of illuminating, explaining, or recontextualizing some element of it.

3. Being afraid to change your topic

There is no such thing as an objectively right or wrong topic. Because research tends to be a messy, iterative process, it is completely normal for you to feel unfocused or even confused in the beginning of it. We encourage you not to focus on picking the right topic but to think of this process as an investigation to figure out what you’re really interested in and in that way to land on the topic that is right for you.

You may find that the topic you first chose is not the right one for you – because it is too small or too big for your assignment, or maybe another topic seems more interesting to you now. Allow your topic to evolve as you do your research.

4. Not keeping track of where you got your information

Keep track of where you got your ideas and quotation during your research instead of leaving that task until the end. You can keep track of your research by taking notes on what the source was, what idea it sparked for you, and how you plan to use it in your paper. Writing these types of notes or annotations for yourself will help you later if you need to go back and revisit a source or idea. Most importantly, it will help you to create citations after you use the idea in your paper.  

5. Not asking for help

Wherever you are in the process of writing and researching your paper, whatever problems you are having, big or small, or even if you just want someone to bounce an idea off, don’t be shy, instead, ask a librarian or any expert in the field, and get the help.

(Source: MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature, Elizabeth Brookbank and H. Faye Christenberry – The adaptation is Ramrowriter’s)