Doing Research Part 6 of 6: Keyword Searches and Primary Sources
When searching library or archival databases, folks usually complain that “they can’t find anything on their topic.” The process can feel confusing, it can sometimes “take too long” and/or not yield accurate results. A lot of people today also think — why even do this work yourself when there are artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Open AI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini that can “help” you find what you’re looking for? And this is true.
However, when you’re a notice researcher or embarking on a new field that you’re really not too familiar with, if you rely on AI to do your keyword searching, you will not be able to fact-check its sourcing (AI is embedded with the same biases and misinformation as the real world), and thus, you may begin your study on false information that will only lead you to making more significant analysis errors when handling your primary sources.
In this final post in the #DoingResearch series, I aim to demystify the keyword search, and provide tips on how to work with primary sources. I also pinpoint at what stage in the process using AI might be useful.
Source: Unsplash
Searching a Database is Like Searching the Internet But You Must Focus
Kibirige and DePalo (2000) argued that the problem with relying on the Internet for finding academic information is that one cannot readily discern what is reliable and what is not without some instruction. While this observation is almost 25 years old, it still rings true.
““The Internet … may be more likely to generate viewdata in contrast to conventional databases .... To be effective, such searching needs experience and a lot of patience while sifting through pages of useless verbiage, as the information sources often are garnered from several sites” (p. 11).”
In her 2009 study, Oya Y. Rieger found that when people use Google they find it very intuitive and easy to use and believe that it represents the information space in which they are interested with excellent breadth and depth. Respondents in her study found “the search engine algorithms were consistently improving and functioning in a more sophisticated way…. There [was] confidence in Google’s broad and diverse coverage” (para. 29). Rieger ultimately found that there are 3 categories of searches:
Informational searches (such as locating a government document) are more broadly focused;
Navigational searches involve searching for information by a given data point (such as the name of an author or a publication);
Transactional searches support accomplishing tasks such as connecting to a database for statistical analysis.
Source: Oya Rieger, 2009, para. 29.
Keyword Search Tips
Use language that captures your focus in 3 to 5 words.
Find literature (e.g., books, articles, web stories) on the topic, summarize key points, pinpoint gaps, and this might help you narrow your keywords (as they really are the major themes of your research)
Conduct a literature review which will help you develop your perspective on the topic.
“After you’ve done the preliminary work of developing keywords, and searching the database, an AI tool can help you devise your literature review, but continue to fact check information as you go.”
Source: Unsplash
What is a Primary Source?
If you’re a high school student, college student, undergraduate student, or independent learner, you have likely engaged in research. Meaning, you’ve read theory, you’ve developed analytical frameworks of some kind, and you’ve synthesized information towards making arguments about your topic of study. Most people at this stage, however, have not worked with a primary source.
The primary source is fundamental to research in that this is the part of the process where you get to apply all the knowledge learned from theory, defining your research problem, understanding your research philosophy, and developing robust research questions. A primary source is where you investigate an object, text, image, or artwork to generate new knowledges, theories, and/or frameworks.
A primary source is immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:
Texts of laws and other original documents
Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did
Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews — what the people involved said or wrote
Original research
Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics
Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event
The best way to think of a primary source is to think of works that have not yet been interpreted by anyone, like a newspaper article or the personal diary of a historical figure or statistical data in its raw form. Primary sources are vital to research, and often they are confused with secondary sources, which are also vital to research but are not the same as primary sources.
Source: Unsplash
What is a Secondary Source?
A secondary source is one step removed from a primary source — they either quote or cite primary sources. They can also cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. Secondary sources can include:
Most books about a topic
Scholarly or literary works
Analysis or the interpretation of data
Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved in the topic
Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources)
The best way to think of a secondary source is to think of works that have already been interpreted, analyzed, synthesized for you to understand. Secondary sources often rely on primary sources so it can be confusing to make the distinction but it matters because what makes research original and impactful is engagement with primary sources while using secondary sources to build, strengthen, and reinforce your analytical framework(s).
Source: Unsplash
When is a Primary Source a Secondary Source?
Whether something is a primary or secondary source often depends upon the topic and its use. For example: A sociology textbook is a secondary source if you use it to understand the field of sociology. As a secondary source, it contains descriptions and interpretations on the field of sociology by citing other sources, and relying on the arguments from people in the field.
Source: Unsplash
On the other hand, if your research is about the history of sociology and specifically, the history of sociology textbooks, the same textbook can be a primary source, and used to look at how the study of sociology has changed over time. And you might delimit this topic further by focusing on first year introductory sociology textbooks between the 2000s and 2020s, for example, printed by US publishers, and the ways in which the language around the study of social life and social processes has changed during this twenty-year period.
Activity:
Review the items listed under Primary Source and Secondary Source and think through what makes each one a Primary Source versus a Secondary Source.
Select one Primary Source and think about a scenario where it could also be a Secondary Source.
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Artwork
Interview
Dissertation
A performance
Letters
Diary
Treatise on a particular genre of poetry
Image
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Article critiquing a piece of art
Biography
Review of a play, film, festival etc.
A book of poems
Essay on an artwork
Journal article on an academic subject
Pamphlet or bulletin
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Artwork
Interview
Dissertation
A performance
Letters
Treatise on a particular genre of poetry
Image
This is the last post in my six-part series. I hope you have learned a lot about research in these posts, and that you return to them in the future as you engage in your research. I have provided this free content because I believe in education.
Stay tuned for #DoingResearch #AdvancedResearch where I will break down the fundamentals of the literature review, how to write a research proposal, the research onion approach to methodology, and ethical approaches to research design.
If you’d like to support this free content or let me know how much you appreciate this work, I welcome your donation to PayPal. Please like, share, and comment on the links below! And if you have any suggestions on future series that I should write about, drop me a line below!
