Research & Writing Process

What counts as evidence?

Now that you know your assignment and have a basic understanding of the topic, its time to start gathering evidence.  It’s also a good idea to think over what has been said about the assignment in class and to talk with your instructor if you need clarification or guidance.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Does the instructor mention any particular books you should use in writing your paper or the names of any authors who have written about your topic?
  • How long should your paper be (longer works may require more, or more varied, evidence)?
  • What themes or topics come up in the text of the prompt?

What matters to instructors?

Instructors in different academic fields expect different kinds of arguments and evidence—your chemistry paper might include graphs, charts, statistics, and other quantitative data as evidence, whereas your English paper might include passages from a novel, examples of recurring symbols, or discussions of characterization in the novel. Consider what kinds of sources and evidence you have seen in course readings and lectures. 

Where can I find evidence?

Books, journals, websites, newspapers, magazines, and documentary films are some of the most common sources of evidence for academic writing. Find out more about the library's available resources and how to access them on our resources guide.

Make sure to follow guidelines on evaluating resources to help you choose your sources wisely.  You can out more on the library's information literacy guide linked below.  A librarian can also help you find sources that are appropriate for the type of assignment you are completing.

Sometimes you can directly observe the thing you are interested in, by watching, listening to, touching, tasting, or smelling it.

For example, if you were asked to write about Chip Kidd you might view his online portfolio or search for any events or exhibitions of his work.  

An interview is a good way to collect information that you can’t find through any other type of research. An interview can provide an expert’s opinion, biographical or first-hand experiences, and suggestions for further research.

Surveys allow you to find out some of what a group of people thinks about a topic. Designing an effective survey and interpreting the data you get can be challenging, so it’s a good idea to check with your instructor before creating or administering a survey.

Experimental data serve as the primary form of scientific evidence. For scientific experiments, you should follow the specific guidelines of the discipline you are studying.

For writing in other fields, more informal experiments might be acceptable as evidence. For example, if you want to prove that food choices in a cafeteria are affected by gender norms, you might ask classmates to undermine those norms on purpose and observe how others react. What would happen if a welder was hanging out with friends and he brought a small salad and diet drink to the table, all the while murmuring about his waistline and wondering how many fat grams the salad dressing contained?

You should use personal experience only when it is appropriate to your topic, your writing goals, and your audience. Personal experience should not be your only form of evidence in most papers, and some disciplines frown on using personal experience at all. Check with your instructor if this type of evidence is admissible.  

For example, a story about the microscope you received as a Christmas gift when you were nine years old is probably not applicable to your biology lab report.