Research & Writing Process

Information needs

Before you find a potential topic, you will want to determine the types of information required to meet your research needs.

  • Do you need primary or secondary sources, or a combination of both?
  • What are popular resources and are they appropriate to use in academic research?
  • Are you required to have peer-reviewed journal articles, or are scholarly articles sufficient?
  • Where is the best place to look for different types of information, from clinical studies to statistics?
  • How can ‘grey literature be useful?’
  • When should you consider searching outside the library’s databases for research resources?

Continue reading the information below and in the sub-pages to learn about different types of information, and when you should be using each type.

Types of resources

 

Or search a database directly