Research Guides: Religious Studies: Research Planning

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Library resources require going through CWRU Single Sign-On.
The best method is to follow links from the library website.
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Research & Writing Guides

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
A comprehensive guide to the research and paper writing process for undergraduates.

Citation Managers

Introduction to Zotero
"Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself." ~ from the Zotero website - www.zotero.org

KSL Tutorial Collection

KSL Instruction Hub in Canvas
KSL tutorial modules on research, information, and technology topics.

Topic Mapping

Topic mapping can be a great tool to help you organize your thoughts and generate important keywords for your topic.

For an introduction to topic mapping, watch this three-minute UCLA Library video.

The great thing about topic maps is that you can create one using paper and pen/pencil. You can also sketch icons and use a variety of colors and arrows to be even more creative. For more background, an online search for "Concept Map" or "Mind Map" will turn up many examples you can browse through to get a sense of what may work best for you.

Steps to create your own map:

Do some preliminary background research on your main topic.
Begin drawing your map, and put the main topic idea in the middle in a large circle.
Write simple phrases or single words (in bubbles if you like or text alone) branching off from the main topic. These words and phrases represent related areas of your main topic.
The words or phrases could become keywords for library database searching or they could be a way to organize ideas and themes.
Activity: Use your keywords or phrases in a KSL database and experiment with single words or combinations of words.

Research Data Management

RDM Resources at Case Western Reserve University
"Research data management (RDM) comprises a set of practices—including file organization, documentation, storage, backup, security, preservation, and sharing—which affords researchers the ability to more quickly, efficiently, and accurately find, access, and understand their own or others' research data." ~ from CWRU DRM libguide
OSTP Memo Announcement
"All researchers should be aware of the updated requirements from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The 2022 Nelson Memo is an announcement from the OSTP requiring federal government agencies to update their public access policies with a provision to make federally funded research publications and their associated data (where applicable) publicly accessible, for free, upon publication, in repositories designated by the government agency (i.e. “agency-designated repositories”). In addition, data repositories for the public sharing and access of associated research data will be determined by the agencies in consultation with researchers. These new rules will go into effect by December 31, 2025.

This means that all researchers engaging in projects supported by federally funded grants should plan accordingly to collect, organize, and share their data and results in a publicly accessible manner. For more information, visit the OSTP website or contact the Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship at KSL to discuss the matter." - from the CWRU RDM libguide