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The Research Process

This guide will give you a brief overview of the different steps in the research process.

Project Requirements

Once you are assigned a research project, the first thing you should do is read through your assignment sheet, so you know exactly what you need to do for your project. Before you begin your project, make sure you know the answers to the following questions:

  • How long should the project be? This could be a page length, word length, slide length, or time limit.
  • How many sources do you need?
  • What kinds of sources should you use?
  • How do you cite your sources (MLA or APA format)?
  • What is due?
  • When is it due?
  • Are there other requirement you should know about?

You should also check to see if your assignment has a Research Guide to help you with the process. The SCC Library Research Guides are step-by-step guides that will walk you through how to do research for a specific assignment at SCC.

Example Assignment Sheet

Check out the example assignment sheet below. Click on the purple plus signs ( + ) to learn more about each of the requirements. Click the small X to exit the pop-up.