Research is always the longest part of any project. Today there is so much information online, even knowing some of the best places to look can still feel like a trip down the rabbit hole, and with the mounting pressures faced by students, it’s hardly surprising many feel daunted by the workload involved in crafting an A grade essay or assignment.
But there are a few research hacks that can save you time and help you write better papers.
Set a time limit for research
A general rule of thumb should be splitting your time in half. While you might want to gather some additional sources after you’ve started writing a draft, you should be doing the bulk of your research before you start writing. Setting a time limit is also useful because it helps you think about how you’ll write your paper and start structuring your writing goals. Scientists have proven that taking time to think about how you’ll study helps improve your grades and your mental health.
Don’t waste time reading old research (unless it’s really relevant)
There’s something to be said about the relevance of recent research. While it might always be worth reading Habermas or Freud, not everything stays relevant. Unless your project specifically calls for earlier data, choosing sources written within the last few years is always a safe bet. Try to look for papers and journal articles published within the last three to five years, and avoid statistics from studies released a decade ago, they’re probably already out of date.
See how an expert would write it
If you know you’re going to be writing on the topic multiple times and want original perspectives and different points of view to draw on, then investing in a custom paper produced by a paper writing service can be a fantastic source of both information and inspiration. The people who work for these services are usually industry professionals or former academics with a solid understanding of the audience you’ll be writing for, and the requirements of an academic paper. This can be a real boon in terms of helping develop an engaging and authoritative tone in your own writing, and it also may provide you with a bibliography of fresh research to look into or compare your current reference list against.
Start using Google Scholar
Despite having been around since 2004, a lot of students have never heard of it. Google Scholar is a powerful source for accessing research beyond the databases your college or university subscribe to. Google’s search is much more intuitive than a lot of scientific or industry specific databases, making it easier to use unique search terms and find broader results. Although not all of articles indexed on Google Scholar are free to read it’s still a clever way to find specific articles for your essay or project, and your university library may be able to help you gain access to them, if they don’t have them already.