Research Strategies is an online course taught by William Badke, Associate Librarian for Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University.
Textbook
Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog, 7th ed. (Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.com, 2021).
| The Research Strategies textbook is available as a paperback and in various e-book versions. See http://williambadke.com/GetTheBook.htm for several avenues to obtain the textbook. |
Use of the Course:
Research Strategies may be taken by individual students through Associated Canadian Theological Schools (graduate level).
| Please note that, while the course is not password protected, any unauthorized use of this course or adaptations of it by institutions is a breach of copyright and thus not permitted without written permission. |
About the Course:
There are no lectures or meeting times, live or online. You work at your own pace though, of course, you need to adhere to due dates for assignments. Let me know if an assignment will be late.
This course uses a strategies approach by which you begin with two topics and proceed through a series of steps to to learn the strategies of effective and efficient research, from an initial research question/thesis to a completed outline and bibliography for each topic. There is an extensive introduction to research databases. The "research" in Research Strategies is informational research which is done in preparation for research papers and literature reviews, rather than field or experimental research such as that found in the social sciences and sciences.
Throughout the course, process is more important than product. In this information age, the ability to navigate through data without getting lost is worth more than gold. The training provided here will help you to develop a set of strategies which are applicable to any kind of informational research. Process (strategy-building) is more important than product.
The ability to sift through all the information coming our way, decide what is important/reliable, and use that information to address key issues, are life skills that no one should be without. All too many professors in higher education assume that students will develop research ability on their own. Most students simply do not. They need the enrichment of formal instruction. That is the task of this course.
| I welcome emails from students. Don't suffer in silence or remain confused when you encounter a problem. Get in touch right away. There are no limits on the number of times you can email me. |
Contact: badke@twu.ca
More about me can be found at http://williambadke.com/badke.htm and in the video below.
The Library's main search tool does have its complexities. The following 4 minute video gives you insight into the best ways to use OneSearch. For more tutorials on the whole system, go to https://libguides.twu.ca/LibraryOneSearch
Open to full screen
Land Acknowledgement
Trinity Western University's Langley campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Stó:lō people. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on this land.
