How To Back Up Your Words With Research

“When it comes to facts, I’ll listen to anyone’s facts. But when it comes to opinions, I’m taking my own.” – Andrew Grove (reportedly)

Back up your words with research. Good research stands to benefit any writer, and quality research often delineates the line between a quack claim and an insightful argument.

Substantive research gives your writing teeth, enhances its impact, and lends your words an air of credibility. Furthermore, good research can be especially indispensible when bucking conventional wisdom or challenging existing dogma.

Finally, research can help us develop better parameters around our arguments and help us clarify our own positions.

I’m going to assume that most writers accept the value of solid research, even if they don’t always have the will, knowledge, resources, or time to gather and use it in their own writing.

Indeed, personal development writers typically know they can benefit from psychology and sociology research, political writers understand the need for economics and legal research, and fiction writers generally embrace myriad research sources, especially historical sources. The list of possible uses for good research can and does go on and on.

So with the need for solid research established, this article will focus on how to find (on the internet), obtain, and use free and credible research.

Going Beyond Google
Google can be a starting point for finding research, but getting to the good stuff usually requires going much, much deeper (it has to do with Google’s relevancy ranking). The good news is that people willing to go beyond an RSS reader and search engine can gain a competitive advantage over others who lack substantive research.

What About the Science Section of the New York Times and other Popular Periodicals?
The science sections of popular periodicals are good at distilling the essential nuggets of recent discoveries, but these sources generally cover only three or four of the most impressive findings per issue. You may happen to serendipitously stumble across a Times article that happens to be relevant to your writing project, but it’s unlikely.

Scholarly Journals: Where Much of the Good Research is Buried
Each year, university researchers publish hundreds of thousands of articles representing millions of hours and billions of dollars of work. Research articles written by university faculty (i.e. scholarly research) are typically of very high quality. It can take a researcher up to a year or more to collect, analyze, and meaningfully communicate their findings, and the publication process is arduous and competitive.

I hated reading academic journals when I was in college. They were cryptic, pretentious, and hard to digest. They still are, but I’m going to show you how to get needed information without having to first get a Ph.D. But before we go there, let’s first get some bad and good news out of the way . . .

The Bad News
The bad news is that research publications can be prohibitively expensive, and that research universities spend millions of dollars each year on access to academic databases. If an unaffiliated individual wants access to the PDF version of the average journal article they’ll probably have to pay a MINIMUM of $25 USD for something that might not even be helpful. So if you’re not a student, staff, or faculty at a research university, you’re going to have to get a little creative, which leads us to. . .

The Good News
The good news is that “open access” journals and other free research sources are on the rise (for more info see here). Open access journals are available “without financial or other barriers other than access to the internet itself.” Some of these journals require payment on behalf of the author while others are subsidized. As stated by the prestigious Journal PLoS Biology, open access means that “everyone, everywhere can read, redistribute and reuse . . . research without cost.” Open access journals are increasing in popularity and prestige. Public Library of Science Journals (PLoS) Journals, for example, are regularly covered by news companies such as Reuters, BBC, and the New York Times, to name just a few. (Personal note: I recently decided to publish an article in an open access journal, and this decision has lead to increased usage and citations).

Another bit of great news is that librarians at most publicly funded universities (and many librarians at private universities) are willing to help almost anyone who contacts them via phone, email, or chat client, and provide advice on how to find free research materials. Since most large universities have libraries specifically dedicated to the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, respectively, you can manage to find an expert in a given field if you call the right library; these librarians may not be able to email you copyrighted materials, but they often can provide summary paragraphs or give you critical details. Many academic librarians not only have masters degrees in library and information studies, but also a second graduate degree (often a Ph.D.) in their specialty area. I’ve called universities such as Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Georgetown University and always receive help — I’m also never questioned about my institutional affiliation.

How I Look for Research
I’ve found that the best time to look for research is right after I’ve generated an idea for a new article and have specific questions I want answered. To save time, I would highly recommend that you wait until you’ve formulated clear questions before going through research literature. (A reasonable person, however, might disagree with me on this).

Research Sources for Writers
Without further ado, here are some of my favorite research starting points and information gateways:

Free Full-Text and Open Access Journal Directories and Databases

  • Directory of Open Access Journals: This is the biggie and includes thousands of free, full text, quality journals. Right now, the directory lists 3,274 journals; 1061 of these journals are full-text searchable at the article level.
  • Biomed Central Open Access Journals: Offers a wide array of open access science journals.
  • PubMed: This is the #1 place to go on the internet for health & science research of all kinds and varieties (mental health, psychology, psychiatry, pharmaceutical sciences, nutrition, public health, and alternative medicine are among the many topics covered). PubMed can take a bit of time to learn but it’s well worth the effort. Because of a recent law, all research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health must be deposited in PubMed and accessible to everyone. Not all resources listed in PubMed, however, are freely available, but many of them are.
  • Directory of Open Access Repositories: A Large and exhaustive list of open access repositories worldwide.
  • FindArticles: FindArticles has article text of about 500 print periodicals with coverage dating back to 1998. It is freely available on the Web.

Abstract Databases
The following resources allow you to access (sometimes) lengthy journal abstracts, although access to the full articles may require a fee. It’s worth noting that several abstracts may collectively provide enough information for your writing piece.

  • ERIC: Provides access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles.
  • Google Scholar: Easy to use and intuitive, but not exhaustive.
  • Acrgricola: Provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Agriculture Catalog provides citations to agricultural literature.

Note: If you find an abstract of an article that you really want but can’t pay for, you can contact the author and request a pre-print copy. I’ve done this on several occasions and usually receive an emailed PDF copy within days, no questions asked.

Reference and Other

  • Radical Reference: Run by a volunteer group of politically active librarians who are proponents of freedom of information issues, radical reference will help nearly everyone find information. The reference librarians who run Radical Reference often have access to expensive research databases and can often provide you with the information you need, even if they can’t email you an entire article.
  • The Internet Public Library: The Internet Public Library was founded by a class at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. It is now being developed and maintained by a consortium of colleges and universities.

Good luck!

RECENT POSTS

The 7 Best Pens For Writing

Did you know that you can purchase some of the best pens for writing without breaking the bank? Yes, pens can definitely be a costly purchase, but if you’re looking for both a comfortable and affordable writing tool, we have you covered.  In addition to the...

How to Find Freelance Writing Work (2023 Guide)

Freelance writing is a great way to earn some extra money on the side. But as you may discover once you get a foothold in the industry, it’s more than possible to turn it into a full-time job and lifelong career. There are some hurdles that you have to overcome,...

Hero’s Journey In Nonfiction: 4 Steps To Spectacular Writing

The hero’s journey is a classic story structure that has been used for centuries. This timeless storytelling technique encompasses the three core aspects of a protagonist’s journey. Using it in fiction often seems like common sense, but the secret is to use it in...

How To Find A Good Reading Chair + 7 Of Our Favorites

When you first become a passionate reader, you might not understand the importance of a good reading chair. It will only take a few weeks or months of reading for your body to figure out that sitting in something comfortable that supports your posture is essential to...

31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London No matter how much you love writing, there will always be days when you need inspiration from one muse or another. In fact, I would argue that inspiration is not just a desirable...

JOIN OVER 2 MILLION READERS

WANT YOUR NEXT BOOK TO BE A BESTSELLER?

Then you need KDP Rocket – the killer advantage of pro authors.

Related Posts

The 7 Best Pens For Writing

The 7 Best Pens For Writing

Did you know that you can purchase some of the best pens for writing without breaking the bank? Yes, pens can definitely be a costly purchase, but if you’re looking for both a comfortable and affordable writing tool, we have you covered.  In addition to the...

How to Find Freelance Writing Work (2023 Guide)

How to Find Freelance Writing Work (2023 Guide)

Freelance writing is a great way to earn some extra money on the side. But as you may discover once you get a foothold in the industry, it’s more than possible to turn it into a full-time job and lifelong career. There are some hurdles that you have to overcome,...

About The Author

Mary Jaksch

Mary Jaksch is best known for her exceptional training for writers at WritetoDone.com and for her cutting-edge book, Youthful Aging Secrets. In her “spare” time, Mary is also the brains behind GoodlifeZEN.com, a Zen Master, a mother, and a 5th Degree Black Belt.

Latest Posts

How to Find Freelance Writing Work (2023 Guide)

How to Find Freelance Writing Work (2023 Guide)

Freelance writing is a great way to earn some extra money on the side. But as you may discover once you get a foothold in the industry, it’s more than possible to turn it into a full-time job and lifelong career. There are some hurdles that you have to overcome,...

31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London No matter how much you love writing, there will always be days when you need inspiration from one muse or another. In fact, I would argue that inspiration is not just a desirable...

>