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Section 106 Contributions to Urban Archaeology: What Was Lost is Now Found

Author(s): Elizabeth Crowell

When improvements were proposed for the Whitehurst Freeway in Washington, DC, existing conditions would not have recommended this heavily urbanized project area for a research-oriented archaeological investigation. The area was traversed by elevated freeway ramps and major roadways. As well, it had been the site of a 20th century school and 19th and 20th century industrial use.  Yet, because of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, archaeological investigations led to the discovery of a multicomponent site, which was, arguably, one of the most important sites discovered in Washington, DC.  The site contained intact prehistoric and historical archaeological remains, including an 18th and 19th century domestic and industrial sites and prehistoric remains including a late Middle Woodland cremation burial, which was one of the only intact examples of such a feature. Without the NHPA, this important information would have likely remained undiscovered, or worse, been obliterated through highway construction.

Cite this Record

Section 106 Contributions to Urban Archaeology: What Was Lost is Now Found. Elizabeth Crowell. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 435018)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The National Historic Preservation Act at 50: Looking Back, Looking Forward   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

General Section 106 • Urban Archaeology

Geographic Keywords North America • United States of America

Temporal Keywords Multicomponent

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 122

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• Indian J Dermatol
• v.62(5); Sep-Oct 2017

Summary and Synthesis: How to Present a Research Proposal

Maninder singh setia.

From the MGM Institute of Health Sciences, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Saumya Panda

1 Department of Dermatology, KPC Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

This concluding module attempts to synthesize the key learning points discussed during the course of the previous ten sets of modules on methodology and biostatistics. The objective of this module is to discuss how to present a model research proposal, based on whatever was discussed in the preceding modules. The lynchpin of a research proposal is the protocol, and the key component of a protocol is the study design. However, one must not neglect the other areas, be it the project summary through which one catches the eyes of the reviewer of the proposal, or the background and the literature review, or the aims and objectives of the study. Two critical areas in the “methods” section that cannot be emphasized more are the sampling strategy and a formal estimation of sample size. Without a legitimate sample size, none of the conclusions based on the statistical analysis would be valid. Finally, the ethical parameters of the study should be well understood by the researchers, and that should get reflected in the proposal.

As we reach the end of an exhaustive module encompassing research methods and biostatistics, we need to summarize and synthesize the key learning points, to demonstrate how one may utilize the different sections of the module to undertake research projects of different kinds. After all, the practical purpose behind publishing such a module is to facilitate the preparation of high quality research proposals and protocols. This concluding part will make an attempt to provide a window to the different sections of the module, underlining the various aspects of design and analysis needed to formulate protocols applicable to different kinds of clinical research in dermatology.

Components of a Research Proposal

The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. A research proposal is generally meant to be presented by an investigator to request an agency or a body to support research work in the form of grants. The vast majority of research proposals, in India, however, are not submitted to agency or body for grants, simply because of the paucity of such agencies, bodies, and research grants. Most are academic research proposals, self-financed, and submitted to scientific and ethics committee of an institution. The parts of a proposal include the title page, abstract/project summary, table of contents, introduction, background and review of literature, and the research protocol.

The title page should contain the personal data pertaining to the investigators, and title of the project, which should be concise and comprehensive at the same time. The table of contents, strictly speaking, is not necessary for short proposals. The introduction includes a statement of the problem, purpose, and significance of the research.

The protocol is the document that specifies the research plan. It is the single most important quality control tool for all aspects of a clinical research. It is the instrument where the researcher explains how data will be collected, including the calculation for estimating sample size, and what outcome variables to measure.

A complete clinical research protocol includes the following:

Study design

• Precise definition of the disease or problem
• Completely defined prespecified primary and secondary outcome measures, including how and when these will be assessed
• Clear description of variables
• Well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Efficacy and safety parameters
• Whenever applicable, stopping guidelines and parameters of interim analyses
• Sample size calculation
• Randomization details
• Plan of statistical analysis
• Detailed description of interventions
• A chronogram of research flow (Gantt chart)
• Informed consent document
• Clinical research form
• Details of budget; and
• References.

(Modified from: Bagatin et al ., 2013).

Project Summary

The project summary is a brief document that consists of an overview, and discusses the intellectual merits, and broader impacts of the research project. Each of these three sections is required to be present and must be clearly defined. The project summary is one of the most important parts of the proposal. It is likely the first thing a reviewer will read, and is the investigators’ best chance to grab their interest, and convince them of the importance, and quality, of their research before they even read the proposal. Though it is the first proposal element in order, many applicants prefer to write the project summary last, after writing the protocol. This allows the writer to better avoid any inconsistencies between the two.

The overview specifies the research goal and it should demonstrate that this goal fits with the principal investigator's long-term research goals. It should specify the proposed research approach and the educational goal of the research project.

The intellectual merits (the contribution your research will make to your field) should specify the current state of knowledge in the field, and where it is headed. It should also clarify what your research will add to the state of knowledge in the field. Furthermore, important to state is what your research will do to enhance or enable other researches in the field. Finally, one should answer why your research is important for the advancement of the field.

The broader impacts (the contribution the research will make to the society) should answer the questions on the benefit to the society at large from the research, and the possible applications of the research, and why the general public would care. It should also clarify how the research can benefit the site of research (medical college or university, etc.) and the funding agency.

Background and Review of Literature

This is an important component of the research protocol. The review should discuss all the relevant literature, the method used in the literature, the lacunae in the literature, and justify the proposed research. We have provided a list of the useful databases in the section on systematic reviews and meta-analysis (Setia, 2017). Some of these are PubMed, Cochrane database, EMBASE, and LILACS.

Provide a critical analysis of the literature

The researcher should not provide a descriptive analysis of literature. For instance, the literature reviews should not be a list of one article followed by the next article. It should be a critical analysis of literature.

A study by XXXX et al . found that the prevalence of psoriasis was 20%. It was a hospital-based study conducted in North India. The prevalence was 35% in males and 12% in females.

Another study by YYYYY et al . found that the prevalence of psoriasis was 14%. The study was conducted in a private clinic in North India. The prevalence was 8% in males and 18% in females.

A third study by ZZZZZ et al . found that the prevalence of psoriasis was 5%. This study was a community-based study. The prevalence was 7% in males and 3% in females.

In this type of review, the researcher has described all the studies. However, it is useful to understand the findings of these three studies and summarize them in researcher's own words.

A possible option can be “ The reported prevalence of psoriasis in the Indian population varied from 5% to 20%. In general, it was higher in hospital-based studies and lower in community-based studies. There was no consistent pattern in the prevalence of psoriasis in males and females. Though some studies found the prevalence to be higher in males, others reported that females had a higher prevalence .”

Discuss the limitations and lacunae of these studies

The researcher should discuss the limitations of the studies. These could be the limitations that the authors have presented in the manuscript or the ones that the researcher has identified. Usually, the current research proposal should try to address the limitations of a previous study.

A study by BBBB et al : “ One of the main limitations of our study was the lack of objective criteria for assessing anemia in patients presenting with psoriasis. We classified the patients based on clinical assessment of pallor .”

The present proposal can mention “ Though previous studies have assessed the association between anemia and psoriasis, they have not used any objective criteria (such as hemoglobin or serum ferritin levels). Furthermore, pallor was evaluated by three clinicians; the authors have not described the agreement between these clinicians .”

In the above example, the authors have stated the limitation of their research in the manuscript. However, in the review of literature, the researcher has added another limitation. It is important to convince the reviewers that the researcher has read and understood the literature. It is also important that some or most of these lacunae should be addressed in the present proposal as far as possible.

Justify the present proposal by review

The researcher should adequately justify the present proposal based on the review of literature. The justification should not only be for the research question, but also the methods, study design, variables of interest, study instruments or measurements, and statistical methods of choice. Sometimes, the justification can be purely statistical. For example, all the previous studies have used cross-sectional data or cross-sectional analysis of longitudinal data in their manuscripts. The present proposal will use methods used for longitudinal data analysis. The researcher should justify the benefit of these methods over the previous statistical methods.

In short, the review should not be a “laundry list” of all the articles. The review should be able to convince the reader that the present research is required and it builds on the existing literature (either as a novel research question, new measurement of the outcome, a better study design, or advanced and appropriate statistical methods).

Kindly try to avoid this justification: “ It has not been done in our center .”

Aims and Objectives

The “aim” of the study is an overarching goal of the study. The objectives are measurable and help the researcher achieve the overall aim.

For example, the overall aim of our study is to assess the long-term health of patients of psoriasis.

The specific objectives are:

• To record the changes in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score in patients with psoriasis over a period of 5 years
• To study the side effects of medications in these patients over a period of 5 years.

It is important to clearly state the objectives, since the research proposal should be designed to achieve these objectives.

For example, the methods should describe the following:

• How will the researcher answer the first objective?
• Where will the researcher recruit the study participants (study site and population)?
• Which patients of psoriasis will be recruited (inclusion and exclusion criteria)?
• What will be the design of the study (cohort, etc.)?
• What are all the variables to be measured to achieve the study outcomes (exposure and outcome variables)?
• How will the researcher measure these variables (clinical evaluation, history, serological examination, etc.)?
• How will the researcher record these data (clinical forms, etc.)?
• How will the researcher analyze the data that have been collected?
• Are there any limitations of these methods? If so, what has the researcher done to minimize the limitations?

All the ten modules on research methodology have to be read and grasped to plan and design any kind of research applicable to one's chosen field. However, some key areas have been outlined below with examples to appreciate the same in an easier manner.

The study setting must be specified. This should include both the geographical location and the population from which the study sample would be recruited.

“The study took place at the antiretroviral therapy clinic of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, from January 2006 to April 2007. Blantyre is the major commercial city of Malawi, with a population of 1,000,000 and an estimated HIV prevalence of 27% in adults in 2004” (Ndekha et al ., 2009).

This is a perfect example of description of a study setting which underscores the importance of planning it in detail a priori .

Study population, sampling strategy, and sample size

Study population has to be clearly and precisely defined. For example, a study on atopic dermatitis may be conducted upon patients defined according to the UK Working Party's modified diagnostic criteria, or the Hanifin and Rajka's criteria, or some other criteria defined by the investigators. However, it should always be prespecified within the protocol.

Similarly, the eligibility criteria of the participants for the study must be explicit. One truism that is frequently forgotten is that the inclusion and exclusion criteria are mutually exclusive, and one is not the negative image of the other. Eligible cases are included according to a set of inclusion criteria, and this is followed by administration of the exclusion criteria. Thus, in fact, they can never be the negative image of each other.

“Eligible participants were all adults aged 18 or over with HIV who met the eligibility criteria for antiretroviral therapy according to the Malawian national HIV treatment guidelines (WHO clinical stage III or IV or any WHO stage with a CD4 count < 250/mm 3 ) and who were starting treatment with a BMI < 18.5. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy and lactation or participation in another supplementary feeding program” (Ndekha et al ., 2009).

To put in perspective the point we made about inclusion and exclusion criteria, in the above example, “age above 18 years” or “CD4 count >250/mm 3 ” cannot be exclusion criteria, as these have already been excluded.

Sampling strategy has been adequately discussed in the Module 5 of the Methodology series (Setia, 2016). A few points are worth repeating:

• The sampling strategy should never be misrepresented. Example: If you have not done random sampling, no big deal. There are other legitimate sampling strategies available for your study. But once you have mentioned “random sampling” in your protocol, you cannot resort to purposive sampling
• Sometimes, the researcher might want to know the characteristics of a certain problem within a specific population, without caring for generalizability of results. In such a scenario, purposive sampling may be resorted to
• Nonprobability sampling methods such as consecutive consenting sampling or any such convenience sampling are perfectly legitimate and easy to do, particularly in case of dissertations where time and resources are limited.

Sample size is one of the most misunderstood, yet fundamentally important, issues among clinicians and has to be addressed once the study objectives have been set and the design has been finalized. Too small a sample means that there would be a failure to detect change following test intervention. A sample larger than necessary may also result in bad quality data. In either case, there would be ethical problems and wastage of resources. The researcher needs just enough samples to draw accurate inferences, which would be adequately powered (Panda, 2015).

Estimation of sample size has been dealt with adequately in the Module 5 biostatistics series (Hazra et al ., 2016), including the different mathematical derivations and the available software. Sample size determination is a statistical exercise based on the probability of errors in testing of hypothesis, power of the sample, and effect size. Although, relatively speaking, these are simple concepts to grasp, a large number of different study designs and analytical methods lead to a bewilderingly large number of formulae for determining sample size. Thus, the software are really handy and are becoming increasingly popular.

The study design defines the objectives and end points of the study, the type and manner of data collection, and the strategy of data analysis (Panda 2015). The different types of clinical studies have been depicted in Figure 1 . The suitability of various study designs vis-à-vis different types of research questions is summarized in Table 1 .

Types of study (Source: Panda, 2015)

Research questions vis-a-vis study designs

In our previous series of ten modules on methodology, we have discussed all these different kinds of studies and more. Some key issues that require reiteration are given below:

• The control of a case–control study and that of a randomized controlled trial is more different from each other than chalk is from cheese. The former is an observational study, while the latter is an interventional one. Every study with a control group is not a case–control study. For a study to be classified as a case–control study, the study should be an observational study and the participants should be recruited based on their outcome status (Setia, 2016). Apparently, this is not so difficult to understand, yet even now we have publications which confuse between the different kinds of controls (Bhanja et al ., 2015)
• Due to the fact that the outcome and exposure are assessed at the same time point in a cross-sectional study, it is pretty difficult, if not impossible, to derive causal relationships from such a study. At most, one may establish statistical association between exposures and outcomes by calculating the odds ratio. However, these associations must not be confused with causation.
• It is generally said that a cohort design may not be efficient for rare outcomes. However, if the rare outcome is common in some exposures, it may be useful to follow a cohort design. For example, melanoma is a rare condition in India. Hence, if we follow individuals to study the incidence of melanoma, it may not be efficient. However, if we know that, in India, acral lentiginous melanoma is the most commonly reported variant, we should follow a cohort of individuals with acral lentiginous and study the incidence of melanoma in this group (Setia, 2016).

Clinical researchers should also be accustomed with observational designs beyond case–control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies. Sometimes, the unit of analysis has to be a group or aggregate rather than the individual. Consider the following example:

The government introduced the supplementation of salt with iodine for about 20 years. However, not all states have used the same level of iodine in salt. Certain hilly states have used higher quantities compared with other states. Incidentally, you read a report that high iodine levels are associated with psoriasis. You are intrigued to find if introduction of iodine has altered the picture of psoriasis in the country. You feel compelled to design a study to answer this question .

It is obvious that here the unit of study cannot be individuals, but a large population distributed in a certain geographical area. This is the domain of ecologic studies. An allied category of observational studies is named “natural experiments,” where the exposure is not assigned by the investigator (as in an interventional study), but through “natural processes.” These may be through changes in the existing regulations or public policies or, may be, through introduction of new laws (Setia, 2017).

Another category of research questions that cannot be satisfactorily captured by all the quantitative methods described earlier, like social stigma experienced by patients or their families with, say, vitiligo, leprosy, or sexually transmitted infections, are best dealt with by qualitative research. As can be seen by the examples given above, this is a type of research which is very relevant to medical research, yet to which the regular medical researcher has got a very poor exposure, if any. We shall encourage interested researchers to take a look at the 10 th Module of the Methodology series that specifically deals with qualitative research (Setia, 2017).

Clinical studies are experiments that are not conducted in laboratories but in controlled real-life settings on human subjects with some disease. Hence, designing a study involves many pragmatic considerations aside pure methodology. Thus, factors to consider when selecting a study design are objectives of the study, time frame, treatment duration, carryover effects, cost and logistics, patient convenience, statistical considerations, sample size, etc. (Panda, 2015).

Certain truisms regarding study designs should always be remembered: a study design has to be tailored to objectives. The same question may be answered by different designs. The optimum design has to be based on workforce, budgetary allocation, infrastructure, and clinical material that may be commanded by the researchers. Finally, no design is perfect, and there is no design to provide a perfect answer to all research questions relevant to a particular problem (Panda, 2015).

Variables of interest and collection of these variables

Data structure depends on the characteristics of the variables [ Figure 2 ]. A variable refers to a particular character on which a set of data are recorded. Data are thus the values of a variable (Hazra et al ., 2016).

Types of data and variables (Source: Panda, 2015)

Quantitative data always have a proportional scale among values, and can be either discrete (e.g., number of moles) or continuous (e.g., age). Qualitative data can be either nominal (e.g., blood groups) or ordinal (e.g., Fitzpatrick's phototypes I-VI). Variables can be binary or dichotomous (male/female) or multinomial or polychotomous (homosexual/bisexual/heterosexual) (Panda, 2015).

Changing data scales is possible so that numerical data may become ordinal and ordinal data may become nominal. This may be done when the researcher is not confident about the accuracy of the measuring instrument, is unconcerned about the loss of fine detail, or where group numbers are not large enough to adequately represent a variable of interest. It may also make clinical interpretation easier (Hazra et al ., 2016).

The variables whose effects are observed on other variables are known as independent variables (e.g., risk factors). The latter kind of variables that change as a result of independent variables are known as dependent variables (i.e., outcome). Confounders are those variables that influence the relation between independent and dependent variables (e.g., the clinical effect of sunscreen used as part of a test intervention regimen in melasma). If the researcher fails to control or eliminate the confounder, it will damage the internal validity of an experiment (Panda, 2015).

Biostatistics begins with descriptive statistics that implies summarizing a collection of data from a sample or population. An excellent overview of descriptive statistics has been given in the Module 1 of the Biostatistics series (Hazra et al ., 2016). We would encourage every researcher to embark on designing and collecting data on their own to go through this particular module to have a clear idea on how to proceed further.

Statistical methods

As briefly discussed earlier, the “methods” section should also include a detailed description of statistical methods. It is best to describe the methods for each objective.

For example: Which statistical methods will the researcher use to study the changes in PASI score over time?

It is important to first identify the nature of the outcome – will it be linear or categorical?

• It may be noticed that the PASI is a score and can range from 0 to 72. The researcher can measure the actual score and assess the changes in score. Thus, the researcher will use methods for statistical analysis of continuous data (such as means, standard deviations, t -test, or linear regressions)
• However, the researcher may choose to cut off the PASI score at 60 (of course, there has to be justification!) and call it severe psoriasis. Thus, the researcher will have an outcome variable with two outcomes (Yes: >60 PASI, and No: <60 PASI). Thus, in this case, the researcher will use methods for statistical analysis of categorical data (proportions, Chi-square test, or logistic regression models).

The statistical methods have been described in detail in the Biostatistics section of the series. The reader is encouraged to read all the sections to understand these methods. However, the key points to remember are:

• Identify the nature of the outcome for each objective
• Describe the statistical methods separately for each objective
• Identify the methods to handle confounding and describe them in the statistical methods
• If the researcher is using advanced statistical methods or specific tools, please provide reference to these methods
• Provide the name of the statistical software (including the version) that will be used for data analysis in the present study
• Do not provide a laundry list of all the statistical methods. It just shows that the researcher has not understood the relevance of statistics in the study design.

Multivariate models

In general, multivariate analyses are used in studies and research proposals. These analyses are useful to adjust for confounding (though these are also useful to test for interaction, we shall discuss confounding in this section). For example, we propose to compare two different types of medications in psoriasis. We have used secondary clinical data for this study. The outcome of interest is PASI score. We have collected data on the type of medication, age, sex, and alcohol use. When we compare the PASI score in these two groups, we will use t -test (if linear comparison) or Chi-square test (if PASI is categorized – as described earlier). However, it is possible that age, sex, and alcohol use may also play a role in the clinical progression of psoriasis (which is measured as PASI score). Thus, the researcher would like to account for differences in these variables in the two groups. This can be done using multivariate analytical methods (such as linear regression for continuous variables and logistic regression for categorical dichotomous variables). This is a type of mathematical model in which we include multiple variables: the main explanatory variable (type of drug in this study) and potential confounders (age, sex, and alcohol use in this study). Thus, the outcome (PASI score) after multivariate analyses will be “adjusted” for age, sex, and alcohol use after multivariate analysis. We would like to encourage the readers to consult a statistician for these methods.

TRIVIA: The singular for “data” is “datum,” just as “stratum” is the singular for “strata.” Thus, “ data were analyzed …,” “ data were collected …,” and “ data have been ….”

Clinical Record Forms

We have discussed designing of questionnaires and clinical record forms (CRFs) in detail in two modules. We shall just highlight the most important aspects in this part. The CRF is an important part of the research protocol. The CRF should include all the variables of interest in the study. Thus, it is important to make a list of all parameters of interest before working on the CRF. This can be done by a thorough review of literature and discussion with experts. Once the questionnaire/CRF has been designed, the researcher should pilot it and change according to the feedback from the participants and one's own experience while administering the questionnaire or recording data in the CRF. The CRF should use coded responses (for close-ended questions), this will help in data entry and analysis. If the researcher has developed a scale, the reliability and validity should be tested (methods have been discussed in earlier sections). The CRF can be paper based or computer based (it will depend on the resources).

It is very important to describe the ethics for the present study. It should not be restricted to “ The study will be evaluated by an Institutional Review Committee …” The researcher should demonstrate that s/he has understood the various ethical issues in the present study. The three core principles for ethics are: autonomy (the participants have a right to decide whether to participate in the study or opt out), beneficence/nonmaleficence (the study should not be harmful to participants and the risk–benefit ratio should be adequately understood and described), and justice (all the risks and benefits of the present study should be equally distributed).

The researcher should try to address these issues in the section of “Ethics.” Currently, the National Institutes of Health has proposed the following seven principles of “Ethics in Clinical Research:” social and clinical value, scientific validity, fair subject selection, favorable risk–benefit ratio, independent review, informed consent, and respect for potential and enrolled subjects. The Indian Council of Medical Research has also published guidelines to conduct biomedical research in India. We strongly encourage the readers to be familiar with these guidelines. Furthermore, the researchers should keep themselves updated with changes in these regulations. If it is a clinical trial, the researcher should also be familiar with Schedule Y and Consent form requirements for these types of clinical trials.

Concluding Remarks

This module has been designed as a comprehensive guide for a dermatologist to enable him/her to embark on the exciting journey of designing studies of almost any kind that can be thought to be of relevance to clinical dermatology. There has been a conscious attempt to customize the discussion on design and analysis keeping not only dermatology, but also Indian conditions in mind. However, the module can be of help to any medical doctor embarking on the path to medical research. As contributors, it is our ardent hope that this module might act as a catalyst of good-quality research in the field of dermatology and beyond in India and elsewhere.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Bibliography

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

When do project planning activities trigger a section 106 review.

The ACHP often receives inquiries regarding timing: more specifically, when do an agency’s “project planning activities” require Section 106 review? Courts have yet to rule directly on the issue, as case law to date focuses on compliance that comes “too late,” rather than sufficiently early. Awareness of the relevant regulations and approaches to answering such a question better positions agencies to avoid unnecessary delays later on.

Section 106 is triggered when a federal agency determines that it has a type of undertaking that has the potential to affect historic properties. Under the Section 106 regulations and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), an “undertaking” is broadly defined as any project, activity, or program with federal agency involvement, such as those carried out by federal agencies, assisted by federal agencies, or that require a federal permit, license, or approval. Throughout their history, the Section 106 regulations have always encouraged “early as possible” consideration and compliance with Section 106. “Nondestructive project planning activities” which do not trigger Section 106 review under 36 CFR 800.1(c) are those that “do not restrict the subsequent consideration of alternatives to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the undertaking’s adverse effects on historic properties.” If alternatives are foreclosed, Section 106 review would be “rendered meaningless.”

When an agency’s “project planning activities” trigger Section 106 is a difficult point to identify in general terms, as what constitutes “planning” activities vary widely depending on an agency’s role or mission. The following discussion divides agencies into two categories: federal property managers, who operate a fairly static land or property base; and federal permitting, licensing, and assisting agencies. The former have more opportunities for familiarity with resources within their purview, whereas the latter may possess less knowledge of the historic properties that may be affected prior to receipt of a project proposal or application.

When do “planning activities” become “undertakings” that require Section 106 review? The answer is not a bright-line rule, but the result of a factors-based, tailored analysis. Essentially, it requires considering to what plans, or what kinds of plans, does Section 106 apply?

FEDERAL PROPERTY MANAGERS

 “Planning activities” avoid triggering Section 106 so long as they do not narrow the range of alternatives to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects to historic properties. For federal property managers, “planning” often includes long-term management of lands or properties under their purview. Such agencies may develop general or site-specific guidelines. Discrete shorter-term projects tend to derive from these overarching guidelines.

In this context, the federal involvement is usually the agency creating and carrying out the plan itself. The analysis then shifts to whether the activity being proposed and carried out is the type with potential to affect historic properties. When a “management plan” commits the agency to a decision regarding the use of resources or the location of a project, the agency has restricted the availability of alternatives to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects. In other words, the “management planning” constitutes an undertaking with the potential to affect historic properties that must be preceded by Section 106 compliance. Development of new “management plans,” as well as revisions, amendments, and even updates to existing ones, may be considered “management planning” undertakings.

Agencies may establish internal protocols for identifying when “management planning” triggers Section 106 and when it does not. For example, the Bureau of Land Management differentiates between “minor changes” (e.g. typographical errors) and all other changes to its management plans. The former may be effected through an efficient “maintenance” procedure that is typically not subject to Section 106 review, while substantive revisions or amendments that, again, commit the agency to a course of action would be preceded by Section 106 review.

FEDERAL PERMITTING, LICENSING, AND ASSISTANCE AGENCIES

This category of agencies is generally less involved in the development of the plan itself. In fact, it is entirely possible or even likely that an agency is unaware of a project’s specifics until the applicant delivers a proposal. There are several permutations within this framework: a federal agency may financially assist the development of a plan, to be implemented by a municipality or other non-federal entity; alternatively, a non-federal entity’s implementation of a plan may utilize federal funding or necessitate federal approval.

Where a non-federal entity is involved in development or implementation of the plan, establishing whether Section 106 applies becomes a multi-pronged analysis. First: is there federal involvement (a permit, license, approval, or assistance) provided or requested to develop or implement the plan? If so, is the project seeking federal involvement or approval of a type that has potential to affect historic properties?

If a federal agency assists in the development of a planning document that is non-binding and for information purposes only, then it is appropriate for the agency to determine that no Section 106 review is required. The “planning” activity in this situation lacks potential to affect historic properties because the federal involvement leads to the development of a planning document which is advisory or informational only, and hence does not commit to an activity that restricts the consideration of alternatives to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects. However, if the federal agency is assisting in the development of a plan that will be implemented, or the decision to implement the plan has already been made at the time of the application for federal assistance, then the agency must consider whether the project directed by the plan is of a type that has the potential to affect historic properties.

It is also important to distinguish plans which lock the agency into a certain action or set of actions, thus likely triggering Section 106, from other more general actions that do not commit the agency to a certain location or project. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program is an illustrative example. To qualify for a CDBG, a city or county must file a Consolidated Plan (colloquially the “Con Plan”), which has a duration of three to five years. The Con Plan delineates the municipality’s overarching priorities and goals, such as “more affordable housing.” The Con Plan is carried out through Annual Action Plans, a detailed summary of discrete actions, as well as allocation of funds. The Annual Action Plan generally triggers Section 106 review; the Con Plan does not.

BEST PRACTICES

Being aware of how a planning action may affect historic properties as early as possible, particularly when such information possesses long-term utility, is the efficient choice. This will streamline and enhance not only the Section 106 process, but the project’s ultimate outcome.

It is also possible to integrate Section 106 more consistently into planning through development and execution of a Program Alternative such as a Programmatic Agreement (PA). For federal property managers, PAs for “habitual” actions (such as routine maintenance) are common. For permitting, licensing, and assisting agencies, PAs could be useful when licensing or assistance decisions must be made prior to the identification of historic properties or assessment of a proposed program’s effects.

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Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the effects of federally assisted undertakings on historic properties. The Section 106 review process is administered by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) e stablished in each state. Ohio's State Historic Preservation Office is part of the Ohio History Connection.

Section 106 is a routine part of the planning process for projects that receive federal funding, permits, licenses, or approvals, to ensure that preservation standards are factored into a project before work is authorized to begin. It is important that consideration of historic properties occur in the early stages of a project's development so that preservation concerns can receive thorough consideration as a project is planned.

Federal agencies or their delegated authorities are required to actively consult with specific individuals and organizations with an interest in their projects throughout the Section 106 review process, in addition to considering the views of the public. This interactive process of consultation is at the heart of the Section 106 review.

The Section 106 regulations at 36 CFR Section 800.11 establish documentation standards for agencies to use in supporting their evaluation of federally assisted projects. It is the responsibility of the federal agency to provide information to the State Historic Preservation Office that:

• identifies historic properties,
• assesses their eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and
• determines any possible effect that a project might have on listed or eligible properties.

The State Historic Preservation Office reviews the information and responds by concurring, commenting, recommending further action, or requesting additional information.

SHPO recommends that agencies use the Section 106 Review Project Summary Form and its supporting documents to submit most routine projects for review.* The form will help streamline the Section 106 review process by improving the overall content of project submissions and reducing the need to request additional information about projects. State agencies seeking comments from the State Historic Preservation Office under  Section 149.53  of the Ohio Revised Code may also use this form to provide general project information.

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Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act

Advisory council on historic preservation, 36 cfr section 800.11, let us help you.

At any time during your project's development, you can contact the State Historic Preservation Office if you have questions about how to use the Project Summary Form or about the Section 106 review process. Agencies that are planning large or complex projects are strongly encouraged to contact the State Historic Preservation Office early in their project planning process, so that we can discuss alternative survey options that could help you meet your responsibilities under 36 CFR Part 800.

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Home » Research Summary – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Research Summary – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Research Summary

Definition:

A research summary is a brief and concise overview of a research project or study that highlights its key findings, main points, and conclusions. It typically includes a description of the research problem, the research methods used, the results obtained, and the implications or significance of the findings. It is often used as a tool to quickly communicate the main findings of a study to other researchers, stakeholders, or decision-makers.

Structure of Research Summary

The Structure of a Research Summary typically include:

• Introduction : This section provides a brief background of the research problem or question, explains the purpose of the study, and outlines the research objectives.
• Methodology : This section explains the research design, methods, and procedures used to conduct the study. It describes the sample size, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.
• Results : This section presents the main findings of the study, including statistical analysis if applicable. It may include tables, charts, or graphs to visually represent the data.
• Discussion : This section interprets the results and explains their implications. It discusses the significance of the findings, compares them to previous research, and identifies any limitations or future directions for research.
• Conclusion : This section summarizes the main points of the research and provides a conclusion based on the findings. It may also suggest implications for future research or practical applications of the results.
• References : This section lists the sources cited in the research summary, following the appropriate citation style.

How to Write Research Summary

Here are the steps you can follow to write a research summary:

• Read the research article or study thoroughly: To write a summary, you must understand the research article or study you are summarizing. Therefore, read the article or study carefully to understand its purpose, research design, methodology, results, and conclusions.
• Identify the main points : Once you have read the research article or study, identify the main points, key findings, and research question. You can highlight or take notes of the essential points and findings to use as a reference when writing your summary.
• Write the introduction: Start your summary by introducing the research problem, research question, and purpose of the study. Briefly explain why the research is important and its significance.
• Summarize the methodology : In this section, summarize the research design, methods, and procedures used to conduct the study. Explain the sample size, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.
• Present the results: Summarize the main findings of the study. Use tables, charts, or graphs to visually represent the data if necessary.
• Interpret the results: In this section, interpret the results and explain their implications. Discuss the significance of the findings, compare them to previous research, and identify any limitations or future directions for research.
• Conclude the summary : Summarize the main points of the research and provide a conclusion based on the findings. Suggest implications for future research or practical applications of the results.
• Revise and edit : Once you have written the summary, revise and edit it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors. Make sure that your summary accurately represents the research article or study.
• Add references: Include a list of references cited in the research summary, following the appropriate citation style.

Example of Research Summary

Here is an example of a research summary:

Title: The Effects of Yoga on Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: This meta-analysis examines the effects of yoga on mental health. The study aimed to investigate whether yoga practice can improve mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, and quality of life.

Methodology : The study analyzed data from 14 randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of yoga on mental health outcomes. The sample included a total of 862 participants. The yoga interventions varied in length and frequency, ranging from four to twelve weeks, with sessions lasting from 45 to 90 minutes.

Results : The meta-analysis found that yoga practice significantly improved mental health outcomes. Participants who practiced yoga showed a significant reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as stress levels. Quality of life also improved in those who practiced yoga.

Discussion : The findings of this study suggest that yoga can be an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes. The study supports the growing body of evidence that suggests that yoga can have a positive impact on mental health. Limitations of the study include the variability of the yoga interventions, which may affect the generalizability of the findings.

Conclusion : Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis support the use of yoga as an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the optimal length and frequency of yoga interventions for different populations.

References :

• Cramer, H., Lauche, R., Langhorst, J., Dobos, G., & Berger, B. (2013). Yoga for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Depression and anxiety, 30(11), 1068-1083.
• Khalsa, S. B. (2004). Yoga as a therapeutic intervention: a bibliometric analysis of published research studies. Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology, 48(3), 269-285.
• Ross, A., & Thomas, S. (2010). The health benefits of yoga and exercise: a review of comparison studies. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(1), 3-12.

Purpose of Research Summary

The purpose of a research summary is to provide a brief overview of a research project or study, including its main points, findings, and conclusions. The summary allows readers to quickly understand the essential aspects of the research without having to read the entire article or study.

Research summaries serve several purposes, including:

• Facilitating comprehension: A research summary allows readers to quickly understand the main points and findings of a research project or study without having to read the entire article or study. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend the research and its significance.
• Communicating research findings: Research summaries are often used to communicate research findings to a wider audience, such as policymakers, practitioners, or the general public. The summary presents the essential aspects of the research in a clear and concise manner, making it easier for non-experts to understand.
• Supporting decision-making: Research summaries can be used to support decision-making processes by providing a summary of the research evidence on a particular topic. This information can be used by policymakers or practitioners to make informed decisions about interventions, programs, or policies.
• Saving time: Research summaries save time for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders who need to review multiple research studies. Rather than having to read the entire article or study, they can quickly review the summary to determine whether the research is relevant to their needs.

Characteristics of Research Summary

The following are some of the key characteristics of a research summary:

• Concise : A research summary should be brief and to the point, providing a clear and concise overview of the main points of the research.
• Objective : A research summary should be written in an objective tone, presenting the research findings without bias or personal opinion.
• Comprehensive : A research summary should cover all the essential aspects of the research, including the research question, methodology, results, and conclusions.
• Accurate : A research summary should accurately reflect the key findings and conclusions of the research.
• Clear and well-organized: A research summary should be easy to read and understand, with a clear structure and logical flow.
• Relevant : A research summary should focus on the most important and relevant aspects of the research, highlighting the key findings and their implications.
• Audience-specific: A research summary should be tailored to the intended audience, using language and terminology that is appropriate and accessible to the reader.
• Citations : A research summary should include citations to the original research articles or studies, allowing readers to access the full text of the research if desired.

When to write Research Summary

Here are some situations when it may be appropriate to write a research summary:

• Proposal stage: A research summary can be included in a research proposal to provide a brief overview of the research aims, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.
• Conference presentation: A research summary can be prepared for a conference presentation to summarize the main findings of a study or research project.
• Journal submission: Many academic journals require authors to submit a research summary along with their research article or study. The summary provides a brief overview of the study’s main points, findings, and conclusions and helps readers quickly understand the research.
• Funding application: A research summary can be included in a funding application to provide a brief summary of the research aims, objectives, and expected outcomes.
• Policy brief: A research summary can be prepared as a policy brief to communicate research findings to policymakers or stakeholders in a concise and accessible manner.

Advantages of Research Summary

Research summaries offer several advantages, including:

• Time-saving: A research summary saves time for readers who need to understand the key findings and conclusions of a research project quickly. Rather than reading the entire research article or study, readers can quickly review the summary to determine whether the research is relevant to their needs.
• Clarity and accessibility: A research summary provides a clear and accessible overview of the research project’s main points, making it easier for readers to understand the research without having to be experts in the field.
• Improved comprehension: A research summary helps readers comprehend the research by providing a brief and focused overview of the key findings and conclusions, making it easier to understand the research and its significance.
• Enhanced communication: Research summaries can be used to communicate research findings to a wider audience, such as policymakers, practitioners, or the general public, in a concise and accessible manner.
• Facilitated decision-making: Research summaries can support decision-making processes by providing a summary of the research evidence on a particular topic. Policymakers or practitioners can use this information to make informed decisions about interventions, programs, or policies.
• Increased dissemination: Research summaries can be easily shared and disseminated, allowing research findings to reach a wider audience.

Limitations of Research Summary

Limitations of the Research Summary are as follows:

• Limited scope: Research summaries provide a brief overview of the research project’s main points, findings, and conclusions, which can be limiting. They may not include all the details, nuances, and complexities of the research that readers may need to fully understand the study’s implications.
• Risk of oversimplification: Research summaries can be oversimplified, reducing the complexity of the research and potentially distorting the findings or conclusions.
• Lack of context: Research summaries may not provide sufficient context to fully understand the research findings, such as the research background, methodology, or limitations. This may lead to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the research.
• Possible bias: Research summaries may be biased if they selectively emphasize certain findings or conclusions over others, potentially distorting the overall picture of the research.
• Format limitations: Research summaries may be constrained by the format or length requirements, making it challenging to fully convey the research’s main points, findings, and conclusions.
• Accessibility: Research summaries may not be accessible to all readers, particularly those with limited literacy skills, visual impairments, or language barriers.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How To Write A Research Summary

It’s a common perception that writing a research summary is a quick and easy task. After all, how hard can jotting down 300 words be? But when you consider the weight those 300 words carry, writing a research summary as a part of your dissertation, essay or compelling draft for your paper instantly becomes daunting task.

A research summary requires you to synthesize a complex research paper into an informative, self-explanatory snapshot. It needs to portray what your article contains. Thus, writing it often comes at the end of the task list.

Regardless of when you’re planning to write, it is no less of a challenge, particularly if you’re doing it for the first time. This blog will take you through everything you need to know about research summary so that you have an easier time with it.

What is a Research Summary?

A research summary is the part of your research paper that describes its findings to the audience in a brief yet concise manner. A well-curated research summary represents you and your knowledge about the information written in the research paper.

While writing a quality research summary, you need to discover and identify the significant points in the research and condense it in a more straightforward form. A research summary is like a doorway that provides access to the structure of a research paper's sections.

Since the purpose of a summary is to give an overview of the topic, methodology, and conclusions employed in a paper, it requires an objective approach. No analysis or criticism.

Research summary or Abstract. What’s the Difference?

They’re both brief, concise, and give an overview of an aspect of the research paper. So, it’s easy to understand why many new researchers get the two confused. However, a research summary and abstract are two very different things with individual purpose. To start with, a research summary is written at the end while the abstract comes at the beginning of a research paper.

A research summary captures the essence of the paper at the end of your document. It focuses on your topic, methods, and findings. More like a TL;DR, if you will. An abstract, on the other hand, is a description of what your research paper is about. It tells your reader what your topic or hypothesis is, and sets a context around why you have embarked on your research.

Getting Started with a Research Summary

Before you start writing, you need to get insights into your research’s content, style, and organization. There are three fundamental areas of a research summary that you should focus on.

• While deciding the contents of your research summary, you must include a section on its importance as a whole, the techniques, and the tools that were used to formulate the conclusion. Additionally, there needs to be a short but thorough explanation of how the findings of the research paper have a significance.
• To keep the summary well-organized, try to cover the various sections of the research paper in separate paragraphs. Besides, how the idea of particular factual research came up first must be explained in a separate paragraph.
• As a general practice worldwide, research summaries are restricted to 300-400 words. However, if you have chosen a lengthy research paper, try not to exceed the word limit of 10% of the entire research paper.

How to Structure Your Research Summary

The research summary is nothing but a concise form of the entire research paper. Therefore, the structure of a summary stays the same as the paper. So, include all the section titles and write a little about them. The structural elements that a research summary must consist of are:

It represents the topic of the research. Try to phrase it so that it includes the key findings or conclusion of the task.

The abstract gives a context of the research paper. Unlike the abstract at the beginning of a paper, the abstract here, should be very short since you’ll be working with a limited word count.

Introduction

This is the most crucial section of a research summary as it helps readers get familiarized with the topic. You should include the definition of your topic, the current state of the investigation, and practical relevance in this part. Additionally, you should present the problem statement, investigative measures, and any hypothesis in this section.

Methodology

This section provides details about the methodology and the methods adopted to conduct the study. You should write a brief description of the surveys, sampling, type of experiments, statistical analysis, and the rationality behind choosing those particular methods.

Create a list of evidence obtained from the various experiments with a primary analysis, conclusions, and interpretations made upon that. In the paper research paper, you will find the results section as the most detailed and lengthy part. Therefore, you must pick up the key elements and wisely decide which elements are worth including and which are worth skipping.

This is where you present the interpretation of results in the context of their application. Discussion usually covers results, inferences, and theoretical models explaining the obtained values, key strengths, and limitations. All of these are vital elements that you must include in the summary.

Most research papers merge conclusion with discussions. However, depending upon the instructions, you may have to prepare this as a separate section in your research summary. Usually, conclusion revisits the hypothesis and provides the details about the validation or denial about the arguments made in the research paper, based upon how convincing the results were obtained.

The structure of a research summary closely resembles the anatomy of a scholarly article . Additionally, you should keep your research and references limited to authentic and  scholarly sources only.

Tips for Writing a Research Summary

The core concept behind undertaking a research summary is to present a simple and clear understanding of your research paper to the reader. The biggest hurdle while doing that is the number of words you have at your disposal. So, follow the steps below to write a research summary that sticks.

1. Read the parent paper thoroughly

You should go through the research paper thoroughly multiple times to ensure that you have a complete understanding of its contents. A 3-stage reading process helps.

a. Scan: In the first read, go through it to get an understanding of its basic concept and methodologies.

b. Read: For the second step, read the article attentively by going through each section, highlighting the key elements, and subsequently listing the topics that you will include in your research summary.

c. Skim: Flip through the article a few more times to study the interpretation of various experimental results, statistical analysis, and application in different contexts.

Sincerely go through different headings and subheadings as it will allow you to understand the underlying concept of each section. You can try reading the introduction and conclusion simultaneously to understand the motive of the task and how obtained results stay fit to the expected outcome.

2. Identify the key elements in different sections

While exploring different sections of an article, you can try finding answers to simple what, why, and how. Below are a few pointers to give you an idea:

• What is the research question and how is it addressed?
• Is there a hypothesis in the introductory part?
• What type of methods are being adopted?
• What is the sample size for data collection and how is it being analyzed?
• What are the most vital findings?
• Do the results support the hypothesis?

Discussion/Conclusion

• What is the final solution to the problem statement?
• What is the explanation for the obtained results?
• What is the drawn inference?
• What are the various limitations of the study?

3. Prepare the first draft

Now that you’ve listed the key points that the paper tries to demonstrate, you can start writing the summary following the standard structure of a research summary. Just make sure you’re not writing statements from the parent research paper verbatim.

Instead, try writing down each section in your own words. This will not only help in avoiding plagiarism but will also show your complete understanding of the subject. Alternatively, you can use a summarizing tool (AI-based summary generators) to shorten the content or summarize the content without disrupting the actual meaning of the article.

SciSpace Copilot is one such helpful feature! You can easily upload your research paper and ask Copilot to summarize it. You will get an AI-generated, condensed research summary. SciSpace Copilot also enables you to highlight text, clip math and tables, and ask any question relevant to the research paper; it will give you instant answers with deeper context of the article..

4. Include visuals

One of the best ways to summarize and consolidate a research paper is to provide visuals like graphs, charts, pie diagrams, etc.. Visuals make getting across the facts, the past trends, and the probabilistic figures around a concept much more engaging.

5. Double check for plagiarism

It can be very tempting to copy-paste a few statements or the entire paragraphs depending upon the clarity of those sections. But it’s best to stay away from the practice. Even paraphrasing should be done with utmost care and attention.

Also: QuillBot vs SciSpace: Choose the best AI-paraphrasing tool

6. Religiously follow the word count limit

You need to have strict control while writing different sections of a research summary. In many cases, it has been observed that the research summary and the parent research paper become the same length. If that happens, it can lead to discrediting of your efforts and research summary itself. Whatever the standard word limit has been imposed, you must observe that carefully.

7. Proofread your research summary multiple times

The process of writing the research summary can be exhausting and tiring. However, you shouldn’t allow this to become a reason to skip checking your academic writing several times for mistakes like misspellings, grammar, wordiness, and formatting issues. Proofread and edit until you think your research summary can stand out from the others, provided it is drafted perfectly on both technicality and comprehension parameters. You can also seek assistance from editing and proofreading services , and other free tools that help you keep these annoying grammatical errors at bay.

8. Watch while you write

Keep a keen observation of your writing style. You should use the words very precisely, and in any situation, it should not represent your personal opinions on the topic. You should write the entire research summary in utmost impersonal, precise, factually correct, and evidence-based writing.

9. Ask a friend/colleague to help

Once you are done with the final copy of your research summary, you must ask a friend or colleague to read it. You must test whether your friend or colleague could grasp everything without referring to the parent paper. This will help you in ensuring the clarity of the article.

Once you become familiar with the research paper summary concept and understand how to apply the tips discussed above in your current task, summarizing a research summary won’t be that challenging. While traversing the different stages of your academic career, you will face different scenarios where you may have to create several research summaries.

In such cases, you just need to look for answers to simple questions like “Why this study is necessary,” “what were the methods,” “who were the participants,” “what conclusions were drawn from the research,” and “how it is relevant to the wider world.” Once you find out the answers to these questions, you can easily create a good research summary following the standard structure and a precise writing style.

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Section 106 Consultation

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, requires federal agencies take cultural resources into account when planning projects. A summary of Section 106 regulations and how to use them may be found on the web site of the  Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP).

What is the Section 106 bottom line? All federally funded or permitted projects must be reviewed for impacts to cultural resources including historic buildings, structures, landscapes, sites, and archeological sites.

What sorts of projects are federally funded? Federally funded projects include levees developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and highways funded by the Federal Highway Administration through the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). Federal funding can also include less obvious projects such as those developed with money provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). These grants are administered through the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDOC), but since the source of funding is federal, Section 106 regulations apply. Communities often find that projects such as waste water treatment improvements fall under Section 106 due to the original origin of the funding.

KDOT Borrow Areas Certain KDOT projects require the construction contractor to borrow fill dirt from other locations or dispose of dirt onto a location. That activity too must be reviewed for any impact on possible archeological sites. Contractors involved in such projects should use the following form to submit their project information to the Kansas Historical Society, Contract Archeology Program . Borrow Area Request form  (PDF)

How about federally permitted projects? The most commonly encountered permits are those issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). COE permits generally involve projects such as bridges, pipeline crossings over streams, and projects that involve changes to stream channels or flood plains. FERC permits are required for natural gas pipelines and related facilities, while FCC permits are issued for cell towers. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Rural Development Agency (RDA), and Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) often issue loans and permits for housing rehabilitation.

Who reviews the projects? Each state has a State Historic Preservation Officer or SHPO. The Kansas SHPO is the current Executive Director of the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS). As no SHPO is an expert in every subject, each has a staff. At the KSHS, this staff is known as the State Historic Preservation Office, which is part of the Cultural Resources Division. Staff may be reached by calling 785-272-8681 ext. 240 or by emailing [email protected] .

When should I contact the Kansas SHPO? The Kansas SHPO should be contacted as early as possible in the project development process. SHPO staff can offer guidance and help to avoid known archeological sites or areas likely to contain sites. Also, contacting us early will allow us to determine if the building you are working on is listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Should I contact anyone else? The Section 106 regulations require federal agencies or their designees to plan for involving the public in the process. Steps should be taken early in the project to identify as many individuals, organizations, local governments, and American Indian tribes as possible who may have an interest in the project’s impact on historic and cultural resources. See 36 CFR Part 800 for further guidance on public involvement. Native American Tribes with potential consultation  interests in Kansas are listed here.

How do I submit a project for review? The Kansas SHPO accepts requests for review under Section 106 only via the Kansas Review & Compliance online submission system. To submit a request, click the “Submit Your Project” button in the left sidebar.

If possible, communications towers or collocations should be submitted using the  FCC's E-106 system  instead.

Who submits the project for review? In most cases, the design/engineering firm or grant administrator charged with project oversight submits documentation for review.  Some federal agencies, most notably the Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and the Department of Defense (DOD) submit their own projects directly to SHPO.

What should be included in a request for review? The person submitting the request for review should access the Kansas Review & Compliance online submission system at  review.kshs.org/Account/Login  to create an account and/or login to the system. Start the request by selecting “Create New Project” from the left tool bar. The system will ask for basic project data including project name, description, type, and location. Included questions also ask about the property’s Register-listing status, the nature of the project, and the involvement of either federal, state, or local governmental entities. You will need to know the name of the federal agency providing the funding or requiring the permit. There is also space for the applicant to add contact information for any additional people working with the request. The system will allow you to upload multiple documents, maps, plans, drawings, specifications, historical documents, and photographs to further illustrate and explain the project. Projects involving ground-disturbing work must include an aerial or quadrangle map of the project area. Projects involving above-ground resources such as buildings or structures must include photos of those resources.

How long does a review take? By law, the Kansas SHPO is allowed 30 days for review. In practice, most reviews are completed in less than two weeks. Projects are reviewed in the order that they arrive. Within reason, requests for expedited reviews are considered.

What is the outcome of a review involving buildings or structures? After reviewing the description of work, plans, and photos submitted by the applicant, SHPO staff will determine the following: 1. The National Register eligibility of the building or structure 2. If found to be eligible, the effect of the project on the building or structure. If the structure is found to be not eligible for the National Register, the project may proceed without further review. If the structure is found to be eligible, the project must meet the Secretary of the Interior's  Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. If the project does not meet the Standards , the process proceeds to consultation about ways to avoid the adverse impact to the historic property. If the project cannot be avoided, consultation begins to hopefully minimize and mitigate the effect of the project. Mitigation can take many forms including detailed documentation of the historic property, moving a historic building or structure, nomination of another similar property to the National Register of Historic Places, and even setting aside funds to help preserve other historic properties in the area.

What is the outcome of an archeological review? The SHPO Archeologist performs a  Phase I  investigation, examining archeological site files, maps, and other background information for the project area. If in his/her judgment, the proposed project area has low potential for containing archeological sites, a clearance letter issued via the Kansas Review & Compliance online submission system and the process is complete. If, on the other hand, the area has good potential for containing sites or if recorded sites are present, a letter requesting an archeological survey is sent. Since staff time is limited, review of particularly large projects such a major pipelines cannot always be accommodated. In such cases, a letter will be sent recommending that a consultant be hired to perform the Phase I investigation. Once the consultant has completed an examination of background information, the results are submitted to the SHPO Archeologist who will then decide whether or not a survey is necessary.

Access  archeological site and survey GIS data .

What does an archeological survey involve? In most cases, an archeological survey (referred to as a  Phase II  investigation) is conducted by systematically walking over the project area, looking for prehistoric and/or historic artifacts. If surface visibility is poor, shovel testing may be employed. Using this technique, holes are excavated at regular intervals in order to examine the subsurface. In river/stream valley settings, deep testing for buried archeological sites is sometimes necessary. This type of testing in most cases is conducted using a backhoe to examine subsurface areas beneath the reach of shovel testing. Find more information in a  guide to field procedures and report standards .

Who does the archeological survey? Qualified consultants who have asked for inclusion may be found on this list compiled by SHPO staff . Surveys may be conducted by consultants not found on that list, but if that course of action is chosen, the Kansas SHPO staff should be consulted prior to beginning fieldwork to ensure that the consultant is qualified. In fairness to all, Kansas SHPO staff cannot recommend one consultant over another, nor can they comment on cost estimates.

Who pays for the archeological survey? In the case of federally funded projects, the responsible federal agency pays for the survey and for any additional investigations that ultimately might be necessary. Cultural resource costs associated with federally permitted projects are the responsibility of the developer.

What if no sites are found during archeological survey? If the consultant finds no evidence of archeological sites, a report describing the Phase II investigation is submitted for review. If the fieldwork and report are judged by the SHPO Archeologist to be adequate, a clearance letter is issued and the process is complete.

What if something is found during the archeological survey? If the consultant finds an archeological site (or sites) within the project area, a recommendation will be made for systematic archeological testing (referred to as a  Phase III  investigation). Testing generally involves controlled excavation of several (usually small) test units with the objective of determining if the site is significant. At the conclusion of Phase III testing, two outcomes are possible. If the site is not considered to be significant and the testing procedures and report are judged by the SHPO Archeologist to be adequate, a clearance letter is issued and the process is complete. If the site is judged to be significant, then the process moves to mitigation (referred to as a Phase IV  investigation). At any stage, consideration can be given to altering the proposed project to avoid archeological sites.

Who pays for the Phase III testing? As was the case with Phase II surveys, Phase III testing for federally funded projects are paid for by the responsible federal agency. In the case of federally permitted projects, Phase III testing costs are the responsibility of the developer.

What makes a site significant? Not all sites are significant. Significance is determined by the four criteria for listing  in the  National Register of Historic Places . They are Criterion A: association with an important historical event; Criterion B: association with an important historical person; Criterion C: historically important design/construction; and Criterion D: potential to yield important historical or archeological information. Most archeological sites that are found to be significant fall under Criterion D because, with a few notable exceptions, it is very difficult to associate archeological sites with specific events, persons, or types of design/construction. 

What happens if a site is found to be significant? If a site is determined to be significant, it is said to be an “eligible" property, meaning that it is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If the project cannot be modified to avoid the site, then the damage caused by construction must be mitigated per the requirements of the Section 106 process. This is usually accomplished through major ( Phase IV ) salvage excavations, which are designed to recover the information contained in the site prior to its destruction. Plans for excavation are coordinated through the Kansas SHPO and the funding/permitting federal agency through development of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).

Who pays for the Phase IV salvage excavations? As was the case with Phase II surveys and Phase III testing projects, federally funded projects are paid for by the responsible federal agency. In the case of federally permitted projects, Phase IV mitigation/salvage excavation costs are the responsibility of the developer.

Need a letter from the SHPO? Click the button above to access the Kansas Review & Compliance online submission system. Create a new account or login to access the system. Contact SHPO staff members; 785-272-8681, ext. 240; [email protected]

Archeology survey

Learn more about archeology survey and assessment methods . 

Related Content

• Archeology Consultants
• Archeology collection
• Archeology opportunities

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2.1.4: Components of a Research Project

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe useful strategies to employ when searching for literature.
• Describe why sociologists review prior literature and how they organize their literature reviews.
• Identify the main sections contained in scholarly journal articles.
• Identify and describe the major components researchers need to plan for when designing a research project.

In this section, we’ll examine the most typical components that make up a research project, bringing in a few additional components to those we have already discussed. Keep in mind that our purpose at this stage is simply to provide a general overview of research design. The specifics of each of the following components will vary from project to project. Further, the stage of a project at which each of these components comes into play may vary. In later chapters, we will consider more specifically how these components work differently depending on the research method being employed.

Searching for Literature

Familiarizing yourself with research that has already been conducted on your topic is one of the first stages of conducting a research project and is crucial for coming up with a good research design. But where to start? How to start? In  Chapter 1.3 "Beginning a Research Project" , you learned about some of the most common databases that house information about published sociological research. As you search for literature, you may have to be fairly broad in your search for articles.

I’m guessing you may feel you’ve heard enough about electronic gadget addiction in this chapter, so let’s consider a different example here. On my campus, much to the chagrin of a group of student smokers, smoking was recently banned. These students were so upset by the idea that they would no longer be allowed to smoke on university grounds that they staged several smoke-outs during which they gathered in populated areas around campus and enjoyed a puff or two together.

A student in my research methods class wanted to understand what motivated this group of students to engage in activism centered around what she perceived to be, in this age of smoke-free facilities, a relatively deviant act. Were the protesters otherwise politically active? How much effort and coordination had it taken to organize the smoke-outs? The student researcher began her research by attempting to familiarize herself with the literature on her topic. Yet her search in Sociological Abstracts for “college student activist smoke-outs,” yielded no results. Concluding there was no prior research on her topic, she informed me that she would need an alternative assignment to the  annotated bibliography  I required since there was no literature for her to review. How do you suppose I responded to this news? What went wrong with this student’s search for literature?

In her first attempt, the student had been too narrow in her search for articles. But did that mean she was off the hook for completing the annotated bibliography assignment? Absolutely not. Instead, she went back to Sociological Abstracts and searched again using different combinations of search terms. Rather than searching for “college student activist smoke-outs” she tried, among other sets of terms, “college student activism.” This time her search yielded a great many articles. Of course, they were not focused on prosmoking activist efforts, but they were focused on her population of interest, college students, and on her broad topic of interest, activism. I suggested that reading articles on college student activism might give her some idea about what other researchers have found in terms of what motivates college students to become involved in activist efforts. I also suggested she could play around with her search terms and look for research on activism centered on other sorts of activities that are perceived by some as deviant, such as marijuana use or veganism. In other words, she needed to be broader in her search for articles.

While this student found success by broadening her search for articles, her reading of those articles needed to be narrower than her search. Once she identified a set of articles to review by searching broadly, it was time to remind herself of her specific research focus: college student activist smoke-outs. Keeping in mind her particular research interest while reviewing the literature gave her the chance to think about how the theories and findings covered in prior studies might or might not apply to her particular point of focus. For example, theories on what motivates activists to get involved might tell her something about the likely reasons the students  she  planned to study got involved. At the same time, those theories might not cover all the particulars of student participation in smoke-outs. Thinking about the different theories then gave the student the opportunity to focus her research plans and even to develop a few hypotheses about what she thought she was likely to find.

Reviewing the Literature

Developing an annotated bibliography is often one of the early steps that researchers take as they begin to familiarize themselves with prior research on their topic. A second step involves a literature review in which a researcher positions his or her work within the context of prior scholarly work in the area. A literature review addresses the following matters: What sorts of questions have other scholars asked about this topic? What do we already know about this topic? What questions remain? As the researcher answers these questions, he or she synthesizes what is contained in the literature, possibly organizing prior findings around themes that are relevant to his or her particular research focus.

I once advised an undergraduate student who conducted a research project on speciesism, the belief that some species are superior to or have more value and rights than others. Her research question was “Why and how do humans construct divisions between themselves and animals?” This student organized her review of literature around the two parts of her research question: the why and the how. In the “why” section of her literature review, she described prior research that addressed questions of why humans are sometimes speciesist. She organized subsections around the three most common answers that were presented in the scholarly literature. She used the same structure in the “how” section of her literature review, arranging subsections around the answers posed in previous literature about  how  humans construct divisions between themselves and animals. This organizational scheme helped readers understand what we already know about the topic and what theories we rely on to help make sense of the topic. In addition, by also highlighting what we still don’t know, it helped the student set the stage for her own empirical research on the topic.

The preceding discussion about how to organize a review of scholarly literature assumes that we all know how to read scholarly literature. Yes, yes, I understand that you must know how to read. But reading scholarly articles can be a bit more challenging than reading a textbook. Here are a few pointers about how to do it successfully. First, it is important to understand the various sections that are typically contained in scholarly journals’ reports of empirical research. One of the most important and easiest to spot sections of a journal article is its  abstract , the short paragraph at the beginning of an article that summarizes the author’s research question, methods used to answer the question, and key findings. The abstract may also give you some idea about the theoretical proclivities of the author. As a result, reading the abstract gives you both a framework for understanding the rest of the article and the punch line. It tells you what the author(s) found and whether the article is relevant to your area of inquiry.

After the abstract, most journal articles will contain the following sections (although exact section names are likely to vary): introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, and discussion. Of course, there will also be a list of references cited,Lists of references cited are a useful source for finding additional literature in an area. and there may be a few tables, figures, or appendices at the end of the article as well. While you should get into the habit of familiarizing yourself with articles you wish to cite  in their entirety , there are strategic ways to read journal articles that can make them a little easier to digest. Once you have read the abstract and determined that this is an article you’d like to read in full, read through the discussion section at the end of the article next. Because your own review of literature is likely to emphasize findings from previous literature, you should make sure that you have a clear idea about what those findings are. Reading an article’s discussion section helps you understand what the author views as the study’s major findings and how the author perceives those findings to relate to other research.

As you read through the rest of the article, think about the elements of research design that we have covered in this chapter. What approach does the researcher take? Is the research exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? Is it inductive or deductive? Idiographic or nomothetic? Qualitative or quantitative? What claims does the author make about causality? What are the author’s units of analysis and observation? Use what you have learned in this chapter about the promise and potential pitfalls associated with each of these research elements to help you responsibly read and understand the articles you review. Future chapters of this text will address other elements of journal articles, including choices about measurement, sampling, and research method. As you learn about these additional items, you will increasingly gain more knowledge that you can apply as you read and critique the scholarly literature in your area of inquiry.

Additional Important Components

Thinking about the overarching goals of your research project and finding and reviewing the existing literature on your topic are two of the initial steps you’ll take when designing a research project. Forming a clear research question, as discussed in  Chapter 1.3 "Beginning a Research Project" , is another crucial step. There are a number of other important research design components you’ll need to consider, and we will discuss those here.

At the same time that you work to identify a clear research question, you will probably also think about the overarching goals of your research project. Will it be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? Will your approach be idiographic or nomothetic, inductive or deductive? How you design your project might also be determined in part by whether you aim for your research to have some direct application or if your goal is to contribute more generally to sociological knowledge about your topic. Next, think about what your units of analysis and units of observation will be. These will help you identify the key concepts you will study. Once you have identified those concepts, you’ll need to decide how to define them, and how you’ll  know  that you’re observing them when it comes time to collect your data. Defining your concepts, and knowing them when you see them, has to do with conceptualization and operationalization. Of course, you also need to know what approach you will take to collect your data. Thus identifying your research method is another important part of research design. You also need to think about who your research participants will be and what larger group(s) they may represent. Last, but certainly not least, you should consider any potential ethical concerns that could arise during the course of your research project. These concerns might come up during your data collection, but they might also arise when you get to the point of analyzing or sharing your research results.

Decisions about the various research components do not necessarily occur in sequential order. In fact, you may have to think about potential ethical concerns even before zeroing in on a specific research question. Similarly, the goal of being able to make generalizations about your population of interest could shape the decisions you make about your method of data collection. Putting it all together, the following list shows some of the major components you’ll need to consider as you design your research project:

• Research question
• Literature review
• Research strategy (idiographic or nomothetic, inductive or deductive)
• Research goals (basic or applied)
• Units of analysis and units of observation
• Key concepts (conceptualization and operationalization)
• Method of data collection
• Research participants (sample and population)
• Ethical concerns

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When identifying and reading relevant literature, be broad in your search  for  articles, but be narrower in your reading  of  articles.
• Writing an annotated bibliography can be a helpful first step to familiarize yourself with prior research in your area of interest.
• Literature reviews summarize and synthesize prior research.
• Literature reviews are typically organized around substantive ideas that are relevant to one’s research question rather than around individual studies or article authors.
• When designing a research project, be sure to think about, plan for, and identify a research question, a review of literature, a research strategy, research goals, units of analysis and units of observation, key concepts, method(s) of data collection, population and sample, and potential ethical concerns.
• Find and read a complete journal article that addresses a topic that is of interest to you (perhaps using Sociological Abstracts, which is introduced in  Chapter 3.1 "Beginning a Research Project" ). In four to eight sentences, summarize the author’s research question, theoretical framing, methods used, and major findings. Reread the article, and see how close you were in reporting these key elements. What did you understand and remember best? What did you leave out? What reading strategies may have helped you better recall relevant details from the article?
• Using the example of students’ electronic gadget addictions, design a hypothetical research project by identifying a plan for each of the nine components of research design that are presented in this section.

Evaluation of a mentored student project programme using reflective summaries

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Pharmacology, Centre for Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal Campus, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India.
• 2 Department of Physiology, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal Campus, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India.
• PMID: 33753639
• DOI: 10.4103/0970-258X.310920

Background: . Undergraduate research experience has become increasingly relevant for today's medical students, considering the professional requirements of their challenging future.

Methods: . In the mentored student project (MSP) programme at Melaka Manipal Medical College, students undertake a short-term group research project under the guidance of their mentor. After data collection and analysis, students are required to write an abstract, present a poster and also write individual reflective summaries of their research experience. We evaluated the MSP programme using reflective summaries of a batch of undergraduate medical students. Data from 41 reflective summaries were analysed using the thematic analysis approach. The learning outcomes at the third and fourth levels of the Kirkpatrick evaluation model were determined from the summaries.

Results: . Students' reflective summaries indicated that they were satisfied with the MSP experience. In all the summaries, there was a mention of an improvement in teamwork skills through MSP. Improved relations with mentors were another relevant outcome. Improvement in communication skills and a positive change related to research attitude were also reported by students.

Conclusions: . Reflective summaries as a means to evaluate the MSP programme was found to be an easy, feasible and cost-effective method. The qualitative approach adopted for data analysis enabled the programme coordinators to assess the strengths and barriers of the programme.

• Education, Medical, Undergraduate*
• Students, Medical*

ENG 106 Composition II : The Research Process

• The Research Process
• Start with Reference
• Finding Books
• Scholarly vs The World
• Journal & Magazine Articles
• Evaluate Websites
• Writing and Citing Help

Getting Started

The research process usually follows a path from general to specific kinds of information. Most of the time when researching a topic for a project, you start with general knowledge--things you already know or information you gather from general sources. As you learn more about the topic and find what interests you, you move into more specific information.

This ENG 106 course guide will lead you through the research process, and provide links to resources at the A.C. Buehler Library where you can search for the information you need.

To use the resources on this page, click on the tabs above.

Research Inventories

Doing a research inventory at the beginning of your project can be very helpful. 

• It helps you figure out what info you are starting with.
• It gives you a start deciding on search terms.
• It helps you identify questions you have on the topic.
• Research Inventory Exercise

Contact Your ENG Dept. Librarian

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English 106/108: First-Year Composition

• Introduction to Purdue Libraries
• Choosing a Topic
• Creating a Search Strategy
• Finding Articles
• Finding Books
• Evaluating Sources
• Scholarly Sources and Peer Review
• Writing and Multimedia Projects
• Free Web vs. Hidden Web
• Engineering Resources

Information Literacy

• Archival & Primary Source Literacy
• Information Literacy Introduction
• Teaching Materials
• Helpful Resources

What is Information Literacy?

Information Literacy is the term used to describe the ability to effectively locate, evaluate, and communicate information. This skill set is critical not only in the realm of academia, where it is necessary for proper research and writing, but outside of academia, where it is necessary to navigate the constant flood of information (and mis/disinformation) that characterizes life in the 21st century. The Association of College and Research Libraries identifies six important concepts that compose a successful understanding of information literacy:

• Authority is constructed and contextual
• Information creation as a process
• Information has value
• Research as inquiry
• Scholarship as conversation
• Searching as strategic exploration

Some or all of these may sound familiar to you as concepts that you already include in your instruction -- they are relevant to ICaP Outcomes 1, 3, and particularly 5. Intentionally embedding information literacy into your curriculum can assist in reinforcing those concepts. For more details on each of these points and on information literacy in general, see the "Helpful Resources" tab.

What is Provided on This Page?

The teaching materials on this page (see the "Teaching Materials" tab) are designed to be presented to students in order to help cultivate the skill of information literacy. Ideally, the lessons you choose to implement should precede students' research projects, so that students are able to properly benefit from developing these skills. The instructor is encouraged to modify the lessons as necessary in order to fit them into the course.

Before implementing the lessons provided on this page, it may help to determine one's students' current level of knowledge. For this purpose, we have created the Pre-Assessment Activity found in the "Teaching Materials" tab. If you have questions about any of the assignments or activities or how to embed them into your course, please contact Kristin Leaman: [email protected] .

Information Literacy Activities and Assignments

Below are information literacy activities designed by the Purdue Libraries. If you have questions about implementing these activities into your course, please email Kristin Leaman:  [email protected] .

• Info Lit Pre-Assessment Activity In-class activity designed to evaluate students' abilities to search, access, and evaluate research.
• Database Exploration Activity In-class activity to help introduce students to the many Purdue Libraries databases, and how to locate and navigate them.
• Scavenger Hunt Activity A document containing three scavenger hunts that direct students to find items within the Purdue Libraries system that fit certain criteria. There is one activity for the general catalog, one for databases, and one for the archives. The first page of the document contains instructions and suggestions for how to use this activity in your class.
• Digital Library Tour A document that provides an overview of the Purdue Libraries website and catalog, allowing instructors to guide their students through the library's online resources.
• Tracing Sources A lesson on how to use appropriate caution and look deeper when getting information from Wikipedia or popular media. The document includes outlines for lectures, in-class and take-home activities, and bullet points for talking about each slide in the associated PowerPoint file.
• Tracing Sources Slide Deck A PowerPoint associated with the Tracing Sources lesson.
• Mis/Disinformation A primer on misinformation and disinformation, adapted from a lesson created by Melissa Chomintra.
• Mis/Disinformation Slide Deck A PowerPoint associated with the Mis/Disinformation lesson, created by Melissa Chomintra.
• Fact Checking A lesson on performing one's own fact checking in order to guard against mis/disinformation. Meant to follow the "Mis/Disinformation" and "Tracing Sources" activities. Includes a long series of slides and notes for a lecture using them.
• Fact Checking Slide Deck A PowerPoint associated with the Fact Checking lesson.
• The Publication Cycle This document created by Ula Gaha is a wonderful illustration of how the publication cycle works.

Worksheets and In-Class Prompts

The following worksheets and in-class prompts are designed to help your students through the research and writing process by helping them develop and support their topics. two examples of peer review worksheets are also provided for your students to utilize during their in-class peer review sessions. .

• Selecting a Topic Worksheet
• Thesis Statement Worksheet
• Developing Your Argument Worksheet
• Argument Essay Worksheet 1
• Argument Essay Worksheet 2
• Scholarly Article Analysis Worksheet
• Peer Review Worksheet Example 1
• Peer Review Worksheet Example 2

Syllabus Materials

The documents in this section are helpful examples of AI/ChatGPT and Information Literacy Statements that can be embedded into an English 106/108 syllabus. While these materials are centered for English 106/108, they can be utilized for other courses. 

• ChatGPT/Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Generative Text Policy Example
• Information Literacy Statement Example
• ACRL InfoLit Framework The "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" as provided by the Association of College and Research Libraries.

The Association of College and Research Libraries has provided a detailed framework regarding the nature of information literacy and how to implement it in higher education. That framework can be found here . Above is a PDF version.

• SAA Primary Source Literacy Guidelines The "Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy" as provided by the Society of American Archivists.
• Purdue Libraries Tutorials

The tutorials found at the above link include content in both text and video forms. Topics covered include how to identify whether an article is scholarly, how to do effective research, and how to navigate aspects of the Purdue Libraries system.

• Foundations of the Research Process Tutorials Here you will find brief videos on foundational aspects of conducting research—from the conception of a research topic, to searching the Purdue Libraries’ catalog, to fully citing other scholarship in your research. Feel free to watch the videos as a complete series, or view select videos to help you with a particular research skill needed for a course assignment or other research endeavor.
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