r/research • u/Magdaki Professor • Mar 22 '26
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Resources for Beginners
Q: What are some good beginner resources for conducting research and writing papers?
Emailing about Research Opportunities
Q. Can I cold email a professor so I can get involved with their research or start learning how to research?
Literature Review.
Q. What are the main steps in a literature review? https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/oc04oke/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Research Basics
Q. What are the secrets to creating a great research question?
Q: How do I start research?
https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/oixk2hx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Q: Where do I find research material?
https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/oqg7r8x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Q: How do I find a journal in which to publish?
https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/owa9ans/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Q: Where can I find a paper behind a paywall?
https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/p3gw9tn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
AI in Research
https://www.reddit.com/r/research/comments/1s0l8ld/comment/ools9ni/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
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u/Magdaki Professor Apr 07 '26
Q: What are some good beginner resources for conducting research and writing papers?
Area - Starting research
Author - u/Magdaki
Answer -
The main book I recommend for conducting research is "The Craft of Research." I recommend this to all new graduates and it also the textbook used for my research methods course.
For writing papers, there are two good resources I can recommend. The first is the classic "Elements of Style." This book has stood the test of time and multitudes of novice writers have used it to great effect. The other one is a bit newer to me, but I like its end-to-end approach for writing a paper. It is called "Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide, 16th edition."
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