Graduate Student Resources

What are research methods?

"Research methods are the strategies, processes or techniques utilized in the collection of data or evidence for analysis in order to uncover new information or create better understanding of a topic."                 

                                                                                          -Research Methods, University of Newcastle Library Guides

Types of research methods include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. See below for resources including qualitative and quantitative research software, tools, and information about archival and primary source research. 

Research Software and Tools

Archival and Primary Source Research Resources

Literature Reviews

"A literature review provides an overview of what's been written about a specific topic. It is a generic term. There are many different types of literature reviews which can cover a wide range of subjects at various levels of completeness and comprehensiveness. Choosing the type of review you wish to conduct will depend on the purpose of your review, and the time and resources you have available."

                                                                                                                     -University of Toronto Health Network Library guide

UMBC Library Literature Review workshop recordings

• How to Write a Social Science/Humanities Literature Review recording
• How to Write a STEM Literature Review (Introduction) recording
• How to Write a STEM Literature Review (Advanced) recording

Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses

Systematic and evidence-based reviews are comprehensive literature reviews often in social science or health fields with an "aim is to identify and synthesize all of the scholarly research on a particular topic, including both published and unpublished studies. Evidence syntheses are conducted in an unbiased, reproducible way to provide evidence for practice and policy-making, as well as to identify gaps in the research. Evidence syntheses may also include a meta-analysis, a more quantitative process of synthesizing and visualizing data retrieved from various studies...Evidence syntheses are much more time-intensive than traditional literature reviews and require a multi-person research team."

                                                                                                               -Cornell University Library Evidence Synthesis Guide

IRB Resources at UMBC

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensures that research involving human subjects meets appropriate ethical and regulatory standards. Submitting your research procedures for IRB review is an essential part of human subjects research. 

Data Management 

What is Data Management? 

"Data management covers all steps in the collection, processing, storing and sharing of research data, including:

• Processing and analyzing your data
• Verifying and documenting your data
• Data formats, naming, and organization
• Data archiving and sharing
• Ethics and attribution of data"

(-From the Data Management guide from the Portland State University Library)