Graduate research is like joining a panel discussion at an academic conference—you must know what others have said, respect their contributions, and offer your own reasoned, evidence-based voice to move the discussion forward.
Rips Law Librarian. (2022, March). Scholarship is an ongoing conversation [Image]. WordPress. https://ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/scholarship-is-ongoing-conversation.png
First things first...
Research success necessitates organization and a research plan:
- Good notetaking is vital, including an organized way to capture the information needed to cite your sources properly.
- Your credibility as a researcher is related to your ability to plan and organize your work.
- Good notetaking helps to prevent plagiarism.
The Benefit of Background Information
Once you have your research question(s) and topic, it is important to find sources to build your background information:
- Tertiary sources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.) are very helpful in building your background knowledge of a topic.
- Background knowledge means taking note of the specialized vocabulary, people, places, and dates associated with the topic.
- This knowledge is how you will best build relevant keyword and subject searches.
Research Emotions
The research process is emotional and cyclical!
- At the beginning you might feel excitement about your topic or uncertainty in your abilities or a little bit of both.
- During the process you will have highs and lows, successes and frustrations, as you search for sources and really dig into the material.
- The highs and lows will come and go throughout the process—this is all perfectly normal.
- Even at the end, especially of a big project that you have spent a lot of time on, you might be excited to be finished, nervous about your grade, or a bit unsure of what do to with all your free time.
- It's all normal!
Using the PEO Framework
Using the PEO Framework to Formulate Research Questions in Leadership Studies
The PEO framework—Population, Exposure, Outcome—is a useful tool for developing focused, answerable research questions, particularly in qualitative research. While originally developed for clinical contexts, it is increasingly applied in fields such as education, organizational behavior, and leadership studies to explore lived experiences, perceptions, and contextual influences (Booth, Sutton, & Papaioannou, 2016).
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Population (P): The group or demographic under study
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Exposure (E): The experience, condition, or environment being examined
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Outcome (O): The result, perception, or theme of interest
Using the PEO model ensures that research questions are both structured and exploratory—ideal for studies examining leadership behaviors, practices, or development within specific populations or contexts.
Example: Leadership-Focused PEO Question
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P (Population): Mid-level managers in nonprofit organizations
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E (Exposure): Participation in leadership coaching programs
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O (Outcome): Perceived impact on leadership confidence and decision-making
Sample research question: "How do mid-level managers in nonprofit organizations perceive the impact of leadership coaching programs on their confidence and decision-making?"
This question is aligned with qualitative methodologies such as thematic analysis or phenomenological inquiry and supports the development of effective search strategies for relevant literature.
Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. (2016). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Richardson, W. S., Wilson, M. C., Nishikawa, J., & Hayward, R. S. (1995). The well-built clinical question: A key to evidence-based decisions. ACP
Journal Club, 123(3), A12–A13.
Teesside University. (2022). PEO for qualitative research. LibGuides. https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/c.php?g=677985&p=4862473
Reference Mining
Reference mining—also known as citation searching—is the process of using the reference lists of scholarly works and citation tools to discover additional, relevant sources. It allows you to build a more comprehensive, connected, and high-quality literature review by following scholarly conversations both backward and forward in time.
Backward Reference Mining
This involves reviewing the reference list or bibliography of an article to find older or foundational sources that the author used.
How to do backward reference mining:
- Locate the articles reference list or bibliography
- Scan the list for titles relevant to your research topic
- Search for those titles using:
- Google Scholar
- Databases
Forward Reference Mining
This involves finding newer articles that have cited the article you are currently reading--helping you trace how the conversation has evolved.
How to do forward reference mining:
- Search the article's title (or DOI) in:
- Google Scholar
- Semantic Scholar
- In Google Scholar
- Locate the article in the search results
- Click the "Cited by" link below the article to see newer works that cited it.
- In Semantic Scholar:
- Enter the article title or DOI in the search bar (avoid full citations in APA style).
- On the article's page, scroll to the "Citations" section to view newer articles citing the one you're using
Mapping Your Research Question
Concept mapping is useful for database searching because it helps identify the key concepts in your research question and organize them clearly. It allows you to generate synonyms and related terms, which improves the breadth and accuracy of your search. By visually mapping these elements, you can create more effective Boolean search strings and avoid missing relevant literature. Here is an example of concept mapping for the sample research question below:
"How do mid-level managers in nonprofit organizations perceive the impact of leadership coaching programs on their confidence and decision-making?"
|
Core Concept |
Synonyms/Related Terms |
|
Mid-level managers in non-profits |
Mid-level managers; middle managers; nonprofit leaders; NGO administrators; voluntary sector managers |
|
Leadership coaching programs |
Leadership coaching; executive coaching; management coaching; leadership development; coaching intervention; professional development |
|
Confidence and decision-making |
Confidence, self-confidence, self-efficacy; decision-making; judgment; perceived impact; leadership effectiveness; perceptions |
