연구 수행의 전반적인 과정과 구조를 정리한 가이드입니다.

Good research builds upon, extends, and cites previous works.

What is Source-Based Research?

Academic research is not just about having ideas — it is about supporting those ideas with evidence from reliable sources.

In a nutshell, finding and citing sources involves:

Searching: Find relevant academic information
Evaluating: Decide whether the source is trustworthy
Using: Integrate evidence into your argument
Citing: Give proper credit to original authors

Core Stages of Finding & Citing Resources

Before anything else, return to your Research Question.
What information do you need to know to answer your Research Question?

1. Identify Keywords

Example topic:

“How does chatbot feedback affect student learning outcomes?”

Possible keywords:

chatbot feedback
AI tutoring
student learning outcomes
educational technology
classroom AI

Also try synonyms, broader / narrower terms, or related concepts.

Search Strategy Example

“AI chatbot feedback AND student performance”
“large language models in education”
“automated tutoring systems”

Need help? Ask an LLM for suggestions:
See more in Unit 9 →

I am researching [your topic].

Please generate: relevant academic keywords, related concepts, alternative terminology,
and possible Boolean search combinations for finding scholarly articles.

2. Find Academic Sources

Your University library system may be the best place to start.

The best types of scholarly sources include:

Source Type	Best For
Journal articles	Original research
Literature reviews	Topic overviews
Conference papers	New/emerging research
Books	Foundational theory
Government reports	Statistics and policy

Some places to search:

Google Scholar ↗
Research Gate ↗
University library databases - This may be the best place to start as most are able to search through multiple academic databases for articles including:
- Research journals
- Conference proceedings
- Government publications
- Books and academic textbooks

See this link (coming soon) for more help accessing and searching your university library database (in Korea).

Understand Types of Sources

Primary Sources: Original evidence or first-hand research

Experiments
Surveys
Interviews
Original datasets

Secondary Sources: Analysis or discussion of primary research

Review articles
Textbooks
Commentary papers

3. Evaluate Source Credibility

Good academic sources will pass the CRAAP test (see below).

Good sources are usually:

Written by experts
Published by reputable journals or institutions
Supported by evidence
Recent enough for the topic
Relevant to your research question
Pass the CRAAP Test
- C — Current: Is the information recent enough?
- R — Relevant: Does it directly relate to your topic?
- A — Authority: Is the author or organization credible?
- A — Accurate: Is the evidence supported and verifiable?
- P — Purpose: Is the source informative, persuasive, biased, or commercial?

Keep Track of Sources Efficiently

Helpful source collecting tools include: Zotero ↗, Mendeley ↗, EndNote ↗, and citation generators. These tools save time, but: ⚠ Always double-check formatting errors.

4. Read Sources Efficiently

If you haven’t found a reason to cite the paper within 10 minutes, stop reading and move to the next one.

📋 The Efficient Reading Checklist

Instead of reading from start to finish, check these elements in order to decide if the paper is worth a deep dive:

The Abstract: Does the study’s core finding directly relate to your question?
The “Gap” Statement: Usually in the last paragraph of the Introduction. What problem are they solving?
The Discussion/Conclusion: Read this before the Results. It summarizes what the data actually means.
The Figures & Tables: Can you understand the main result just by looking at the charts?
The References: Use the “Breadcrumb” method. Who are they citing frequently? Those are your must-read “seed” papers.

💡 Pro-Tips for Speed

“Search & Destroy”: Use Cmd+F (or Ctrl+F) for keywords like “however”, “limitations”, “future research”, or “significant.”
AI Summarizers: Use tools like The Moonlight ↗, Scholarcy ↗ or Consensus ↗ to get a high-level “flashcard” of the paper’s main claims before you open the PDF.
(More on using AI in Unit 9 →.)
The 10-Minute Rule: If you haven’t found a reason to cite the paper within 10 minutes, stop reading and move to the next one.

5. Take Organized Notes

Write by “theme” rather than “summary.”

🏗️ The Synthesis Matrix (Writing Prep)

Don’t just take notes on individual papers. Create a table (Excel or Notion) where each row is a paper and each column is a theme or variable. This allows you to write by “theme” rather than “summary.”

Source (Author, Year)	Research Aim	Methodology	Key Findings	The “Gap” or Limitation
Smith (2022)	Remote work productivity	Survey	15% increase	Only looked at tech sector
Doe (2023)	Burnout in tech	Interviews	High correlation	Small sample size

6. Use & Cite Sources Properly

Sources support your own ideas, not replace them.

Part of doing ethical research is citing your sources. Sources should support your own ideas, not replace them.

Do	Don’t
✔ Summarize findings in your own words	❌ Copying text without citation
✔ Compare multiple sources	❌ Paraphrasing too closely
✔ Explain WHY the evidence matters	❌ Using unreliable websites as evidence

Use Sources Effectively

Strong research combines multiple sources into one discussion. For example:

“While Source A suggests chatbot feedback improves engagement, Source B argues the effect depends on feedback timing.”

On the other hand, weak writing merely reports without synthesizing:

“Source A says this. Source B says this.”

Cite Sources Properly

There are various citation formats, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, but most engineering and computer science fields use the IEEE style for references. This means:

References are numbered in the order they appear in the text (e.g., [1], [2], etc.)
The reference list at the end of the paper is ordered by these numbers, not alphabetically
Each reference includes specific information such as author names, paper title, conference/journal name, year, etc.
Whenever possible, always include the article’s DOI (Digital Object Identifier). This is a permanent link to an article that makes it easy to verify sources.

Example Citations:

[1] J. Doe and A. Smith, “Title of the Paper,” in Proceedings of the Conference Name, Year, pp. 1-10. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
[2] J. Doe, “Title of the Journal Article,” Journal Name, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 100-110, Year. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
[3] J. Doe, “Title of the Book,” Publisher, Year. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
[4] J. Doe, “Title of the Conference Paper,” in Proceedings of the Conference Name, Year, pp. 20-30. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
[6] J. Doe, “Title of the Book Chapter,” in Title of the Book, Publisher, Year, pp. 50-70.
[7] J. Doe, “Title of the Website,” Year. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com
[8] J. Doe, “Title of the Dataset,” Year. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com/dataset
[9] J. Doe, “Title of the Software,” Version, Year. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com/software
[10] J. Doe, “Title of the Patent,” Patent Number, Year. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com/patent

Real Example:

[1] M. J. López Mansueti and A. Snowberger, “A Low-Cost Sentinel-1 SAR and Google Earth Engine Pipeline for Flood Detection in Mid-Size Cities: Validation on the July 2023 Jeonju Flood Event,” in Proceedings of the KIICE, 2026, pp. 100-110.
[2] U.S. Department of Energy, “Fuel Cell Basics.” Accessed: May 11, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/fuels/fuel-cell-basics
[3] S. B. Mousavi, P. Ahmadi, and M. Raeesi, “Performance evaluation of a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell/battery bus with fuel cell degradation and battery aging,” Renewable Energy, vol. 227, 2024, Art. no. 120456. doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120456.
[4] R. Ghimire, S. Niroula, B. Pandey, A. Subedi, and B. S. Thapa, “Techno-economic assessment of fuel cell-based power backup system as an alternative to diesel generators in Nepal: A case study for hospital applications,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 56, pp. 289–301, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.12.174.
[5] International Energy Agency (IEA), “Hydrogen.” Accessed: May 11, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/low-emission-fuels/hydrogen

Try to include:

3–6 references for a conference paper
10+ references for a journal paper
30-50+ references for a Tier 1 (SCIE) journal such as IEEE Access or an MDPI journal

Key point: Good research depends on trustworthy sources and clear citation practices.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Using only Google searches
Relying on Wikipedia as a main source
Reading too many irrelevant papers
Forgetting citation information
Citing sources you did not actually read
Using outdated studies
Overusing direct quotations
Waiting until the end to build citations

See also: Unit 8 →

Finding & Citing Sources