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Key Concepts to Memorize
Definition of Research:
> "Answering questions in a systematic way to increase knowledge"
7-Step Research Process:
1. Define the research question
2. Background research (literature review)
3. Formulate hypothesis
4. Design the study (methods)
5. Collect data
6. Analyze data
7. Draw conclusions → communicate results
Peer Review Process:
Submission → Peer Review (2–3 experts) → Revision → Acceptance → Publication- Reviewers are independent experts in the field
- Authors revise based on feedback
- Goal: quality control, validation, credibility
Academic Paper Structure:
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Summary of the whole paper |
| Introduction | Background, motivation, research gap |
| Methods | How the study was conducted |
| Results | What was found |
| Discussion | What it means, limitations |
| Conclusion | Main takeaways |
| References | Cited sources |
Literature Databases:
- Google Scholar — broad, general search across all fields
- Scopus — citation tracking, metrics
- Web of Science — impact factors, journal rankings
- PubMed — medical and biomedical literature
Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid (bottom = weakest → top = strongest):
Metaanalyses ← strongest
Systematic Reviews
Traditional Reviews
Individual Studies
Expert Opinions ← weakestLLMs in Research — Limitations:
- LLMs cannot generate genuinely new knowledge (they recombine existing text)
- Hallucinations = plagiarism — fabricated citations/facts are unacceptable in research
- ArXiv: preprint server — NO peer review, only minimal screening for completeness
- Fast dissemination but no quality guarantee