COVID-19 as a Research Topic

If your research topic is COVID-19 . . .

you should keep a few important things in mind.

The situation is constantly evolving

• Information you find today might change by tomorrow

Scholarly research is underway

• but probably not complete
• scholarly articles on the current coronavirus situation may be difficult to find
• conducting formal research studies takes time
• publishing scholarly articles based on the results of research takes even longer

The situation is politically charged

• Facts about the virus can be found, but you must use objective, data-driven sources
• Objective sources will be based on fact and not try to cause a reaction in the reader (for example fear, anger, laughter, sadness)
• Opinions on what to do and what effect the virus is having in the U.S. vary widely
• Avoid sources that are emotional or angry, or that tell the reader what to think, feel or do

Know who wrote what you are reading

• Find the author's name on the article. If the name is hyperlinked, follow the link and read about that author
• If the author is listed but you can't find out anything about them from the article, Google them to learn who they are 
• If there is no author, figure out who published the article (a government organization, a news site, etc)
• Read the About Us or any information about the publisher that you can find linked from the article
• If you can't find an About Us, Google the publisher to learn more about them and what kind of information they publish
• If you can't learn enough about the author or publisher to fully trust that they are providing good information, don't use that source.