Good research practices follows certain criteria to term the information as 'research-based'; it utilizes a scientific rigor in the investigation, involves evidence-based research methodology, incorporates design practices, is comprehensive, and is conducted by a person with subject expertise and research experience. The sources, design practices and methodology determine if the information provided is research-based. Sources such as scientific publications, Government reports, scientific reviews and data evaluations of an organization include research-based information.
Review
Reviewing involves using design inputs for conducting research. After performing the research, review the research results to validate the findings as foolproof. The research gives an insight on the further implications of the research studies and also allows you to find evidence to give credibility to the research. While following the design practices such as 'competitive analysis' and 'discovery' in making research-based information, take into account the user needs, the context, and the content. Use competitive analysis to find the appropriate context for your research; you review and process all the available data to gather the best information. Follow research practices like discovery of project-specific research that blends the user needs and the content.
Detail
The user requires detail-oriented research-based information, especially if the information is a scientific review. Identify the topic scope and the research goals and convey the information as functional specifications; find topic scope by gathering all the relevant data; describe specific studies with focus on result findings to deepen the user's understanding of the topic. Relate your research to the pertinent questions. Address the questions to fulfill content needs in the research and provide a short literature summary of evidence to back up your answer. Broad relevance of the field might make the research fragmented and hamper coherence. Follow methodology in research to generate information that is focused on the topic. Constraints such as budget needs, scheduled effort, team strength and technology infrastructure are the myriad design inputs that shape the research design in any information architecture project.
Evidence
Reports and assertions may be carelessly mentioned as research-based information. For example, in an article from a published journal, an author may refer to a 'practice' without giving conclusive evidence; don't describe the 'practice' as research-based. Check credibility of the evidence that backs up the provided information by reviewing the highlighted citations. Ensure to provide research-based information from conclusions based on listed evidence. Adhere to the goals and methods of research and provide the types of evidence that is accepted as research-based; such evidence includes data from pre-tests, post-tests, experiments and control models. Be wary of contradicting information that might make the generated information more puzzling than clear.
Expertise
As a researcher, you need to have an explicit and tacit knowledge of the subject to take the research in the right direction. Research-based information comes from browsing online content, library information and academic journals; analyze the data with expertise to provide appropriate information. For example, research-based knowledge has implications in policy decision making in. Practice following published guidelines required for the research. The design practices and methodology makes information truly research-based; the design practices used to generate the information include goals, scope, constraints, discovery, competitive analysis, expertise, experience, guidelines, published research and usability testing; the methodology used in conducting the research include evidence-based information as opposed to practice-based information.
