Before diving in, it's a good idea to explore background information to place your topic in the context of the broader discipline that you study, reveal useful search terms, and - best of all - stimulate questions that inspire your writing.
Important Considerations
Scholarly resources provide verifiable, solid information to inform and support your argument. You'll find these types of resources on the Find Sources page.
Don't forget to grab the citations for the information you've found. It saves time and energy later.
For some excellent search tips, have a look here.
While you're reading, be sure to highlight, copy-and-paste, or otherwise compile the most pertinent information as relates to to your topic. In other words, pull out support material to build your argument. It's probably best to compile all this info in a fresh document because it sets up the next step and makes it easier.
Don't forget to note the sources alongside the points in this document because it saves time and energy during the documentation step (not pictured) later.
If you've followed along so far, you should have a sandbox document full of paraphrases and direct quotes. Now it is time to sort those (already cited) facts & quotes into an argument or outline to guide and shape your writing. Sometimes a computer document is too big and messy. If so, try printing out your mess, cutting out the individual points, and spreading them out on a table.
Anyway, once you've arranged these points in a progression that makes sense to you, all that's left to do is to connect the dots with your own words.
The Oxford Guide to Library Research by Easily and efficiently choose a research topic & find authoritative information to support a research claim
How-to tutorials on research, evaluation, and writing
