ABSTRACT
Archaeologists do research all over the world, but regardless of where they work, they follow a standard process for conducting research. This process consists of five separate phases: asking questions, building models, collecting data, analyzing data, and evaluating results. Each takes different amounts of effort and money (asking questions, for example, may take only a moment of free thought, while analyzing data may take years and cost thousands of dollars), but all are vital to reading the archaeological record. In this chapter, I introduce you to each phase of the archaeological research process using examples from my own research and training.
