General Steps to Research

IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC

State your topic as a question. Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Look up your keywords in the indexes to subject encyclopedias. Read articles in these encyclopedias to set the context for your research. Note any relevant items in the bibliographies at the end of the encyclopedia articles. Additional background information may be found in your lecture notes, textbooks, and reserve readings.

USE CATALOGS TO FIND BOOKS

Use keyword searching for a narrow or complex search topic. Use subject searching for a broad subject. Print or write down the citation (author, title, etc.) and the location information (call number and library). Note the circulation status. When you pull the book from the shelf, scan the bibliography for additional sources. Watch for book-length bibliographies and annual reviews on your subject; they list citations to hundreds of books and articles in one subject area. More detailed instructions for using catalogs to find books.

USE INDEXES TO FIND PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Use periodical indexes and abstracts to find citations to articles. The indexes and abstracts may be in print or computer-based formats or both. Choose the indexes and format best suited to your particular topic; ask at the reference desk if you need help figuring out which index and format will be best. You can find periodical articles by the article author or title by using the periodical indexes in the Library Catalog. When you have recorded or printed out the citation from the index, locate the library that owns the periodical you want by looking up the title of the periodical in the Library Catalog.

FIND INTERNET RESOURCES

Use search engines and subject directories to locate materials on the Web. Then evaluate.

1. What is the source of the page?

a. Who wrote it? Credentials?
b. Is there an "About us" section, a philosophy, etc.?

2. Who "published" the page?

a. Where from? Type of domain?
b. Is there a ~ in the URL? Does the "publisher" take responsibility for the content?
c. Will the page be there tomorrow?

3. Is it current, timely? Dated?

a. Individual pages may be updated at different times.
b. When updated last (look at bottom, usually)? What was updated?
4. What's the bias?
a. Selling? Promoting? Ranting?
b. Links to other viewpoints? Balanced? Annotated?
c. Sponsorship?
d. What is not said?

5. Is it unmodified if reproducing a published piece?

6. Is the source of factual information documented?

7. Would you be better off consulting some source in the Library, online or in hard copy?

FINDING VIDEORECORDINGS: VIDEOTAPES AND VIDEODISKS

If you know the title of the item, do a title search and look for the word "visual" in the title index. Nearly all items labeled visual are videotapes or videodisks.

Example: passage to india

Author searches also work well and will yield results for director, screenwriter, or actor names as well, since these names are considered authors by the library catalog.

Examples: sarandon or scorsese

To find videos on a specific subject, add the word "videorecording" to a keyword search.

Example: india and videorecording

FINDING SOUND RECORDINGS: AUDIO TAPES AND CDs

As with visual materials, the best way to find a sound recording is to do a title or an author search. Author searches will find the names of readers or performers on a sound recording.

Example: hitchhikers

Note that the spoken audiotape version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is indicated by the word "sound" in the title index.

Author searches will find the names of readers or performers on a sound recording.

Example: perkins, geoffrey

INCORPORATING RESEARCH INTO TEXT

"Attributive tags" credit the names of sources directly within the structure of a sentence; they "attribute," or offer, credit to the authors of text. Whenever possible, utilize this method of research introduction in your sentence structures.

Avoid constructions like the following:

• "Studies show..."
• "Researchers say..."
• "One author believes..."

Paraphrase Example

As Jennifer Nemec states in her article, "Be Smooth: Incorporating Research Into Your Text," writers should take care to weave quotations directly into their own sentence structures (64).

According to Nemec, writers should incorporate quotations smoothly into their texts (64).

Direct Quotation Example

In her article, "Be Smooth: Incorporating Research Into Your Text," Jennifer Nemec states, "It's important for writers to incorporate quotes directly into their own sentences, making them a part of their own constructions" (64).

Nemec stresses that "it's important for writers to incorporate quotes directly into their own sentences, making them a part of their own constructions" (64).

AVOID the "Plopping" Method!

It's important for writers to incorporate quotes smoothly into their own sentences. "Writers should take care to not simply 'plop' quotes into sentences where they think some information would work well" (Nemec 64). This "plopping" method is not something writers ought to do.

AVOID Paragraphs that Begin With Quotes!

"Writers should take care to not simply 'plop' quotes into sentences where they think some information would work well" (Nemec 64). This quote from Jennifer Nemec demonstrates how important she thinks this issue is.

EVALUATE

Distinguish scholarly from non-scholarly sources. In initial appraisal consider author, date of publication, publisher, and title of source. Then evaluate content based on intended audience, reasoning, coverage, writing style, and bias.

CITE

Format the citations in your bibliography using examples from the Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) standards.