Getting Started

Understanding a research assignment as a process should help you be more productive, no matter how many times you've done research.

This page will help you navigate the research process, including picking a topic, focusing your topic, finding keywords, searching library resources, evaluating sources, and citing sources.

If you are having trouble at any point, please contact a librarian and we can help you. Save time! Produce stronger results! Win-win!

An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but often you will have to select a topic that interests you. An important skill! When deciding on a topic:

• Brainstorm for ideas.
• Ensure that the topic is manageable, and that the library has material available to support it.
• Make a list of key words.
• Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic to fit your assignment or the sources you find.

Tips for Selecting a good topic: It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your final topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like (a paper, a presentation, or something else).

Still Need More Help:  Sometimes, you just can't think of anything. These databases are a place to start exploring topics:

• CQ Researcher
• Issues & Controversies
• Issues & Controversies in American History

Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering.

Encyclopedias are a broad summary which will give you an overview of the topic and see how your idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for finding keywords commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research.

If you can't find an article on your topic, try using broader terms and ask for help from a librarian.

At the Academy Library, print encyclopedias and other reference sources (dictionaries, directories, handbooks, atlases) are located on the main floor.  We also have many databases that are also good places to find general information. 

Keep it manageable and be flexible. If you start doing more research and not finding enough sources that support your thesis, you may need to adjust your topic.

A topic will be difficult to research if it is too broad.

Some common ways to limit a topic are:

• by geographic area
• by culture (an indigenous group, gender)
• by time frame (last century, last decade)
• by discipline (business, medicine)
• by population group (children, seniors)

Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic. This will help you when you are searching in different databases, because not every author uses the same keywords to describe the same topic.

• What were the important words you found in an encyclopedia or other reference source?
• Are there synonyms for these words? Example: "heart disease" and "cardiovascular disease"
• Are there broader (less specific) or narrower (more specific) words you could use? Example: "Smog" is more specific than "air pollution," but "children" is less specific than "kindergartners."
• Not every database or article uses the same words to describe the same topic, so look for suggested keywords or subject terms during your search.

Use the library catalog to search for the articles, books, and other sources of information that you need.

• Use your list of keywords to search the library's databases (our research guides may help you select relevant databases).
• Use advanced search and facet options to focus your list of results: "Full Text," "Peer-Reviewed," and date ranges can be very helpful.
• You may start searching and not be able to find the type of information you need right away. Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic or use different keywords in your search.
• It is normal to have to do several searches to find what you are looking for. A librarian can provide advice.

Examples of different types of resources

A Reference Source provides a general overview of a topic and includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and atlases.

An Overview is a secondary source which addresses a time period such as The Age of Absolutism, 1660-1815. Use the index to find your topic; it may be a chapter or just a few pages. An overview is meant to place your topic within the context of the time and larger world.

A Monograph is a secondary source which addresses your specific topic. If you are researching a person, a monograph could be a biography of the person. If you are researching an event, a monograph might be The Crowd in the French Revolution.

A Primary Source is original material created at the time of an event and include: Diaries/Journals, Letters, Speeches, Government Documents, Magazines/Newspaper Articles, Sheet Music, or pieces of Art.

Peer-Review articles appear in scholarly journals and are reviewed before publication by editors who are experts in the field.

You can't make good food with bad ingredients! Evaluate sources for quality. Ask a librarian if you're unsure.

1)  Authorship

• Who wrote the page? Can you verify the author's credentials?
• Is the author's contact information on the page? Does it actually work?
• What organization established the page? In other words, who established the website that this page is hosted on?

TIPS:

1. The author's name or a copyright (©) should appear near the top or bottom of the page.
2. Look for some form of contact information for the author.
3. Look at the domain (.edu,.org, .gov) to verify the hosting organization's credentials.

2)  Accuracy 

• What is the purpose of the document? Why was it created?
• Who is the target audience?
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic?

TIPS:

1. Look for an "About this site" type of link.
2. Look for any information on the Author's credentials.
3. Are there any links to sources? Citations? 
4. Is the organization that hosts the website credible?

3)  Currency

• When was the information updated?
• When was it originally produced?
• How current are the links to other sites/information?

TIPS:

1. Is the information out of date?
2. Is there a date of publication at the top or bottom of the page?
3. Are any of the links dead or re-directed to unrelated information?

4)  Objectivity

• Is the author being balanced and fair in the treatment of the topic or is he/she biased or overly emotional? 

TIPS:

1. What, if any, opinions are expressed by the author?
2. Try to identify any conflicts of interest.  Are any advertisements clearly separate in subject from the author's topic?
3. What facts does the author present?  What facts are NOT presented?

Keep track of useful sources as you find them:

• Write down information about your sources as you find them. Include citation information and stable links.
• Send an article's citation information to your account with a citation management tool like NoodleTools.
• Download and save or print articles as you find them.
• Most databases have ways to send articles to your email or Google Drive.
• Avoid copying and pasting quotations with the intention to come back later to get the citation. Tracking sources is an essential step of academic honesty.
• Consult the Library's Guide to Citing Sources.