1. Choose a Topic and write a Research Question(s).
2. Locate background information on your topic using Specialized/Subject-specific Encyclopedias
-Provide more extensive coverage of a topic than a General Encyclopedia.
-Help you to get a better understanding of your topic and clarify your ideas
-Supply the keywords that are commonly used in a discipline
-Provide related articles in Bibliography (References)
3. Create a list including;
-Relevant terms, synonyms, or descriptive phrases that describe your topic
-Call numbers you discovered for relevant books
-Library of Congress Subject Headings: Browse LCSH online to look up broader terms, narrower
terms, variants, and related terms.
-Names of experts and organizations
-Titles of scholarly journals related to your topic
4. Select Resources considering;
-What are you going to research?
-What are your information requirements?
(Consider the type, quantity, and format)
-What kind of assignment do you have to complete?
-How much information do you need?
-What types of publications do you want to read?
(books, newspaper, journal, or consumer magazine articles, government
documents, & primary sources)
-What format do you need? (audio-Visual, print, electronic)
5. Search library’s HPU Discovery (One search) to locate:
-Articles
-Books & Reference Books
-Ebooks
-AV Materials
6. Browse your libraries’ shelves for the call number discovered in step 5.
7. Search library’s Online Databases to locate:
-E-Books
-Online Encyclopedias (Reference & Statistics)
-Journal Articles
-Magazine (Consumer or Trade) Articles
-Newspaper Articles
-Dissertations and Theses
-Government/Grey Literature
8. Search Tips
-Do a trial search, using a few of the specific key terms for your topic.
-Review the first few articles and focus on the subject terms used
-Revise your search using;
*Boolean Operators [ AND, OR, NOT ] to combine more than two search terms.
*Quotation marks [ " " ] for searching phrases.
*Wild card characters [? & * ]
-Refine or narrow your search using limiters such as date range, article
type, full-text availability, etc.
-Revise search again for more focus, if necessary
9. Skim everything you locate to determine which resources may be the most useful
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 as necessary
Source:
George, M. W., (2008). Strategy and Tools for Discovery. The Elements of Library Research (pp. 67-69). New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Learning Objectives
ACRL Standards
"Research as Inquiry” “Searching is Strategic"
Through assigned search activity and a worksheet, the session will help students understand that research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex questions whose answers develop new questions or lines of inquiry. Also emphasizing locating relevant information requires strategies.
Video Tutorials:
Introduction: Quick overview of "Basic Search Strategy"
Database Search Demonstration
Hands-on Database Search Worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/zx2d34v5
Format of Research Articles
by Eletronic Journal of Biochemistry
Format of Review Articles
by Eletronic Journal of Biochemistry
Help in Writing Annotations
by Cal State San Marcos Library
Looking for DOI?
by Crossref.org
Popular, Scholarly, or Trade?
by The University of Texas at Austin Libraries
Reviewing the Literature
generated from SAGE Research Methods.
What are Primary Sources?
by Yale University Libraries
What is Plagiarism?
by Plagiarism.org