Intro
Workshop context: Upcoming Project Proposal & Final Project
"...your chance to formulate a line of inquiry that genuinely interests you...all of these arenas require an initial process of iterative exploration and a survey of available literatures."
Craft effective searches starting from a general topic or research question.
Identify and navigate resources and search tools, i.e. library databases, to locate relevant literature- books, journals and articles.
Database demo & practice
Obtain citation information to appropriately cite sources
You will likely go through the search process a number of times, performing different searches with different keyword combinations, to address the different components of your topic.
Systematic Searching | Handsearching |
#1 Identify your question. Identify the key concepts and related terms. Tip: You may want to re-phrase your question. Background reading can help you identify related terms and further define or narrow your topic. | Explore reference lists to locate other articles, books, or authors who have written on the same topic. |
#2 Find an appropriate search tool. Consider your subject matter, discipline of study, type of information needed (e.g. peer reviewed articles) | Locate cited by literature to view more recent similar or adjacent research. |
#3 Start with a simple search based on your key concepts. Tip: You may also have to look at literature that refers to one (not all) aspects of your research question. |
Browse the table of contents of relevant journals and special issues. Consider setting up article and table of content alerts. |
#4 Use specific search strategies.
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Review bibliographies or reading lists to locate recommended or key resources. |
#5 Search and skim results. Look for the language and terms that researchers use and that the database assigns to articles (Subjects). | Locate an expert the the field and browse their publications. |
#6 Switch up your searches. Use promising new terminology. Your search may become more sophisticated. |