How to Do Library Research

Consider: What will your sources be used for?

Background: when you need basic information to get the gist of your topic: the major themes, people, places, events, and debates.

Exhibit: when you need research results and other kinds of evidence that helps you answer your research question.

Argument: when you need to know what other people have argued in response to your research question.

Method: when you need to adapt someone else's method--a theory, instrument, essay structure, etc.--for your purposes.

So what are you going to do with the research you found?

To integrate your sources into your essay, make sure you understand

• What each source will contribute to your reader's understanding of the issue
• How these sources relate to each other
• How the sources relate to your own ideas and experience
• Where each source will fit into your essay.

Every time you quote or paraphrase, ask yourself, what purpose does this piece of evidence serve in my essay? Is quoting or paraphrasing the right choice here? How am I connecting this evidence back to my thesis for the reader? 

Ask yourself: What do my sources agree on? Disagree on? How do they fit together?