How to Do Library Research

Pre-Library Class Homework

Please watch and review the above videos.  Please pick a topic of interest from your readings and discussions in class so, go through the questions below and ponder answers for a  class and group for discussion.

Think about the questions below to help plan your approach to the topic. You may find that free-writing in response to these questions will help stimulate your thinking even further.

  1. What is your topic or research question?
  2. What do you already know about this topic? 
  3. What is your point of view on this topic? Where do those beliefs come from?
  4. What are some things you still need to learn about this topic or questions you have?
  5. Do a search for information on your topic (use Google, the Library website, or whatever tool you want). What kinds of issues did you see reflected in the writings that came up? What questions do you have now?
  6. Why do you get what you get when you search Google? What surprised you in this video?
  7. How does stuff get in the library databases? How is that similar to and different from Google? What databases or websites did you use?

Finding sources in databases

Questions to consider

  • What search engine(s) or database(s) is likely to get you to the kinds of information you decided you need?
  • What keywords will you use to search for information on your research question?
  • Looking at your search results, why did you get the results you did?
  • How will you save the sources you find?

  Step 1: Find Background Information

  • The database Credo Reference will help you find encyclopedia articles for factual overviews of your topic (like Wikipedia, but written by scholars who are experts on the topic).
  • Start with a broad search for a single concept that describes your topic, like first-generation college students

Library Search

Search for books, articles, videos, and more

Advanced search

Choosing a database

Credo Reference
Useful for finding BACKGROUND on your topic
CQ Researcher
Useful for finding BACKGROUND, EXAMPLES, and ARGUMENTS on your issue
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context)
Useful for finding BACKGROUND (reference), EXAMPLES (statistics, news), AUTHORITIES (academic journals), and ARGUMENTS (viewpoints) on your issue

Multisearch

Useful for finding more specific AUTHORITIES (scholarly journal articles) on your issue, as well as books, videos, and news

Google Scholar

Useful for finding AUTHORITIES (scholarly journal articles) on your issue

New York Times (NYTimes.com)

Sign up for a NYTimes.com academic pass through this link, then use that login anytime you're on NYTimes.com. Never get blocked by the paywall again!

 
 

More Research Tips

Use the tabs on the left for guidance on: 

Picking the Right Words to Search

Evaluating Sources

Citing Your Sources

In Class Activities

Today, we'll work on:

  • Using research to narrow your questions
  • Go to the English 3,4 and 5 Guide and Choose How to do library research
  • Choosing a database appropriate to your subject
    • Use the databases identified in the guide.
    • Go to the Library website, look for the Find menu, and click Databases. 
      • Click the "All Subjects" menu and select the subject that most closely resembles your discourse community or topic.
      • If you need more guidance on choosing a database, ask Gina, or go to the Research Guide for your subject and see what your librarian suggests.
  • Identifying peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles
  • How to use MLA
  • Using Zotero or Mendeley to save your sources

 

Zotero

Mendeley

Open source

Owned by Elsevier

300 MB storage for free

2 GB storage for free

Cloud, desktop, and Chrome/Firefox/Safari 

Cloud, desktop, and Chrome/Firefox 

PaperShip mobile app works w/ Zotero

Mendeley has a mobile app

Plugins for Google Docs and Word

Plugin for Word

Good at extracting metadata from a variety of sources

Not as reliable at extracting metadata from sources

Share articles with private or public groups

Share articles with a private group of 3

No in-app annotations

Highlight and annotate directly in the app

No research network

Research network
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.