How to ResearchBy Gina Singh

English 101 – CuringtonJune 23, 2011

Research SourcesENCYCLOPEDIASProvide short entries/articles for an overview of the topic and its main ideas .

BOOKSGive more information for an in-depth exploration of one or more aspects of the topic.(Example: Case study books, textbooks)

SEARCH TOOL:LIBRARY CATALOG

SEARCH TOOL:PERIODICAL DATABASE

JOURNAL ARTICLESLengthy scholarly research studies on an extremely focused aspect of a subject.

Research SourcesNEWSPAPER ARTICLESVery brief news reports that focus on current events or topics currently in the news.

SEARCH TOOL:PERIODICAL DATABASE

MAGAZINE ARTICLESAs short as encyclopedia articles, but instead of an overview, magazines narrow the focus to one or two specific aspects of a topic.

Types of Resources Scholarly Sources

It has abstract in the beginning It may have a list of keyword Article has a research problem Mentions studies that have addressed the problem in the past Has a purpose statement Has research question and hypothesis Uses qualitative, quantitative or mixed method approach to conduct research Has a conclusion at the end Has a bibliography or reference list at the end

Popular Sources: Magazine articles like Style, Newsweek, Time etc. Newspaper sources: LA Times, Whittier Daily News etc. Primary Sources: Original writings created at the time when the event

occurred. Secondary Sources: Sources that evaluate, summarize, analyze written by

experts from that field after the event has occurred.

Source: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm

Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals

Magazines

Audience: Large group of people

Brief, non-technical language

Author is journalist or freelance writer

Look: Graphics, images, advertising

No references Examples: Cosmopolitan,

Newsweek, Sports Illustrated etc.

Scholarly Journals

Audience: Experts in the field, students

Lengthy, technical language Author are experts in the field

& credentials are always listed

Peer-reviewed Look: Graphs, charts,

statistical data, plain cover References at the end Examples: Child

Development, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology etc.

Background Research Background research is needed to understand your topic and

narrow it down. Research Source: Encyclopedias like

World Book Encyclopedia (in the library) and eBooks like Encyclopedia Britannica and Gale Virtual Reference Library for reference books online.

Go to Research Paper Topics on library homepage for topic selection

Go to The Research Paper: Ten Steps to Researching it Right for additional help.

Check out Library Catalog for books on topics for research papers.

Is the information relevant? Identify search terms Is the information from a legitimate source?

Additional Help

For more on primary & secondary sources:

http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/sources.htmlSpotting Bias in news:

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/broadcast_news/bw_bias_in_the_news.cfm

Tania Shabelnik Libguide: http://libguides.riohondo.edu/evaluatingwebsites

Narrow Your Topic

Background Research

Questions To Ask Yourself

Who?What?Which?When?Where?Why?

Source: OSU Tutorial from liblearn.osu.edu/courses/english110/old%20stuff/narrow_topic.ppt

Example

Topic : Cheating Who? : Age; Race; Gender What? : Types: Infidelity; students: Sports,

plagiarism; government Which? : Is justified? Or worse? Or Traumatizing? When? : Time period: Current, historical or

period of life? Where? : Place: College, school, home, work, in

sports Why? : Evaluate: Causes & Reasons and Results

& Outcomes.

Research QuestionMix and Match two elements together and

form a research question and form a topic of your choice.

Read the requirements of the assignment: How many pages? How many sources are required? What kind of sources are required?

What are the search terms and related terms that you would use? For example: Cheating: Dishonesty, fraud, deception, infidelity, lying, embezzle etc.

Two Search Tools to Find Good Sources

PROQUEST RESEARCH LIBRARY

(Journal Articles)

LIBRARY CATALOG(Books)

Start Research from the library homepage

FIND BOOKS

FIND JOURNAL, MAGAZINE,

AND NEWSPAPER

ARTICLES

FIND CONTROVERSIAL

TOPICS

Library Catalog

Checklist for Evaluating Websites Author: Credentials & professional affiliations, contact address, about

link Check the URL (Uniform Resource Locator or website address) because it

may be the name & type of organization sponsoring the webpage. E.g. .edu, .com, .gov, .net etc.

Reason for webpage: Its purpose Determine the origin of the document Timeframe: Current or past view. What time period does your topic

require? Objectivity : Point of View or Bias Bibliography: Citations and references to other sources Coverage: Relevance to the assignment. Is the source too narrow? Too

broad? Can you understand it? Format, Organization, Appearance: Is it Easy to read?

Source: http://libguides.uwb.edu/content.php?pid=103537&sid=778496Source: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm#evaluating

Where to Search?

For Books: Library Catalog http://library.riohondo.edu/ For Scholarly Articles: Databases: Proquest, Gale Reference Library. Off Campus Users: Access Rio For Controversial Topics: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context, Issues and Controversies Check out Controversial Topics Books Link on the library homepage http://library.riohondo.edu/ For Current Issues: CQ Researcher, Proquest, Gale Opposing Viewpoints, Issues and Controversies For Biographies: Gale Biography in Context For Historical Books : Google Books at http://books.google.com/ For Historical Newspapers: Google News Archives Search at

http://news.google.com/archivesearch For Statistics data & charts: Social Science Database For Population Stats: US Census Bureau database Legitimate sources: Google Books, Google Scholar For Periodical Holdings List: Access from our library homepage. Direct url at

http://library.riohondo.edu/Research_Help/Periodical%20Holdings%20List%20-%202010-2011.pdf (Check out the listings by subject in the end).

Acknowledgements

Thank you Stephanie Wells (Librarian) for sharing some of her slides.