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1. Before the
library select your topic.
This
may seem like a real no brainer, but having a topic or research concept
in mind means that you will be able to direct your research efforts towards
that topic rather than wasting time at the library using resources with
no conception of what you are writing about. So, decide on a general topic
and begin thinking about how you might narrow down by focusing on a more
specific aspect of the topic.
Write
down a thesis statement and find the core elements of that search. ex:
With an increase in the population of cities, there has been a corresponding
increase in crime rates. One solution to reducing crime in urban areas
is community policing. In this topic the core themes are population
growth and cities, crime rates and cities, and community policing and
crime abatement. This can serve as a guide for how to begin your search
at the library.
Creating
an outline of your research paper can help you figure out your topic and
subtopics, as well as help you figure out what research material is needed
to complete the paper. The CSUS Writing Center http://www.asn.csus.edu/writing/
may be able to help you organize your ideas.
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2. Check to see if there is a specialized
librarian guide for your topic.
The
Librarians at CSUS have created specialized research guides online to
help students do research on specific topics. These include lists of what
specialized research tools are available on your topic, what databases
might be useful, as well as web sites and other resources. Once you've
identified a research topic check this link http://library.csus.edu/guides/
to see if there is a Librarian Guide on your topic.
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3. Use specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries
and other reference sources
Often
a great place to begin doing research will be specialized reference sources.
The library has some of these on every topic available. Specialized encyclopedias
and dictionaries contain valuable background information that might give
you ideas as how to narrow your topic, as well as contain bibliographies
that can direct you to other sources on that topic.
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4. Find books in
EUREKA
Check
the EUREKA catalog for books on your topic. Books are often great places
for an overview of a topic or exhaustive research on a topic. In addition,
books often contain extensive bibliographies of the sources that they
used to conduct the research, which might be valuable for your research
as well.
Click
on this link to get to EUREKA: http://eureka.lib.csus.edu
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5. Locate journal articles
using databases and indexes
What
the heck is a database? Databases are indexes to journal articles online.
The CSUS Library has both general databases (http://library.csus.edu/databases/default.asp?mode=gen)
that cover every topic as well as databases on specific subjects (http://library.csus.edu/databases/).
Journal
articles are a valuable source of information because they are often more
current than the books on a given topic. In addition, they tend to focus
on more specific topics than books. Finally, like books, they contain
bibliographies of other sources on the same topic that might be useful
for your research.
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6. Assess what you've found
At
this point in the research process you might have a stack of books and
articles in front of you. It is now time to look at what you have and
try to determine if its enough to write your paper. Often you cannot tell
if what you have is enough, so begin working from the outline you created
in step one and start writing. Sometimes students gather information throughout
the whole term and do not give themselves enough time to evaluate and
synthesize the information, so beginning the writing process can help
you not only get your ideas on paper, but also help you figure out if
you need more information or have enough to complete the assignment. Also
consult the CSUS Writing Center http://www.asn.csus.edu/writing/
for help in editing your paper for grammer and focus.
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7. If more information is needed repeat
steps 2-6
It
is not a big deal to have to repeat some or all of the steps detailed
above to get your research assignment done. It is better to have a strong
overall research product to turn in, rather than a research paper that
is strong in some areas and weak in others. Repeating the steps can also
help you find sources of information that you may have missed on prior
attempts.
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