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Getting Started With Your Library Research
For many students, library research can be a straight-forward
process, beginning with choosing a topic and ending with citing sources
and a completed research paper. For others, the process is not so
simple. This guide is designed to give students an outline of the
basic steps involved in conducting effective library research.
1. Choosing a
topic and testing it
2. Finding background information
3. Refining a topic
4. Selecting Resources
Depending on your topic, different types of resources (books, journal
articles, the web, newspapers, magazines, etc.) may be more appropriate
than others. One needs to be aware of what kind of information is
in each type of resource and who the intended audience for the resource
is.
Finding articles in journals and magazines
Finding books
Finding Internet resources
5. Evaluating your sources
6. Citing your sources
Three important research tips to remember. (from Cornell)
1. Work from the general to the specific.
Find background information first, then use more specific and recent
sources.
2. Record what you find and where you find it.
Write out a complete citation for each source you find; you may need
it again later.
3. Translate your topic into the subject language of the indexes,
databases and catalogs you use.
Check your topic words against a thesaurus or subject heading list.
Updated August 2002
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