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What is your specific topic? |
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Write down your topic and the aspects involved. Your topic
can be a keyword, a phrase, or a complete sentence. |
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What types of materials do you need and how many?
Do you need Books? Journal articles? Government Documents?
Statistics? Newspaper sources? Scholarly or popular
articles? |
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Do you need current information? Historical
information? Both? |
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Formulate your research strategy. |
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1. |
Can you identify the key terms in the topic that are unique? |
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2. |
What synonyms or other similar concepts might you use to
make your search more comprehensive? |
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3. |
What synonyms or other similar concepts might you use to
make your search more comprehensive? |
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4. |
Is your topic so narrow that not enough information is
found? If so, you might want to choose a broader term. |
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5. |
Are there any thesaurus, indexes, or subject terms that are
specific to a database? |
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Select relevant research sources or databases.
Our library has a wealth of resources for your research
needs including books, articles, indexes and recommended web
sites. Use the buttons to the left to see the wide variety
of sources available, both paper and online. |
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Find out more about the research process by reading
the
CSU Information Competency project. |
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Evaluate your search results. |
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1. |
Are your search result relevant? Why or why not? |
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2. |
Is the information (articles or books) written in an
authoritative, accurate, and objective? |
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3. |
How might you improve your search result? |
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Read
Library Survival Skills to ensure that you understand
the research process and familiarize yourself with the
Pollak Library. |
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Ask for assistance. |
|
1. |
You will find Librarians at the Reference Desk on the first
floor of the North Wing of the Pollak library. |
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2. |
You may also fill out a "Research
Assistance Appointment Form" for long inquiries and in
depth help. |
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3. |
You may email me. |
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Cite your sources. Consult
style guides for more information. |
