- Read about it in a subject encyclopedia to get an idea of the scope of
your topic. Ask a librarian to help you locate a subject encyclopedia or
search for your topic in the Reference Universe Database.
You'll often find a short bibliography at the end of the reference book entry to lead
you to other sources. Subject encyclopedia articles will also help you
identify terms to use in your search for information.
- As you read the entry in the subject encyclopedia and as you work
through steps 3, 4 and 5, compare the topic you originally selected to
the material you are finding. Are you able to find enough information,
or are you finding far too much? You may need to revise the topic.
Consider the following questions: Where? When? How? Why? What Kind? Whose?
Social Aspects? Political Aspects? Economic Aspects? Historical Aspects?
Technical Aspects? Point of View? Controversial aspects? as you broaden or
narrow your topic.
- Use the online catalog, Minerva,
to locate books on your topic. To find materials about a particular
subject, try a title/subject keyword search. However, this might result
in too many items. If you can find one good item on your result list,
look at the subject headings assigned to it. If one looks appropriate,
click on it (it's a link), then on the menu choose "Go" under
"Browse a headings list in Minerva." Or you can use the
Library of Congress Subject Headings (big red
books located on the low tables at the back of the reference desk) to find
the right subject term to use for searching in the catalog.
This source will also suggest broader and narrower topics. You can
also search in Minerva by author or title. Ask a librarian for help
if you get stuck.
- Use the Database & Indexes page
to locate articles about your topic in either print or electronic format.
If you do not know which database you want to use, select your subject
from the menu on the left, then click search. A list of databases will appear.
Click "About" to find out which database is right for you. Once you select
a database, use your research topic key words to search the database -
you'll find journal, magazine and newspaper articles. You may wish to start
with databases that have full text articles. This means you can read the
whole article directly from the database. If full-text is not available,
use Minerva to find out if we own or have Web access to the journals or
magazines in which your articles appear. If you're having trouble finding
articles, try different words, or ask a librarian to suggest some search
terms. If you find items that we don't own, a librarian can tell you how
you might get the articles or books you need, either at a local library or
through InterLibrary Loan.
- Use My Research Subject Is... drop down menu, available on the right
side of the Libraries' main page for additional resource suggestions.
Here you'll find a collection of Internet resources and research guides
developed by our subject librarians. For example, select the
subject "Chemistry" and then "Internet Resources," to find Web sites
ranging from the "History" of chemistry to "Employment" in chemistry.
- Use the bibliographies at the end of books and journal articles to find more
sources on your topic. Use Minerva to
find out if the Libraries own these specific book(s) or journal(s).
If we don't own it, ask a librarian to help you get it through our
Interlibrary Loan Service.
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