How To Research

English 101 – Curington
June 23, 2011
How to ResearchBy Gina Singh

Research Sources
SEARCH TOOL:
LIBRARY CATALOG
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Provide short entries/articles for an overview of the topic and its main
ideas .
SEARCH TOOL:
PERIODICAL DATABASE
BOOKS
Give more information for an in-depth exploration of one or more aspects of the topic.
(Example: Case study books, textbooks)
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Lengthy scholarly research studies on an extremely focused aspect of a subject.

Research Sources
SEARCH TOOL:
PERIODICAL DATABASE
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Very brief news reports that focus on current events or topics currently in the news.
MAGAZINE ARTICLES
As 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.html
Spotting 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
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 Question
Mix 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=778496
Source: 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.

How To Research

by Gina Singh

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