Simple guide to beginning a research paper.

1. YOUR RESEARCH
PAPER
Selecting a topic

2. Objective
• Examine a broad research topic
• Learn limiting techniques
• Narrow to an interesting research question
• Successfully locate quality articles

3. First
Think about the topic
What interests you about the subject? What aggravates you about it?
Is it really true that…
Is there something you want to know about the topic?
It is much easier to write about something you care about!

4. Second
Write down some keywords
Use the guidelines from instructor
dates, databases, peer reviewed, pages
This information will help you narrow your topic.

5. Third
Decide where to look for articles
Databases Search Engines
• subscriptions • free to most
• reviewed & evaluated • anyone can publish
• dated material • not organized
• corresponds to print • commercial
• indexed • challenging to replicate
search

6. Fourth
Select a database

7. Academic
Search Premier
• Choose databases
• Try keywords
• Select a field
• Check for full text
• Limit by date
• Limit by pages

8. Fifth – Have fun!
• Continually refine your search
• Switch keywords
• Try a different databases
• Use your critical thinking skills
• Success is locating an article you can use