Often, the first stage of the writing process is to select a topic of interest. The process of selecting a topic may seem simple, but an important step to developing a topic or research question is to know what information is already available on that topic or what other information is necessary to understand the topic. Thus, an informed topic statement or research question -- a refined version that takes existing information into account but does not expect you to be fully familiar with your sources yet -- requires a process of preliminary research.
There are a few things to keep in mind as you research and begin drafting an informed topic statement or informed research question. The following reminders and the two flowcharts will help direct your thinking throughout this stage of writing.
Reminders about informed topic statements and research questions:
**Remember that your approach to your topic can, and probably should, evolve over time as you encounter new information that changes or challenges your perspective.**
**If you are ever having trouble coming up with a topic to research, the library has a topics guide that can help to spark some directions you might take your ideas, but keep in mind that your best research will come from genuine curiosity (and respond to your actual assignment prompt)!**
Once you have selected a topic or research question, it is time to start searching. The search process can be frustrating at times, so it is important to remember to be patient and flexible! Start by choosing keywords that are connected to your topic/question, but often we need to have some creativity when choosing keywords as our search progresses. If you are having difficulty finding sources, try searching in another database or using different keywords. Here are some keyword tips and tricks that can help you narrow in on your topic:
Keywords are terms that represent the main concepts of your research topic.
These terms are what you will use to search for sources (articles, books, etc.) to support or answer your research question. Keywords can be single terms or a phrase (if using a search engine or database, "put phrases in quotes" to search multiple words as a single term).
The right keywords are "key" to finding good sources.
When you are developing these keywords consider:
Start by identifying the main concepts in your research question:
For example, if my research question is: How is global warming affecting the polar bears of the Arctic?
The main concepts areas here are:
Then brainstorm related terms and synonyms for your concepts:
"Global Warming":
This material is adapted from Charleston Southern University's Rivers Library "Where to Start Your Research" Guide under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
For more practice with developing keywords, see the Developing Keywords tutorial here (required for FYI, also listed on the Home page).
If you are having difficulty finding sources with your original chosen keywords, it can be helpful to take a look at "subject headings". Subject headings are standardized words or phrases that follow the Library of Congress' cataloging conventions in order to help make the source more findable in research databases (kind of the "hashtags" of the library). They also make it easier for researchers to find other materials with the same subject heading.
To find subject headings in OneSearch, first choose a source that fits what you are looking for or is on a similar topic. When you open the catalog entry, you should be able to see a list of blue words partway down the page in the "details" section. Some of these subject headings may be more helpful than others, depending on your research goal.
There are two ways you can use these subject headings. The first is to simply incorporate them into your list of keywords and searches. The second is to click on one of them, which will then open a search for all the materials in the OneSearch catalog that have been assigned that same subject heading. Depending on the heading you choose, it may be helpful to modify that search or to use search filters to narrow back onto your specific search goal.
Boolean operators are words and symbols that we can use while searching to help us limit our search results more precisely.
The Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT can be used to combine two different keywords to make our search more specific when actually searching in a catalog, database, or search engine. We can imagine how these operators work with the following venn diagrams:
AND allows us to search for sources that will have both keyword subjects. For example, if we want an source about cats AND dogs, the search will filter out materials that are only about cats or dogs. This way, our search results will only include sources that are about both animals.
OR allows us to search for sources that will have at least one of the keywords chosen. This operator is often used when there are multiple spellings, names, or words that can be used to search for the same topic. For example, the search Theodor Seuss Geisel OR Dr Seuss will show search results about the famous children's author under both his birth name and pen name, which gives us more search results than if we search with only one of the names.
NOT allows us to narrow down our search results by excluding a related topic or sub-topic from our search. For example, the search Judy Garland NOT Wizard of Oz will limit our search results to materials that are about Judy Garland, but do not include the Wizard of Oz in their catalog information.
For more practice with boolean operators, see the Using Boolean Operators tutorial here (required for FYI, also listed on the Home page).
Once you have a research goal in mind, that can help you select databases and research tools which will be most useful to your needs. The library offers a wide range of databases, and majority of the databases have specific content types or subjects, so it can be difficult to know where to start. In general, there are three main places we recommend going to in order to start your research:
OneSearch is the library's primary catalog database. The library collections include scholarly and popular materials in all of Augustana's academic disciplines and they have been carefully curated by the librarians, so OneSearch is usually a good place to start the research process. Using OneSearch, you will be able to locate not only the physical and virtual materials we offer, but you can also see sources from other schools in Illinois that you can order through I-Share.
The library offers tailored research guides for a majority of Augustana's academic disciplines and for some specific courses, just like the one you're currently using. If you would like some guidance or a single place to access the recommended databases for that subject, the research guides are the place to go. Each guide offers a curated list of databases related to the field of study, research tools, and advice to help you get started. A majority of the resources shared on the research guides can also be found in the A-Z listing, but occasionally there are individual tools that not cross-listed, so it can be helpful to take a peek at the research guide even if you already have a database in mind.
A-Z Resources
The final place to go to find databases and research tools is the A-Z Resources list, which is linked on the library homepage. The A-Z list includes all the library's subscribed databases in alphabetical order, so you can go straight to a specific database if you have one in mind, or you can take some time to explore what all we have to offer.
In general, when doing research, we recommend use a few different databases in order to expand and diversify your research results. For FYI, it may be more helpful to have a select list of places to go when starting research. To see our recommended multidisciplinary resources for your research in FYI, click on the "Library Resources" tab in the navigation bar. Of course, you are also welcome to explore the many other databases and tools we have to offer through the resources listed above.
As you start to find sources, it is important to evaluate each one to make sure they are materials that we can trust and that they fit your research goal. Even when you find materials with a library database, it is still important to evaluate your sources because the databases often include a mix of source types and perspectives, which may affect their appropriateness for your research purposes. Additionally, the databases may include sources that are historically important, but are outdated or disproven, which could affect the source's credibility for your research.
This can be a complicated process! See the "Evaluating Sources" tab linked on the navigation menu for more guidance about information literacy basics, fact checking strategies, types of sources, authority, bias, and more.
There are many ways of approaching your research, thinking about the resources you find, and organizing your thoughts about that research, and organizing the research itself as you gather sources. Here are a few that may be useful.
It is likely that you will be assigned an annotated bibliography as part of a research project at some point in one of your classes at Augustana. Essentially, these are a list of resources that you have found to use in your research (bibliography) with your commentary (annotation) often summarizing the content of the research and reflecting on how you plan to incorporate that resource to support your research. These can be useful tools to help keep you organized even if you have not formally been assigned to create one.
Tredway Library has an Annotated Bibliography Tips handout which provides details on why and how to create annotated bibliographies, with examples in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.
It is great to organize your thoughts, but it is also important to organize the actual materials that you find too! Here at Augustana, we are a Google powered campus, meaning you have access to Google Drive. This can be a powerful tool for organizing your research.
Here are some tips from Michigan State University on how to organize your Google Drive as a place to save research and organize other materials for classes: Organizing Your Google Drive - User Guide.
Mind Maps are a great tool for effectively accessing natural creativity, harnessing that creativity for effective problem solving, and for helping to plan and organize essays. They provide an excellent alternative to the rigid "intro, paragraph 1, paragraph 2, paragraph 3, conclusion" structure that many of us may have learned for organizing essays. Mind Maps work in the same way as your brain, meaning that when you have a thought – this could be an image, a word or a feeling – this instantly sparks off hundreds of connecting ideas. The main branches of the Mind Map can be used in a variety of ways to support thinking about core concepts. By creating a Mind Map to plan your essay, you generate more ideas quickly and, with the radial structure, you can quickly see the connecting topics, main paragraphs and structure. Mind Maps are just a way of representing this process on paper, so start Mind Mapping and you’ll find countless ideas flooding out. When you start Mind Mapping, students should note down any ideas that they have – no matter how crazy or random! This is where the best creative plans come from – so don’t be afraid to be off the wall…
Some possible ways the main branches can be used are as follows:
The Mind Map Book by **Note that special software is not necessary to create a mind map -- you can do this with paper and pencil.**