HOW DO I ... START MY RESEARCH?

Explore for Ideas | Find Background Information | Identify Keywords |  Locate Additional Information

1.    Explore for Ideas

Finding a topic to research can be challenging.  If you are having trouble, the following resources can be helpful:

Current Periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers).  

Visit the Current Periodicals area of Funderburg Library and browse journals and magazines in your subject area for ideas.  If you have a broad topic that you need to narrow, you can do a search in Academic Search Premier or LEXIS-NEXIS Academic.  For example, you can do a keyword search for "immigration" to find out about different aspects of this issue.  Please Ask A Librarian  if you need help using any of these sources.

Recommended Reference Sources.

CQ Researcher

Provides weekly briefings on social, political, economic, international and scientific trends. Each in-depth report focuses on a single issue in the news with a review of the controversies driving the debate, historical background, chronology, annotated references and much more.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year.

2.   Find Background Information

Once you have  chosen a topic, the next step is to find background information.  Exploring reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and handbooks is a good way to gather basic facts about your topic.  Reference materials are located on the main floor of the library.  You may use the Manchester Library Catalog to find these by limiting the search to the Reference Collection.  Please Ask A Librarian if you need help locating reference sources. 

Some reference sources are also available online. Visit the Gale Virtual Reference Library for online access to these resources.

3.    Identify Keywords

Keywords are the words you will use to search for articles/books/media/etc. in the online catalog and the library's databases.  As you examine background information, keep a list of terms that are used in relation to your research topic.

4.    Locate Additional Information

It is important to choose appropriate resources for your topic. Your professor and/or a librarian can guide you in locating suitable materials for your research. Resources may include some of the following:

Books - Use the Manchester Library Catalog to find books on your topic that can provide an overview, definitions and historical context, which helps you see how your topic relates to other important issues.

Scholarly Journals - Scholarly/peer reviewed journals contain articles written by scholars and reviewed by a panel of peers in their field before being accepted for publication. Most have little if any advertising, and articles are usually preceded by abstracts.  Many databases allow you to limit your search to scholarly or peer reviewed journals.  To learn more about scholarly journals check out Scholarly Journals, Popular Magazines and Practitioner Journals.

Magazines & Newspapers - These sources provide a variety of content meant to inform, update or entertain. To learn more, check out Scholarly Journals, Popular Magazines and Practitioner Journals.

Web Sites - Information you find on the Internet can vary in quality and reliability.  Remember--anyone can create a web page.  Evaluating Web Sites contains links to a number of guides and tutorials that can help you with the critical task of determining which Internet resources are suitable for your research.  Using a subject guide such as the Librarians' Index to the Internet can help lead you to qualified web sites.