1. Research Strategies
Getting Started

2. About this Tutorial
Students:
This tutorial will help you:
• Choose a research topic
• Identify key terms
• Determine information needs and what resources to use
• Understand the publication cycle of information sources
It should take you about 15 minutes to complete.
Faculty:
• This tutorial was made using Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.
• This tutorial will help students
– broaden or narrow their search terms for research topics.
– determine information needs
– select the best resources for finding information
This tutorial meets the following ACRL standards:
1.1a 2.1d
1.1d 2.2b
1.2a 2.2c
1.2c 2.4c
1.4a 3.2c
2.1a 3.7a

3. What to watch for…
Notes –
These are to let you know
there is important information
you need to know about what
is being covered.

4. Research doesn’t have to be difficult. It is simply
a matter of finding the right tools for the job.
This tutorial will introduce you to some of the
tools you will use and what steps you need to
take to start a research project.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebarney/3348964025

5. Choosing a Topic
Most research projects are assignments given by a professor.
The project will be easier if your topic:
Is applicable to the assignment guidelines and
Is something that YOU are interested in.

6. Key Words
One of the first steps to finding good research materials is determining the key
words or phrases to use in a search. First you need to decide what question you
want your research to answer.
For example:
If the topic your professor gave you was drug use in your community, your
question might be
• Does drug use influence the drop-out rate among high school students?
• How does drug abuse affect the local economy?
In the questions above the key words or phrases are highlighted to show what
terms you might use when searching information resources.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen11/news/images/questions.jpg

7. Things that you should consider when forming a
question you want to answer in your research are:
Time, Place, Population & Viewpoint
Consider if your history professor asked you to write
a paper on the Civil War. That is a lot of history to
cover in a few pages. You need to narrow your topic.
By using the limiters above you can refine your topic
to a more specific topic, which will be easier to
manage within the time frame of the assignment.

8. Once again, if your topic is the Civil War, here are
some ideas that might help to narrow the topic:
Time –
• Instead of looking at the whole war, you could pick a
When? What has happened since specific year or event that took place.
then? Between what years?
Place –
Consider customs or traditions and • How did the location affect the outcome? What cultural
language as well as geographic
considerations. influences were there?
Population –
• How did the war affect children? What contributions did
Think about women make to the war? Who were the African
gender, age, occupation, ethnicity, na
tionality, education, etc. American heroes of the Civil War?
Viewpoint – • You could look at the political parties, or the legal or
What economic effects of the war. There are a lot of
social, legal, medical, ethical, biologi possibilities!
cal, psychological, economic, politica
l, philosophical concerns arose from
the Civil War?

9. If your search doesn’t provide enough information, then you
might want to be less specific or add different keywords to
b r o a d e n your search.
Topic Broad Related Narrow
Civil War Civil War Battles •The Battle of Antietem •General George B. McClellan
•Maryland Campaign of 1862. •Preliminary drafts of the
Emancipation Proclamation
To b r o a d e n a topic you may need to find synonyms to
the words you are already using. Some writers may use
different terms to describe an event or place. This will give
you more results as you search for information resources.
Term Synonym
military soldiers, armed forces
battle campaign, siege

10. Remember:
Asking questions can help you
determine how much information
is available on your topic and
whether you need to narrow or
b r o a d e n your search terms.

11. There are countless resources for
Where do I begin? doing research – books, magazines,
newspapers, journals, websites and
more.
When looking for and refining a topic, here are a few great places to start –
reference materials, books indexes, and article bibliographies.

12. Reference Materials
Encyclopedias – These provide a quick
reference to a topic and give you a brief
outline of events, key people and places
that might help you chose a topic.
Almanacs – These books are great for
quick references of statistics and key
current events (for the year
published).
Thesaurus – A helpful guide to synonyms that
might be used as keywords for searching
information resources.

13. Indexes and
Bibliographies
Indexes and chapter
headings can give you
ideas for breaking down
topics into more
specific terms.
Bibliographies are a great place to
find additional resources. If you
have a great article and need
more information, look in the
bibliography to see sources the
author used.

14. Publication Cycle
It is important to know how current the information is regarding
your topic. Also you need to know how thorough the information is
that each source provides.
If you are researching the U.S. Civil War, then you have countless
resources that could be current or published in years past, but if you
were going to research the present civil war in Chad, you need
information that is days, weeks or months old rather than years.

15. Publication
Cycle
Timeline
Radio / Television –
Pros: Current information, discussion, opinions and commentary.
Timely updates.
Cons: Can be biased. Information comes in pieces and is not always
a complete picture of a situation.

16. Publication
Cycle
Timeline
Newspapers –
Pros: Information current to the day or week
of publication, quick resource for names, facts
and immediate reactions to what is happening.
Cons: Can be biased so check several sources before
using the information for a more complete view of a
topic. Not as in-depth .

17. Websites –
Pros: Usually very current , but can Publication
contain historical information also.
Cons: Sometimes can be difficult to
Cycle
determine the reliability of the Timeline
source. Not always significant depth
to the information. May be more
opinion or bias than facts.

18. Gov Docs –
These can be federal, state or local publications.
Pros: Official government documents, good
source of statistics and reports, current and
historical.
Cons: Lacking in personal narratives if that is
what your topic needs. Can be time
consuming to comb through all the
information.
Publication
Cycle
Timeline

19. Popular Magazines –
Anything from Time, Life and Newsweek to Good Housekeeping and Sports Illustrated.
Pros: Written for the general population, they make good quick references for current events.
Cons: Information is a broad overview of topics, may not give the specific details required for
good research.
Publication
Cycle
Timeline

20. Scholarly Journals –
Usually has the word “journal” in the title, like
the Journal of Comparative Social Welfare or
the Journal of Microbiology. Very subject-
specific.
Pros: In-depth research from peer- reviewed
sources. Serious research done by
experts in the field.
Cons: It might be too specific and
jargon-filled to understand without
Publication basic, preliminary research.
Cycle
Timeline

21. Publication Books –
Cycle Pros: Lots of ready information,
strong contextual explanations, and
Timeline can also provide quick reference by
using chapter headings and indexes.
Cons: Takes time to get published so
they are not always as current as the
issue you may be researching.

22. Publication
Cycle
Timeline
Reference Materials –
Dictionaries, Almanacs, Encyclopedias
Pros: Quick facts, statistics, and synonyms.
Great for getting started.
Cons: Takes longer to publish so information
is not as current. No in-depth material.

23. Popular Magazines –
Anything from Time, Life and Newsweek to Oprah, Good Housekeeping and Sports Illustrated.
Pros: Written for the general population, they make good quick references for current events
Cons: Information is a broad overview of topics, may not give the specific details required for
good research.
Gov Docs – Scholarly Journals –
These can be federal, state or local publications. Usually has the word Journal in the title, like the
Pros: Official government documents, good Journal of Comparative Social Welfare or the
source of statistics and reports, current and Journal of Microbiology. Very subject specific.
historical.
Pros: In-depth research from peer- reviewed
Cons: Lacking in personal narratives if that is
sources. Serious research done by
what your topic needs. Can be time
consuming to comb through all the experts in the field.
Cons: It might be too specific and
information.
jargon-filled to understand without
Websites – basic, preliminary research.
Pros: Usually very current , but can Take a
Publication Books –
contain historical information also.
Cons: Sometimes can be difficult to moment to
Cycle Pros: Lots of ready information, in-
depth in context and also provides
determine the reliability of the Timeline
review. quick reference by using chapter
source. Not always much depth to headings and indexes.
the information. May be more Cons: Takes time to get published so
opinion or bias than facts. they are not always as current as the
Newspapers – issue you may be researching.
Pros: Information current to the day or week Reference Materials –
of publication, quick resource for names, facts Dictionaries, Almanacs, Encyclopedias
and immediate reactions to what is happening. Pros: Quick facts, statistics, and synonyms.
Cons: Can be biased so check several sources before Great for getting started.
using the information for a more complete view of a Cons: Takes longer to publish so information
topic. Not as in-depth . is not as current. Not in-depth material.
Radio / Television –
Pros: Current information, discussion, opinions and commentary.
Timely updates.
Cons: Can be biased. Information comes in pieces and is not always
a complete picture of a situation.

24. Remember…
When starting research:
• Choose a topic that interests you and fits the
assignment guidelines.
• Develop a question that you want your research
to answer.
• Determine the keywords or phrases that you
will use to search.
• Choose the best information resources based
on how current and detailed you need the
information to be.

25. Remember this is just how to start your research.
The next few modules will be more specific on
how to use the information resources outlined in
this tutorial.
You’re off to a good start, but you can review this
or any of the modules anytime you need by going
to the Tutorials page on the Library’s website.