Chester Fritz Library Research How Tos

Why do research?

• Research is a key part of how we create and innovate new ideas and technology. We need to understand what has already been done in order to find ways to improve and build upon old or outdated ideas. It also allows us to generate new ways of understanding the world around us. 
• Research isn't just limited to academics! For example:
  • It could help a parent discover new activities to engage their child's imagination on a rainy day. 
  • A programmer could learn a new computer language to help construct a new app 

Tips

• Give yourself time. 
  • Finding reliable information takes time and energy. Effective time management decreases your chances of doing poorly on an assignment. If researching for a gift, it would ensure time to order. 
• Save everything.
  • Whether it's a link to a website, the title of an article, or just the call number for a book, make sure to save it somewhere. This will save you time and energy when you're trying to cite sources for a paper or remember that recipe for the perfect hotdish. 
  • Sometimes unexpected things happen, like a computer crashing or losing an important document. Saving things during the research process makes recovery from these kinds of tragedies easier. 
  • For tips on how to organize sources, see the following guides:
    • Research Papers
    • Citation Managers
• Know when to ask for help
  • Collaboration is a key part of the research process! It's important to find people you can bounce ideas off of, go to for help, or to just vent to about your project. Here are a few scenarios along with ways to resolve them: 
    • Stuck on what to research
      • Talk to a classmate
      • Talk to the instructor
      • Look up a topic of interest in an encyclopedia and consider the words and topics in the entry as ideas
    • Trouble finding sources or knowing where to start with the research process
      • Reference Librarians are available in person, through email and phone calls, and you can make appointments with them! They can help navigate the library, as well as help you develop strong search terms and research strategies. 
    • Struggling with writing or using sources in your paper.
      • The Writing Center has consultants that can help you with questions and to develop future strategies

Multidisciplinary Databases 

• Library "Everything" search 
• Google Scholar
• EBSCO Platform / Choose Databases Option 
• World Cat

Power Searching Strategies 

• * An asterisk will pick up variant endings of a word 
• " " Quotation marks around words select words next to one another 
• Use Boolean Operators "AND" (limiting) / "OR" (expanding) / "NOT" (excluding)

Field Searching - search for words only in the title, subjects, etc. to try to limit your results to more relevant articles 

Subject Searching - start with a thesaurus and add relevant terms to search 

Citation String

• Start with a relevant article or search for one and start there 
• Which articles did that article cite? Are they relevant to your research? 
• What articles did that article cite?

Pearl Growing - do a general search, look at what words relevant articles use, see which subject terms are helpful, and revise original search incorporating new information. 

Academic work involves different presenting research in many different ways. Here are some resources to get you started on: