Refine Your Research
Remember that research refines your understanding of a topic based on a wide variety of sources, and helps you to define key questions in on-going public conversations.
To be successful you need to collect a larger number of sources, and they need to be more specific than the ones you found with Background Research.
In seeing how a topic is generally discussed, you conduct exploratory research in Academic Search Ultimate and other Ebsco databases.
Consider how your topic has narrowed, what aspect(s) of your topics do most of your current sources discuss, and what do you still want to learn more about.
- Engl 130 Visit 1 Library HandoutThis one page handout covers the basics of navigating the library website, using Boolean operators, and accessing research help
- Visit 1 Activities and WorksheetThis worksheet can be started in the library visit and kept to document your progress throughout this project
Using Academic Search Ultimate
Search Tool Links
- Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Ultimate offers an enormous collection of full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, it includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.
A Narrower Search Tool such as a subject specific database will help you identify subject experts and "listen in" on their conversations more easily than general databases. Use the Databases A-Z link below:
- Databases A-ZUse the Subject filter to locate "Best Bets" for databases
Broad search tools such as the Library website search will many databases at once. Since you are developing a more specific idea for your research and refining your broad concept, you may find these deliver more articles:
- Library SearchYou can narrow to articles or books that are owned by the library
Working with Academic Articles
By now, you should have an understanding of how to use databases and search engines to find articles. Now we want to go over how to work with these articles that you've found. This video explains strategies of how to go about reading these articles, as well as how to use articles to find further resources.
- Academic ArticlesAlternate link to above video
After watching the video, try this hands-on activity.
- Hands on Activity: Reading Scholarly ArticlesPractice reading a scholarly article with this activity. It will take you through looking at the title, abstract, introduction, results, conclusion, and references of an article.
Using Library Search
- Library Search DemonstrationAlternate link to above video