The Research Process
Picking a Topic
Before you can begin writing a paper or speech, you must pick a subject to research. Sometimes your instructor will have assigned a topic for you. However, if you have to pick your own topic, here are some tips:
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Make sure you know what your professor wants. Is this paper a brief introduction, or an in-depth analysis? Are you trying to inform, or to persuade someone of your opinion?
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Choose a topic that interests you. Ideally, this would be a subject that you would like to learn more about. You will have to spend a good deal of time thinking about the subject you pick you might as well enjoy it.
- No ideas come to mind? Try skimming your textbook for something which catches you eye. If you have to write about a current issue, try reading through recent newspapers or magazines for ideas.
Gathering Background Information
When you have a general idea of a topic in mind, you should start looking for introductory information. When you don't know much about a subject, you will want to start by gathering background material. The best place to begin is the Reference area. Try some of the following sources.
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General Encyclopedias The JSCC Library has several sets of general encyclopedias which provide information about most topics, including World Book, Encyclopedia Americana, Academic American Encyclopedia, and The New Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Subject Encyclopedias For more coverage about specific topics, try looking at subject encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family, and Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History. For help in locating appropriate subject encyclopedias, ask a member of the library staff for assistance.
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CQ Researcher (Ref H35.E35) This is a publication which provides in-depth coverage of one current issue topic each week.
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Issues and Controversies (Ref H1.I88) Similar to CQ Researcher, providing information on hotly debated issues. Also available online from the library's Databases Web page.
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Biographical Sources These are works that give brief information about people's lives. Some examples are Current Biography or Great Lives from History.
Focusing Your Topic
After you have learned a little bit about your overall subject, you should start to think about the exact topic you want to focus on. Your topic shouldn't be too broad, or you will be faced with mountains of information much of which is not helpful. For example, the subject of gambling is too general. One way to help you narrow down a topic is to put it in the form of a question. You could focus on a specific aspect of gambling, such as:
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How has Indian gambling changed life on the reservations?
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How do Americans feel about gambling?
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Is compulsive gambling an uncontrollable disease?
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Does gambling benefit state and local economies?
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What is the history of gambling?
Now, isolate the key words and/or phrases associated with the question you wrote. Generally, you will not have much luck if you put an entire quotation in one of the computer indexes. Instead, you want to put in only the really important terms. You may also need to think of multiple ways of wording things. Many words have synonyms, or broader or narrower terms that could also be used. If you were doing a paper on a topic relating to teenagers, the word adolescents might have been used instead of teenagers.
For example, if you were focusing on the question "How do Americans feel about gambling? you should first break it down into the major concepts:
Americans and gambling and feel
Then, you may need to think of other words or phrases for each concept.
Americans and gambling and feel
Or or or
America casinos opinions
Or or or
American lotteries views
Or
United States
Many times, you will be able to brainstorm and create these lists of words/phrases yourself. If you can't, the JSCC Library has a series of books, The Library of Congress Subject Headings, which can help you. These books are located in the Data Center, and list broader terms, narrower terms, and related terms for any topic you look up. When you begin your next step of finding information, you may need to refer back to the various words and phrases you listed.
Finding Other Material
Now that you know something about the topic you want to research, it is time to look for information. The type of resources you need will vary, depending on the subject matter, and on your professor's restrictions. Some teachers will require that you use a specific type of source. For instance, a professor may require that you use only scholarly journals. Periodical articles generally fall into one of two categories: scholarly journals or popular magazines.
Scholarly journals are concerned with academic study, especially research. The articles are generally written by experts in the field, and use language of the field. The average reader may not be able to follow all the discussion some background in the subject on the part of the reader is assumed. They generally have a "serious" look no photographs or color. They often contain many graphs and charts. Most articles will have extensive bibliographies at the end. Examples of scholarly journals are The Journal of the American Medical Association, Research in Higher Education, and Journal of Southern History.
Popular magazines are written in a language that anyone can understand. The articles are often written by staff writers, and very rarely cite sources. Articles tend to be shorter as well. Examples of popular magazines are Sports Illustrated, Ebony, Time, and Redbook.
Periodical articles are only one type of source. On the next two pages are descriptions of some resources you might need, and how to locate them:
Type of source
Good for:
To locate, use:
Books
- Good for: In-depth coverage of a topic, Historical information
- To locate, use: The online library catalog available on all the computers in the Data Center, as well as the two standing stations. Also accessible via Telnet. Searchable by author, title, subject, or keyword.
Periodical Articles
- Current information from reliable sources
These and other electronic indexes are available via the Web from the Databases link on the library home page. Use the computers in the Data Center or ask us for the usernames and passwords you ll need to access them from home.
- EbscoHost MasterFile Premier - Contains references (or citations) with summaries of articles from over 2700 magazines and journals. Full-text articles from over 1800 of these titles.
- InfoTrac - As part of the Tennessee Electronic Library, these databases include two general full-text sources as well as indexes dedicated to business, health, and Spanish speakers.
- SIRS Researcher on the Web - Contains reprints of articles previously published in magazines, newspapers, and government reports, dating from 1989 to the present.
- CINAHL - Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature - on EbscoHost. Index to journal articles from the nursing and allied health fields
- ERIC - An index to journal articles and documents from the field of education.
Newspaper Articles
- Finding specific cases to use as examples
- Showing a regional pattern
- Academic Universe Indexing and full articles from hundreds of newspapers around the world .
- Jackson Sun Index - available on one computer in the Data Center. An index to local articles from the Jackson Sun. Back issues of the newspaper are available on microfilm.
Internet
- Up to the minute information
- Personal opinions
- Government resources
- Netscape or other Web browser. Available on all computers in the Data Center
Pro and Con Sources
- Arguments "for" or "against" a side of an issue
- Opposing Viewpoints - a series of pamphlets, each providing 6 to 8 essays representing both sides of a single issue. Pamphlets and the index to them available on shelves near the circulation desk, or search the online library catalog to find the appropriate pamphlet.
- Taking Sides - a series of books containing argumentative essays about controversial topics. The books and the index to the series are located in the book stacks (H35.T35)
Statistics
- Illustrating a point
- Finding facts to back up an opinion
Reference books, such as:
- Statistical Abstract of the United States (Ref HA202.A385)
- A Matter of Fact (Ref AG5.M37)
- Tennessee Statistical Abstract (Ref HA641.T43)
- Accident Facts (Ref HA217.A4)
- Statistical Handbook on Adolescents in America (Ref HQ796.S8237)
- Crime in the United States (Ref HV6787.A3)
- Digest of Education Statistics (Ref L111.A6)
- Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics (Ref HD8051.A63)
- Historical Statistics of the United States (Ref HA202.B87)
- Agricultural Statistics (in the Agriculture Documents collection)
Evaluating Information
Now that you have located information on your topic, you should decide if the material is valid. Just because you found the information in a library does not mean that it is necessarily accurate, appropriate, or timely. Some of the criteria you should use to evaluate a source include the following:
Criteria
Questions to Ask
How to Find Answers
How important is it?
Authority
- Is the author an expert in this field?
- Has he/she used reliable sources for their information?
- Look for biographical information about the author in the book jacket, or beginning or end of a journal article.
- Check the bibliography to determine if their sources are reliable
- Depends on the requirements your instructor has stated. If they have asked for "professional sources" only, then it s crucial.
Bias
- Does the author have political or religious beliefs which would cause a biased interpretation of the topic?
- Look to see if the source is published by an organization that is pushing a particular agenda.
- You can still use "biased" sources, especially if you re doing a persuasive speech or paper, but you should be aware when reading that the author is only presenting one side of the issue. If you need a more balanced viewpoint, check other sources out.
Currency
- When was the source published or updated?
- Look at the back of a book s title page. If the source is a periodical, the date should be given on the cover. If it is a web site, look at the bottom of the page. If no date is given on a web page, there is no way to know when it was last updated.
- If you are researching a "current issue" topic, this is crucial. You wouldn't want to write a paper about cloning, with sources from 10 years ago. However, if you are writing a history paper, this is not important. You may even want some sources written from a different time period to illustrate a different way of looking at an issue or person.
