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Introduction to Research Skills

Introduction to Research Skills. The Three Stages of Inquiry and Research. Prepare for research Access resources Process information. Stage 1 - Prepare for research. Analyze research requirements Research takes time – plan accordingly! Explore Topic / Brainstorm

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Introduction to Research Skills

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  1. Introduction to Research Skills

  2. The Three Stages of Inquiry and Research • Prepare for research • Access resources • Process information

  3. Stage 1 - Prepare for research • Analyze research requirements • Research takes time – plan accordingly! • Explore Topic / Brainstorm • Develop a research topic • Create inquiry questions you want to answer • What kind of information am I looking for? • Where would be a place to look? • How much information do I need? • List keywords for searches • Relate them to topic • Synonyms and other similar words

  4. Research Example Research paper on Marie Curie: • Interests / Discover • Don’t write a basic biography – this is not a book report! • Think about specifics to create a thesis statement: • Inspiration to women in science • Contribution to the field of x-ray technology • Career as a female in a male-dominated field REMEMBER! The more narrow your topic is, the more interesting and scholarly your paper will be.

  5. Stage 2 - Access resources • Where to locate • Selection of sources Important things to consider: • What keywords to use? • What tools can be used to access resources? • Books (print and/or electronic) • Databases (journals/magazines – articles) • Websites / Blogs • What information sources best match your needs?

  6. Stage 3 - Process information • Analyze / Evaluate • Sort • Synthesize Key Ideas: • Identify relevant information • Focus topic & research questions • Break your topic into smaller parts Question information – Think Critically! • Main ideas • Relevancy • Accuracy • Authority • Point-of-view / Balanced views

  7. Reliable Sources / Non-Reliable Typically Reliable: • Books and scholarly journals • Undergo editing and pre-publication review • Indicates author, publication information, and sources • Specifies intended audience Typically Non-Reliable: • Websites and blogs • Not checked for accuracy • Author, publication information, and sources are missing or questionable • Persuasive / Deceptive

  8. Databases • LIRN Database – multiple databases within a database • InfoTrac– business, general academic, health and wellness, law, literature, newspapers, opposing viewpoints, and more • ProQuest – health, psychology, art, business, education, humanities, law, military, science, and more • PubMed – biomedical and life science journals • elibrary – reference books, periodicals, global newspapers, and more

  9. Searching • Electronic Database • Library Catalog • Advanced Search • Quotation Marks • Phrase search • Without – searches words separately • Boolean Operators • AND (narrow) • OR (broad) • NOT (excludes) • Drop-down Filters • General or specific searches

  10. Additional Filters • Publication dates • Full Text • Peer Reviewed (scholarly articles) • Publication Type / Source • Magazine • Scholarly article • Newspaper • Dissertation / Theses

  11. Truncation Used for: • Plural and singular form • Root word with multiple endings • Place symbol in the proper place where you want to truncate Plurals: Vehicle – vehicles (vehicle*)/ money – monies (mon?)/ woman – women (wom+n) Root Words: Adjust – adjusts, adjusting, adjustment, adjustments (adjust*) Home – homes, homeless, homework, homeroom (home?) • Each database will use a specific truncation symbol (*, ?, !, +) • See help section for proper use • Some do not use or allow for truncation • Proquest: * • EBSCO: * • Health & Wellness Resource Center: ! – plurals and * - root words • LexisNexis: * - within a word (wom*n) / ! at the end of a word (home!)

  12. Changing Searches • Word order • Synonyms • Locate similar or additional information within materials found within original search • Keywords • Subject • Ideas • References cited • Different databases

  13. You now have the basic skills in order to effectively complete your research… Contact your librarian, Theresa Whitehead, if you have any questions.

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