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Library Research Strategy
1. Select, define, and transform your topic.
2. Find general background information: consult Reference resources.
3. Find in-depth, specific information: search in GALILEO for books.
4. Find periodical, journal, and newspaper articles; conference papers and proceedings, and so on: search print and electronic indexes for these, search GALILEO for periodical and journal titles.
5. Find detailed support information: search Government and statistical resources, the Internet, and other subject-specific resources.
6. Organize and evaluate your findings: be critical of what you've found, where you've found it, and how you've applied it.
7. Final writing, and presentation: consult style manuals, the VU Writing Center.
Step-by-Step
1. Select, define, and transform your topic.
- a. Define your topic and note the main concepts.
- b. Note synonyms for the main concept words and/or terms.
c. Use the following formula to map your initial research process and rationale:
d.. Write a working thesis statement followed by an outline, or section heading draft, to your paper. Update the thesis statement and outline as your research progresses.
- 1. Name your topic: I am studying _________________________________________________,
2. Imply your question:…because I want to find out who/how/why _________________________,
3. State the rationale for the question and the project:…in order to understand how/why/what ________________________________________________________________________________.
From: The Craft of Research, p.44; Booth, Colomb, Williams, 19952. Find general background information.
- Use GALILEO, the library's online catalog of holdings, to search for encyclopedias, handbooks, research guides, bibliographies, and other books found in the Reference area for overviews of your topic. Use both general and subject-oriented background sources. If you are unsure of what these books are, or where they are located, ask a librarian.
These types of materials are expert resources, meaning they were researched and written by experts in each particular field of study. Searching in them at this stage can often help you both to narrow your topic focus and to find other expert sources.
People can also be great resources for information and guidance on searching. They can be local professors, librarians, or other experts in the field. Email contact has made many of these off-campus people easier to reach.
Tips: Take full notes as you go, especially the full citation information [as applicable to the resource: author/editor, page number(s), book title, edition, volume number, publisher, place & date published]. Also, be sure to note the book location, call number, and circulation status for future reference.
3. Find in-depth, specific information owned by this library.
Now you are ready to search for more in-depth information on your topic. Books found in the general stacks (third and fourth floors of the Christopher Center) are best chosen at this point because they can provide that depth, along with more specific information such as historical perspectives, various research projects and results, and/or differing opinions on the subject matter. The bibliographies, resources cited, or further information sections of books are great to refer to for more information sources. Also, the Christopher Center's collection is developed from resources specifically chosen by your professors and librarians to support your academic research.
GALILEO provides electronic access to Christopher Center's resources. By performing various searches, such as author, title, subject, or keyword, you can see what resources are owned by the Christopher Center and how you can gain access to them. At this point in your search process, you should perform at least two types of searches: subject and keyword.
SUBJECT: The Christopher Center uses the Library of Congress Subject Headings controlled vocabulary system to assign subject terms to its resources. The assigned subject terms can be found in the "SUBJECT" area of any retrieved record. You can also look up your terms in the LCSH (big red) books in Christopher Center's Reference area. To use one of those chosen terms, do a "SUBJECT" in GALILEO, VU's online catalog. Or, after doing a keyword or other type of search, when you find a resource that matches your search need, choose any "Subject" heading noted in that resource's citation and GALILEO will map the subject headings for you.
KEYWORD: Keyword searching allows you to find resources by searching for one or more words that appear in titles, series, content notes, corporate or conference names. It is best to use this search strategy when you don't know the full or correct title of a work, the correct Library of Congress Subject Heading term, or when a subject search doesn't identify sufficient resources. You should also use synonyms or other terms closely related to your subject to make sure you have retrieved as many relevant records as possible.
To perform a Keyword search, choose "Keyword" from GALILEO's "Search the Catalog" screen. Each term should be spelled correctly. While multiple terms will automatically be combined as "AND" searches (federal AND government), terms can also be linked using "OR" or "NOT", depending on your search strategy. For more tips on Keyword Searching, choose "Additional Information" from GALILEO's main screen and look for the Keyword Searching topics.
Tip: Use the Christopher Center's guide, Searching for Information: Concepts & Tools, to provide in-depth guidance for both print and electronic resources. These tools can be used in searching both the Christopher Center's resources and the Internet.
4. Find periodical, journal, and newspaper articles; conference papers and proceedings; and so on.
A wide variety of print and electronic indexes are available for searching various types of resources not indexed in GALILEO. Begin your search in the broad subject indexes, such as LexisNexis Academic, Academic Search Elite, or Expanded Academic-ASAP (all online), before going to the more subject-specific indexes. Ask a librarian for more guidance in specific index selection. (Those noted above are only three of the almost 100 indexes that the Christopher Center offers!)
While some electronic indexes use their own controlled vocabularies to index their resources, many of the subject headings and terms you used in searching GALILEO can be used in them also. Use the "Help" section of each index to determine what type of searches it supports; how to best combine terms; and whether or not there are limits, such as publication year or resource language, that can help to focus your search results. A librarian can be of great help in assisting you at this point also. (Remember the Tip above?)
It is essential that you write down the full citation information when dealing with electronic index searching! It's a huge waste of your time to do a search, find pertinent resources, and then check GALILEO or the full-text databases (to see if the Christopher Center owns the item) only to find that you've neglected to write down the journal's full title or what issue you need once you've located the title. At that point, you may have to go back and re-do the search to find that missing information. For more information on finding journal articles, see the guide, Accessing Journal & Periodical Articles.
The Christopher Center's many full-text databases are another source of articles. Check titles in JournaLocater to see if accessing another database will provide you with the full-text of your article.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN: If, after searching GALILEO and the full-text database lists, you determine that the library doesn't own the resource you need, a request to InterLibrary Loan will usually bring that resource to you within 2-3 weeks. Requests can be made directly through some electronic indexes or online via Christopher Center Library Service's homepage on the Web. You can never give too much information on your InterLibrary Loan request forms--if information is missing or incorrect, your request will be delayed because the original search you did to find the information will have to be reconstructed in order to find the correct information. See the InterLibrary Loan guide or ask a librarian for more help.
5. Find detailed support information.
If not already a part of your research findings, government information and statistics can often provide detailed support for a wide variety of subjects. The Christopher Center has an extensive government information collection, available in a combination of print, microform, and electronic formats.
Government documents are classified by a different system (SuDocs) that differs from the Library of Congress call number system. To locate a document, search GALILEO by author, title, subject, or issuing agency to find the SuDocs number. Use the SuDocs number to check either the paper documents or microfiche formats in the Government Documents area, located on the first floor. If the Christopher Center doesn't own the document you need, it may be available on the Internet. Check for the title in Browse Titles of GPO Access, or ask a librarian for help. The guide, Government Documents, explains this process in greater detail.
The Internet is more than just the World Wide Web. There are many other sources of information available on it, such as gopher and Archie menus, news.groups, user.groups, and listservs to name a few. If you'd like to know more about the Internet, search GALILEO for resources or look at The Spider's Apprentice: A Helpful Guide To Web Search Engines or Bare Bones 101: A Basic Web Searching Tutorial.
The best way to access the Internet for academic purposes is to use various subject guides and links, especially those created and chosen by academic institutions and their libraries. The library has created a selected listing of subject categorized links, guides, and resources. There's also a guide to assist you in critically evaluating Web resources.
When using search directories and engines (such as Google or Google Scholar, Yahoo!, AltaVista, Infomine, etc.), the search techniques you used for electronic indexes can also be used. Once again, use the "Help" section of each engine or directory to determine what type of searches it supports; how to best combine terms; and whether or not there are limits, such as publication year or resource language, that can help to focus your search results. As always, a librarian can be of great help in assisting you at this point. (And remember the last Tip?)
6. Organize and evaluate your findings.
Once you have gathered enough information that you feel is applicable to your subject, it's important to remember that you aren't finished yet. Often, many people quit at this point, satisfied that they've found anything at all and that the information will somehow work to support their subject. Go back to that original subject and make sure that your gathered information meets your established components. If it doesn't, figure out why that change has occurred, and then decide if you need either to refocus your search strategy or to change your original subject to include new information.
Make sure that your gathered information meets evaluative source criteria such as knowledgeable authorship, respected publisher and publication, and a current date of publication (if applicable). Then evaluate the content, judging it on criteria such as intended audience, depth of coverage, objectivity, and related reviews.
If your information has been gathered from Internet resources, critical evaluation of it can be more difficult. Refer to the library handout, Evaluating The Quality of World Wide Web Resources, visit the Evaluation section of the Reference homepage, or consult with a librarian or your professor for more evaluative criteria.
7. Final organization, writing, and presentation.
When working on the final revision to your paper, it's critical that your English grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling are correct. One of the essential guides to the English language, Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, is available both in print (CLR Stacks PE1408 .S772 1979) and online. Similar handbooks can be found using a GALILEO Subject search: english language grammar handbooks.
VU's Writing Center is another resource that provides excellent assistance in organinzing, writing, and formatting your paper.
- Research papers require a specific presentation format and consistent documentation of the research information that is referenced within the paper. Christopher Center's guide provides you with online and print resources:
Citing Electronic Resources http://www.valpo.edu/library/citing.html
- Christopher Center owns many style manuals:
- The Bedford Handbook
CLR Stacks PE 1408 .H277 1998
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
CLR Reserves LB 2369 .G53 1999, 5th ed.- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
CLR Reserves BG 76.7 .P83 2001, 5th ed.
Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources
CLR Stacks & Ref. J 9.5 .G376 1993Electronic Styles: a Handbook for Citing Electronic Information
CLR Stacks & Ref. PN 171 .F56 L5 1996ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: An instructor may ask for an annotated bibliography as an early part of a larger assignment. This type of bibliography consists of a list of citations to books, articles, documents, and other resources, with each citation followed by a brief, descriptive evaluation of the resource cited. The annotations tell your reading audience what the resource is about, the degree of quality/authority the resource possesses, and why you have chosen it for inclusion. Annotations usually vary from 100-150 words.
Additions
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