- Know your research topic. You should be able to clearly define the question or questions you are trying to answer.
- If
you cannot clearly define your research question, you need to do
further background research or reading on the broader topic.
- Define the terms or keywords
that describe your topic. For example, if you research question is
"does using technology to create shared writing experiences improve
writing in middle school students?"
Your key words might be:
writing
improvement
technology
middle school
- Once you define your key words, you can use them to
construct a search in a database like ERIC. Your search might be WRITING AND IMPROVEMENT AND "MIDDLE SCHOOL" AND (TECHNOLOGY OR COMPUTERS)
- Choose an academically focused database
for your literature search. Google is good for a lot of things but for
conducting a literature search, research databases are better! Try
ERIC, PSYCINFO AND WEB OF SCIENCE.
- Use the thesaurus of the database to identify terminology
specific to that database. For example is your are looking for
articles on "brain research" it will be useful to know that both ERIC
and PSYCINFO use the subject heading BRAIN.
- Evaluate
your results. To determine if your search was effective, you need to
critically read the items that were returned. Look at the subject
headings attached to each article or item to generate other possible
search terms. If you do not like what you see, go back to one of the
above steps or consult with a librarian or your instructor.
- Evaluate
your citations. Scholarly articles generally are known as "refereed,
"peer reviewed" or "academic". This means that experts in the field
have reviewed the article for quality. Many databases allow you to
limit your search to "peer reviewed" articles only. Scholarly articles
generally include an abstract, a description of the purpose of the
research, results including charts, diagrams or tables, and always will
include a list of references or a bibliography of sources at the end of
the article.
Get Help! Hope College Reference
Librarians are available to help you even if you cannot come into the
library. Call the Van Wylen Library Reference Desk at 616-395-7904, or
email your question by going to Askalibrarian@hope.edu.
