Tips For Effective Research

Identify and Document Your Research Topic or Problem Think about your argument Identify main concepts for your research Write everything down.

Conduct Background Research Look at previous research Reading is essential Reference sources and books

Give Yourself Plenty of Time Don’t leave it until last minute Allow time to get materials Anticipate problems i.e. books through loan, a journal may missing or web connections maybe down

Determine The Types of Information You Will Need Consider the information type What tools do you need to locate your sources. Ask yourself the following questions: What format of material (books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts, etc?) will most likely contain the information you need? How important is "time" in your research? Do you need "up-to-the-minute" information or are you looking for materials that cover a specific time period? How important is place in your research? Are you looking for materials covering a specific geographic area or are published in a certain place? What languages do you need material in? Is reading documents in their original language important for your topic. Can you read languages other than English?

Select Your Tools Carefully Identify the tools to use to locate the resources for your topic. Talk to people Watch out for unreliable information found on the Internet

Plan Your Search Strategy Planning is important. “If you fail to plan you plan to fail” Decide on the specific information you want. Key Words Topics Printed materials Use introduction Check indexes for specific subjects or names. Electronic resources, write down keywords

Document Your Search Thoroughly Document the resources (electronic or print) What you have used Where they are located

Evaluate Your Results Is the information relevant to your topic? Is it from an authoritative source? Did you retrieve enough information, not enough, or too much? Revise your search strategy if necessary Repeat the process of searching and/or select another tool to use. Read through and highlight relevant notes

Cite Your Research Remember to record the publication details from your sources Appropriately cite them in footnotes and bibliographies. MUST HAVE THIS TO PASS

If You're Confused, Ask for Help! If you are having difficulty ask for help! Make an appointment with tutors Don’t struggle and leave it too late!