1 Research for High Schools at The CCNY Libraries Jacqueline Gill Associate Professor Reference Click the down or up arrows on your BROWSER to move forwards backwards OR click the screen

2 Main Idea What am I trying to say? What is my idea? Structure your search. Where can you get ideas? –Your interests, the things you have been reading, and conversations you have had in class or with others are often good sources of ideas.

3 The World Book Encyclopedia (AE5.W ) New Encyclopedia Britannica (AE5.E ) World Almanac and Book of Facts (AY67.N5 W7) Time Almanac (AY 64.I552) Webster's new geographical dictionary (G103.5.W ) Geography: a reference handbook (G103.L ) Finding Background Information

4 Refining Your Topic Once you have found some background information, you can refine your broad research topic into a narrow, focused topic. The sooner you can develop a broad subject into a focused topic, the sooner you can shape your research into a finished paper. On the other hand, if your subject is too focused or detailed, you may have a hard time finding enough sources to write an acceptable paper. In this case, to need to broaden your topic. If you need assistance refining your topic, please consult any reference librarian.

5 A topic that covers too much material is a common problem for students. Depending on your interests, a general topic can be focused in many ways. For example, if you want to do a paper on Nile Valley, consider the following questions: What do you already know about this subject? Is there a specific time period you want to cover? Is there a particular aspect of this topic that interests you? For example, culture, historical influence, sociological aspects, etc. Narrowing your Topic

6 Search for Information Books – CUNY Licensed Resources – CIA World Factbook 2002 – Primary Sources –First hand accounts of events, like diaries, letters, interviews, and memoirs, are called primary sources Review Articles –Review articles summarize the current state of research on a subject –Statistics –Lexis-Nexis (NY Times and other newspapers) Internet –Google –Geography IQ –City College Library Site

7 Evaluating Sources 1.Scholarly sources 2. Diversity 3.Date of Publication

8 Evaluating Sources Scholarly Sources –Support your argument –Include a variety of viewpoints and materials – referred journals, references

9 Evaluating Sources Diversity –Variety is necessary. Include many different resources –books, articles, newspapers, interviews, websites

10 Date of Publication When was the source published? 1.Current Events Research Use resources that are recent and reflect current attitudes. 2.Include articles published within the last 5 years 3.Historical Research Use a variety of resources from different time periods including both Primary and Secondary resource

11 Additional research assistance When you begin your research in the City College library stop by the Reference Desk and a librarian will be glad to assist you. PowerPoint Tutorials