Topic Selection and Search Techniques Jane Long MLIS, University of Oklahoma MA, English, Wright State University Reference Services Librarian Al Harris Library

How Do I Choose a Topic? Select something that is of interest to you. Remember that as an academic writer, you will need to develop a scholarly perspective on your subject. A scholarly topic should: –Examine one narrowed issue, not a broad subject. –Address knowledgeable readers and carry them to another plateau of knowledge. –Have a serious purpose—one that demands analysis of the issues, argues from a position, and/or explains complex details. –Meets the expectations of the instructor and conforms to the course requirements.

Try to make a connection between your interests and the inherent issue of your subject. Remember, you can’t write a personal essay and call it a research paper, yet you can choose topics close to your life. Let’s look at a few ideas. Relating Your Personal Ideas to a Scholarly Problem

1.Combine personal interests with an area of academic studies: Personal interest:Football Academic subject:Sports medicine Possible topics:“Protecting the Knees” “Therapy for Strained Muscles” 2.Consider social issues that affect you and your family: Personal interest:The education of my child Academic subject:The behavior of my child in school Possible topics:“Children Who Are Hyperactive” “Should Schoolchildren Take Medicine to Calm Their Hyperactivity?” 3.Let your cultural background prompt you toward research into your heritage or your culture: Ethnic background:Hispanic Personal interest:Struggles of the Mexican child in an American classroom Possible topic:“Bicultural Experiences of Hispanic Students: The Failures and Triumphs”

Potential Topic Ideas: What is the Exxon Valdez? What caused the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? What is social networking? Does health care reform impact me? What are potential job possibilities in today’s society? Is the use of a tanning bed safe? Do Americans need more security when they are using the Internet?

Where/How Do I Begin My Topic Search? –Library Catalog Reference Area Search the catalog for: –Books, ebooks, videos –Databases Credo Reference TOPICsearch CQ Researcher Issues and Controversies Points of View Reference Center Pop Culture Universe Newspaper Source Plus

Catalog: Finding books

Check the Reference Materials Almanacs, dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias are useful tools for finding quick facts, statistics, or a broad overview of your topic. If you need background information about your topic, these tools are a good place to start. You can find them in the catalog.catalog

Ebrary Ebrary provides more than 44,000 digital books in a broad range of subject areas, including business, technology, health and medicine, literature and the humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. Ebrary digital books contain the full-text and illustrations of their print counterparts

Open WorldCat

Credo Reference This is a new product that is easy to use and an easy way to locate background resources as well as books from the catalog and database articles. The link to Credo is located in the Fast Facts column and in the General Topics listing.

Search Techniques: 1.Keywords –Flexible Terms –Easy Searches –Less Accuracy in Searching –Use of Phrases

Identifying Keywords Identify the significant terms and concepts that describe your topic from your thesis statement or research question. These terms will become the key for searching catalogs, databases and search engines for information about your subject.

Keyword Phrases Single concept, multiple words Some electronic resources require keyword phrases be enclosed with punctuation by using –Quotation marks – SWOSU Catalog and Credo –Parenthesis

Keyword Phrase Examples: Basic phrase “criminal justice” Proper names “Native American” Hyphenated words “x-ray” Slogans, ads “The quicker picker- upper” Famous quotations “hope is the thing with feathers” Movie titles, song titles “The Blind Side”

Search Techniques: 2.Boolean Operators –Connect keywords only –Must be placed between keywords –AND Narrows your search –OR Expands your search with synonymous terms –NOT Excludes words from your search If used too much, it can work against you!

How do I pick the right keywords? Here is an example of a visual word search tool: –VisuwordsVisuwords –The suggestions made in the databases are also good choices

What can be done to use energy sources wisely? First, narrow the topic –What type of energy will I discuss? Alternative = Wind, solar, water resources? Fossil fuels = Oil, coal, natural gas –How will the resources be used correctly? How much? Where? What about conservation? –Who is responsible for efficient use? Government? Companies? Individuals?

How “AND” is used AND (narrows) –conservation and energy –conservation and preservation and “alternative energy”

How “OR” is used OR (expands) –conservation or preservation –improvement or betterment AND & OR together –conservation or environment and ecology –improvement or betterment and “alternative energy”

How “NOT” is used NOT (excludes) –preparation not cookery –maintain not embalm AND, OR & NOT together –ecology and “alternative energy” or environment not element

Truncation (Wildcards) Non-universal symbols used in searching Common symbols: * ? Used with a root word Used to replace a vowel or single character

Truncation (Wildcards) Root Word- looks for multiple endings of a word, in this case it takes the place of ‘OR’ –jump? –jump, jumps, jumping, jumper, jumpers –rope and jumping or jumps or jump –rope and jump?

Truncation (Wildcards) Singular/Plural- replaces a vowel or single character in a word, in this case it takes the place of ‘OR’ –wom*n –woman, women –history and woman or women –history and wom*n

Things to remember -- Rely on the use of Boolean Operators to search Remember the importance of good keywords; use synonyms that provide additional search possibilities Formulate a research question that aids you in narrowing your search Example: How can the use of alternative energy sources aid the U.S. economy?

Using Databases to Locate Topics

Credo Reference Use this database to locate information from –Encyclopedias –Dictionaries –Biographies –Quotations –Bilingual Dictionaries

TOPICsearch An Ebsco product Use Limiters to Narrow Search Example: Energy –Topics –Current Events –Document Type

CQ Researcher contains information on current and controversial issues concentric to the U.S. Government Points of View Reference Center provides a variety of essays presenting multiple sides of a current issue Issues and Controversies provides up-to-date, objective information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day Pop Culture Universe offers overviews of pop culture from the 1920's through the present, including TV shows, awards, fads, fashions, and news

Questions? Contact me: –Jane Long

Thanks!