The Art Institute of Philadelphia

Library Research Strategies

 

 

Understand the assignment. What is your teacher asking you to accomplish? Read your assignment. Think about it. Check your syllabus for deadlines. If you have any doubts, ask questions. Even your toughest teachers want you to succeed.

 

Choose a topic. Sounds easy enough, but for many students this is the toughest part of the research assignment. Have you been asked to research a specific topic about which you know very little, or are you free to choose a topic that interests you?

 

Choose a topic that you know something about – what educators like to call “working knowledge” – something you can talk about for one minute without repeating yourself.

 

Conduct preliminary research to gather basic information about your topic. Begin to identify keywords that define your topic, and make a list of those keywords.

 

Use a variety of sources. Don’t just rely on one magazine article, book or website. Look for additional keywords that might help to focus your search.

 

Google can be a great place to gain an understanding of your topic, review links and develop leads for further research.

Athena, the library’s online catalog, will lead you to encyclopedias, books, e-books, films, etc., containing information about your topic.

 

Refine your topic. As you gather information, you can refine your topic. Combining your keywords when searching can help bring your topic into focus. Be careful not to make your topic so narrow that you can’t find much information and don’t make it so broad that it loses a focus. As you gather information, continue to add additional terms and keywords to your list.

 

Find more information.

Additional sources -- Books, movies, the internet, magazine articles and

online databases, media interviews, blogs, forums.

 

Evaluating information. Ask yourself if the information you are gathering backs up the various points of your research assignment. Also, keep track of your sources by compiling a working bibliography. This will assist you when it is time to cite your sources!

 

Develop a strategy. Good research takes time, thought, and planning. It is not about making a last-minute, half-hearted, mad dash through the library or through your favorite search engine.

 

Think Critically. Critical thinking is the ability to understand, analyze and evaluate information; then form an opinion and generate new ideas based on this analysis and evaluation. 

 

4 Steps in Thinking Critically

 

1. Emotional Identification

·         Analyze your feelings about the information

·         Determine if your emotions about the topic are rational

·         Make a mental note of the reasons why you feel a certain way about the information

·         Do not engage in “I’m right”, “they’re wrong”

 

2. Analyze the Information

·         Listen to all sides of the argument

·         Work to understand any opposing views

·         Seek the truth in argument and persuasion

·         Question assumptions and common truths

 

3. Distinguish Between Fact and Opinion

·         Fact: something that has been objectively verified; something that has a real, demonstrated existence.

·         Opinion: a belief held with confidence, but not sustained by positive knowledge or proof.

 

4. Problem Solving

·         Evaluate the problem

·         Think creatively (outside of the box)

·         Create a solution that is uniquely yours

 

 

Library resources used to build a strong thesis.

 

World Wide Web offers the most current information and late breaking news. While there are excellent sites with valid information, there are also many, many dishonest or misguided sites, with misinformation. Web technologies are also constantly changing. Search strategies that worked 3 months ago, may not work anymore. Always thoroughly evaluate the sources of any information you retrieve on the web!

 

Magazines, Journals and Newspapers provide up-to-date information about a topic and can be searched to find archived information and perspectives. Generally, popular magazines and newspapers aim to inform about current events or topics. Journals are academic in nature and provide technical and professional information. They tend to be persuasive and informative. Online subscription databases like Proquest, Wilson Web and Elibrary can help you find articles on your topic.

 

Books and E-booksare generally written and edited by experts and cover topics in-depth. They take longer to publish and therefore may not be as up-to-date as articles found in periodicals and on the web. However, books are generally very reliable sources of information and are necessary for a thorough understanding of your topic.

 

 

Finally, do not hesitate to ask a librarian for help.

 

 

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To download this guide click here: Research strategies handout fall 08 wiki version.doc