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This is where research skills <link ?> (TC) and knowledge of Cornell's academic integrity guidelines <link ?> (TC) are key.
Your approach to information research, like your needs and requirements regarding sources of information, will vary depending on what you research. For example, you may be researching scholarly articles for a paper, popular news and opinion for a speech, images and video for a multimedia project, or blog posts and Wikipedia articles for the latest movie news. A quick Google or Wikipedia search may suit your purposes in some scenarios, but, for academic research, that's just the first step.
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- Discuss your ideas with your course instructor, TA, or a librarian*.* (TC)
- Look at popular news articles and blog posts to see what's currently in the news about your topic*.* (TC)
- Perform a search using Google. This is a very popular approach, and it can be a good one, but it is not the only option available to you. Explore this resource for additional ideas.
- Use an encyclopedia for your (TC) subject or discipline; the index or list of topics can give you additional ideas. Wikipedia isn't the only online encyclopedia available! (Read our caveats regarding the use of Wikipedia in the section called Using Wikipedia.) Online reference works (TC) available through your library can give you a quick and authoritative starting point, especially for more specialized subjects.
- Check your library catalog (TC) for books on the topic*. We could like to WCL if we want to change the text too.* (TC)
Use sources like these to understand the broader context of your topic. They can tell you in general terms what is known about it, including what kind of information is out there and what interesting questions are still unanswered.
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First, state your topic idea as a question or a sentence. For example, you might be interested in finding out, "How did Title IX impact women athletes in college athletic programs?" Before you commit to this or any specific topic for your research, use the library databases to (TC) to test it.
While you can usually just search for some words or a phrase in an online search engine, library databases require you to search in particular ways, if they are going to recognize your search. Depending on the resource you are using, the exact methods you'll use to search will vary, but most library databases use similar methods, called Boolean searching. This isn't necessarily true. Many databases have a basic search that does not require very much of the patron. (TC)
The more specific you can be about what you are looking for, the more effective your search will be. To define your potential search terms, identify the main concepts or keywords in your question. In this case, they are "Title IX," "women," "athletes," and "college athletic programs."
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Note: These techniques usually appear in most databases and library resources, though the way they appear will vary. Always check the search tips or Help to find out how they work in a particular database or Ask a Librarian. (TC) All search engines may not have the same features.
Text modified from Cornell University Library. (2009). Introduction to Research. Retrieved May 14, 2009, from http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/intro
Finding and Evaluating Sources
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- Try a general database like Academic Search Premier or Premier or Proquest Research Library to find articles on any topic you wish.
- Check the library catalog for books or good background sources on a topic.
- Start with a subject or course guide for your topic area.
- Look at a database in your subject area.
- Ask a librarian using the Ask a Librarian tool.
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If you find one good source, the bibliography at the end of it will point to research that its author used. In addition, you can often find a type of scholarly article--called "a review of the literature"--written expressly to provide an overview of research in specific fields. The sources cited in such an article -literature review (TC) or in any relevant bibliography are good starting points for further inquiry.
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Effective use of the Web in information research means more than just throwing a couple of keywords into a search engine and seeing what the first few results are. Here are The section "Using Google" offers (TC) some tips for performing a targeted search using Google, as well as some tips for using other available sources of information.
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Also check out the Cornell volumes in the Million Book Project by the Internet Archive, and the digital collections available from Cornell at http://bookstore.library.cornell.edu (the latter often enabling you to buy print copies of digitized sources through Amazon.com's print-on-demand service).
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Arrington, M. (2008, August 5). The viral video guy gets $1 million in funding. Message posted to http://www.techcrunch.com
Professional Web Site
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2008). Biofuels. Retrieved May 6, 2008, from http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html
Data Set from a Database
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Witchcraft in Europe and America is a site that presents the full text of many essential works in the literature of witchcraft and demonology (http://www.witchcraft.psmedia.com/)."
Additional Resources
- Guides for Citing Sources
- Purdue OWL tutorials
Cornell University Library. (2009). Citation Management. Retrieved May 14, 2009, from http://www.library.cornell.edu/services/citing.html
Cornell University Library. (2009). APA Citation Style. Retrieved May 14, 2009, from http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa\\
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