ENGL 1101 Online: ResearchStrategy

Research Strategy Tips and Tools, including:

• Step 1: Plan your research
• Step 2: What kinds of resources do you need? Where do you find them?
  • Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
  • Peer-reviewed Sources
• Step 3: Choose your search terms and how to use them.
  • Boolean Operators
• Step 4: Evaluating sources for relevance and quality (next page)

Allow enough time for your research!  College-level research may require more technique (and patience) than research projects you have done before.

You might try one of these research planners to develop a schedule for your assignment and not wait until the last minute:

Now think about your topic, or potential topic.  Before you plunge in and start searching, think about the types of resources that fit your needs best and where you should look for them.  Also consider they types of resources specified in your assignment.  The other pages of this guide will help you learn use GALILEO and the GIL-Find catalog to locate the resources you need. 

Click on the icons next to each type for examples.  They will require the appropriate passwords off-campus.

Books/ebooks Good for overview or in-depth analysis of a topic You may be able to use a chapter or part of a book -- Check the table of contents or index Many are in e-book form (locate in library catalog, DISCOVER, or e-book databases), but many are only available in print (locate in GIL-Find catalog). ​Scholarly Journal articles Good for in-depth analysis from a scholarly point of view. Usually the topic is very specific. Use DISCOVER or individual research databases to locate individual articles.  Print journals may be located in library catalog.  (You cannot find individual articles in the catalog, but you can find the whole journal and the dates included in our collection.) Also known as Academic Journals or Peer-reviewed journals. Magazines Articles may be general or specific Usually written for the general reader by journalists. Credibility varies, but are not considered scholarly. May be good sources for background information on an author or topic, but not literary criticism. Use DISCOVER or individual research databases to locate articles. The Catalog will show if we carry the magazine. Newspapers Articles tend to be short and specific, often local Written for the general reader by journalists Not considered scholarly Use DISCOVER or individual research databases to locate. Some are freely available on the web.   Videos/audio  - Rarely a source of literary analysis, but you may find author interviews that provide insight on the work you are studying. Locate in Films on Demand or other GSU Library research databases or in the library catalog. Websites - Your instructor may not allow websites, but if you are allowed to use them, be extra careful about the quality of information you find. Government agencies and reports are often good sources of information on the web. You may try Google Scholar to find high-quality scholarly sources, but if it asks you to pay, see if you can find the same source for free in GSU's research databases!  The type of information source you want will determine: Where you look for the source (research databases, library catalog, web?) Help you narrow your search results. You can usually specify the type of source before and/or after searching.

In scholarly research, it is important to use high quality, reputable sources. Many research databases label articles as being published in either a scholarly journal/academic journal or a magazine/newspaper. What's the difference?

Watch the video below to learn more:

Peer-reviewed sources are sources that have been reviewed by a group of scholarly peers. It usually works in this manner:

• An author writers their article and submits it to a scholarly journal for publication.
• The editor of the journal reviewed the article and sends it out to a group of peers. These peers are scholars within their field.
• These peers read and review the article. They either approve it for publication, suggest not publishing it, or even suggest changes to be made before publication. They then send this information and their recommendation back to the editor.
• The editor communicates this information to the author. The author makes changes if necessary.
• The article is publish (or not if the peers suggest not to publish).

Watch the video below to more information:

Once you have a topic in mind, brainstorm about possible words you might use as search terms.  Remember not all search tools will search within the full text of the information source. Think about your ideal article, book, etc.  What terms might the used to describe the subject of the item you're looking for?

• Some databases will do okay if you input an entire sentence like you do with Google. But most will not, and will require that you only input key words that describe your topic. These are usually nouns. Example: To find out the effect of global warming on animals in the Antarctic, I first select the terms global warming, animals, and Antarctic.
• Include synonyms for your original term. (Example: global warming, climate change; Antarctic, Antarctica)
• Include words that will help narrow your search to be more specific to the topic.  These could be adjectives, specific examples, or additional terms that will help focus the kinds of information in the results. (Example: marine animals, penguins, polar.)
• As you search, you will probably discover additional search terms that are related to your topic. It's good practice to include these new terms in your list of potential search terms.
• You won't want to use all these words at once. Instead, you should try different combinations or try using Boolean operators to make your search more effective and more efficient.