POLS 4422: NGOs and World Politics

A starting point for research on NGOs and world politics.

The Basics of Searching for Resources

So, you have selected a research topic and it is time to start collecting resources that are relevant to your research. Taking time to develop an intentional search strategy will help you locate resources efficiently.

To do this, we use information search strategies like Boolean operators, nesting, truncation, and phrase searching.

Here is an example:

Search Strategy Builder

The Search Strategy Builder is a tool designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. While it is not a database and is not designed to input a search, you should be able to cut and paste the results into most databases’ search boxes.

  Concept 1 AND Concept 2 AND Concept 3
Name your core concepts here:    
Search terms Search terms Search terms

List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be synonyms, relevant antonyms, antiquated terminology, or specific examples of the concept.

You can use single words (ex: balloon)
phrases with quotation marks (ex: "hot air balloons")
or truncate words with an asterisk to indicate all versions of the word (ex: balloon*)


OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

Now copy and paste the above Search Strategy into a database search box.

The Search Strategy Builder was developed by the University of Arizona Libraries(CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US), and shared by Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh.


Let's Get Interactive!

Searching Step-by-Step

The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information for your research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this outline to your needs.

  1. Understand your assignment: Your writing task begins when you receive your writing assignment from your teacher. The first step is to make sure you understand the assignment and what your teacher wants you to do with it.
  2. Choose a topic: Identify an issue/problem that interests you
    1. Narrow your topic to a very specific issue or problem
    2. Get your topic approved, if required by your professor.
  3. Learn about your topic:
    1. Search for background information on the web, in your class readings, and encyclopedias:
      1. Helps you understand the issue
      2. Provides you with terminology you can use when searching the library’s resources to look for books and articles
  4. Develop a list of search terms: Based on what you learned about the topic from the background information you found, develop a list of search terms to use when searching the library catalog and article databases
  5. Search for information: Use the library’s resources to search for:
    1. Books (search for books on both your broad and specific topic as well as work that  NGOs that may be working to solve the issue/problem)
    2. Scholarly journal articles (search for your specific topic, including NGOs that may be working to solve the issue/problem)
  6. Identify and search for other types of information that might help you:
    1. Magazine articles
    2. Newspaper articles
    3. Statistics
    4. Government publications/reports
  7. Create a bibliography of the best sources you’ve located.
    1. Make sure you use the citation style required by your professor.
  8. Evaluate the info that you found:
    1. Did you find enough resources to meet the assignment expectations?
    2. Did you find enough information to write your paper?
    3. Does it provide you with an understanding of the issue/problem?
    4. Does it help you find a solution to the problem?
    5. If you answered no to any of these questions:
      1. Look for additional information using the library’s resources
      2. Look through the bibliographies (reference or works cited lists) of the books and articles you located that are relevant to your topic to see if any of the sources will help you. If so, search for the resources using the library’s search tools.
      3. Refine your topic
  9. Write your paper:
    1. Consult the writing consultant assigned to the course if you need advice or assistance.
  10. Cite your sources:
    1. To avoid plagiarism, cite the source you consulted to write your paper.