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Social Sciences

What's Your Topic?

If you already have some background knowledge of your topic, GREAT! But if you are new to your topic, research can be difficult. 

If you aren't sure where to start, try doing some preliminary research on your topic. Read about your topic in a textbook or on a credible website or library database. While you read take note of any keywords used or topics discussed!

Library Databases for Background Research

Once you have completed your background research, you can begin to narrow your topic. 

Think about what you have learned about your topic and ask yourself:

  • What's interesting about the topic?
  • What might be useful to learn about the topic?
  • What misconceptions about the topic exist?
  • What would you want to learn more about?
  • What do you want people to know?

How specific you need to be depends on the length of your assignment: the longer the paper, the broader the topic; the shorter the paper, the more narrow the topic.

Finally, create a list of keywords that can be used to research your topic.

When you are ready, you can move on to the next step, About Sources!

About Sources

The types of sources you need to find will depend on the type of research project you are working on. Always read your assignments carefully and contact your professor if you have questions regarding the types of sources you should be using! 

To get started, visit the Articles & Databases, Books, or Websites pages to view recommended resources, check out the Evaluating tab to learn ways to determine a source's credibility, or read the Research Tips below to discover how to search for sources more effectively.

There are many methods of evaluating resources. Choose the method that works best for you.

How to Read an Academic Article

How to Read Academic Articles
Parts of an article. 1 abstract. 2 introduction. 3 literature review. 4 methodology. 5 results. 6 discussion. 7 conclusion
Reading order. 1 abstract. 2 discussion. 3 introduction. 4 results. 5 methodology. 6 conclusion.
Highlight things that you consider important. ? if something is confusing or you feel you may need to return to it. ! when you find something particularly interesting or insightful. + When you make a connection to another concept or article. Circle unfamiliar terms. You can define them when you finish the article if needed. Notes Write notes in the margins to keep yourself on track and keep up with relevant ideas.
Read it again! Don't just read the paper one time and expect to have a thorough understanding. To fully understand a paper, you may need to read it 2 to 3 times. When reading, focus on the sections that were the least clear, but still relevant to your needs.
Hard to Read? It's no secret that journal articles are hard to read. But why are they do difficult? 1 Not made for leisure reading. Academic journal articles are not typically intended to be an entertaining read. 2 Not meant to be read straight through. Unlike most things you read, academic articles are not meant to be read straight through. Authors expect readers to jump around to better digest the information. 3 Information packed. Academic articles are typically filled with a wealth of knowledge, which can result in a dense read.
Abstract. An abstract is a summary of an article. It highlights the most important information and can let you know if it is relevant to your research needs. Introduction. The introduction introduces the study. It informs readers about the topic and lets them know where the study is going.
Literature Review. A literature review examines what has already been written about the topic. This allows authors to build on the work of others. Methodology. The methodology explains exactly how the study was done. It allows other researchers a chance to better understand the results.
Results. This section presents the results of the study. It often contains lots of numbers, charts, and graphs. Discussion and Conclusion. These sections are often combined as they have a similar focus. They wrap up the article, discuss the results, and consider possible ways the research could be extended.

Research Tips!

Use Boolean Connectors AND, OR, and NOT to refine your searches!

  • AND narrows a search (cats AND dogs)
  • OR broadens a search (cats OR dogs)
  • NOT excludes a term (dogs NOT puppies)

Use Truncation, Wildcards, and other Methods to Limit your Search! 

  • Add an asterisk mark ( * ) to the end of a keyword to include its variations (e.g., librar* for library, libraries, librarian, librarians, librarianship etc.) in a search.
  • Use a question mark ( ? ) within words to search for single character variations (e.g., wom?n for woman or women).
  • Use quotation marks ( " " ) around words to create keyword phrases (e.g., "green marketing")
  • Check the database you are using for other ways to limit your search.

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