Getting Started
Read background on a topic you're interested in.
- This can be from news, magazines, Wikipedia, government sites, etc.
- Take advantage of the library's news and magazine resources in order to expand your access to background reading.
- Once you have enough background knowledge, you can create a question.
- After conducting background research, determine what aspect of your topic to investigate.
- Consider the mystery, debate, or controversies.
- What interests you?
- Use the five Ws, if needed, to help create a question:
- Who
- What
- Why
- When
- Where
- Be sure it is neither too broad nor too narrow.
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State your research question/topic
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EXAMPLE: "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"
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Identify main concepts:
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EXAMPLE: "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"
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Brainstorm synonyms, related terms, broader terms, scientific/technical terms, and more specific terms based on your own background knowledge:
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EXAMPLE:
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Cigarette companies: Philip Morris, Camel, Imperial
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Children: child, adolescent, teen, teenager, students, youth
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Advertising: ads, marketing, commercials, promotions, product placement
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Avoid the following:
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Abbreviations - spell them out
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Relationship words - words like compare, contrast, causation, etc.
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Judgement words - words like best, worst, pro, con, etc.
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If needed, search Wikipedia and other reference sources to further develop your list of keywords.
Above graphic from The Big6 Research Method.
Original license for the Big6 is copyright © 1987 Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more on the Big6, visit: https://thebig6.org/”
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Select Resources/Source Types Most Appropriate for the Information Need.
For Example:
| Information Need | Source Types |
|---|---|
| Current information on political issues | Current Newspapers & Magazines |
| Background info in order to develop a question for a research project | Reference, Wikipedia, Topic Overview Videos (Crash Course) |
| Current research on solar and wind power | Academic Journals/Original Research & Government Websites/Docs |
| Information to help make an argument about the impact of U.S. westward expansion on indigenous people | Primary Sources from the time, Academic Journal Articles by historians, & Books on the topic |