Basic StepsHow to find and use information on your topic.

STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY INFORMATION

LITERACY RESEARCH

Work from broad to narrow. Find background information. Become more specific with your topic. Use books and journal articles, and other sources if possible depending on the topic. Use current sources as well.

Write down the complete citation of the sources you used for the paper to cite as your reference.

SEARCH TIPS

Write the topic as a research questionFor example, what do you want to know about the topic, state

the question, “What is the effects of homelessness on children”.

Pick out the main concepts or keywords in the question.The keywords are: homelessness, children and effects.

WHAT IS YOUR TOPIC?

Use general EncyclopediaUse subject encyclopediaUse books if possible

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Write down the call number to locate the book on the shelf. If it is in an electronic format click on the Internet link for full access to the information.

USE THE ONLINE CATALOG TO FIND BOOKS

Select the appropriate databases for the topic being searched. Some databases provide full text articles in addition to the citation and abstracts.

Search the databases using the keyword in the basic search mode. The Advanced search mode can also be used with boolean operators “AND”, “OR”, “NOT” to narrow or broaden your search.

USE THE DATABASES TO FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES

Use GoogleScholar Search Engine

FIND INTERNET SOURCES

Read the abstracts to critically analyze the articles. Identify scholarly/Peer Reviewed journal articles.Evaluate the authority, currency, objectivity, coverage,

accuracy and relevancy on search engine sources and books.

EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND

Use the citation style for your discipline or the style suggested by your professor for the citations on all the book titles, journals, videos, newspapers, etc. used to write your paper.

CITE YOUR RESOURCES