Introduction to Research

By this point in the research process you’re probably ready to start firing off search terms into the library databases. However, it’s a good idea to strategically plan your searches ahead of time to improve your odds of finding useful sources. Note: this section is specifically designed to walk you through searching databases at Sprague Library. If you’re using other tools like a web-based search engine or non-library database, 

Follow these steps to plan ahead for your database search: 

1. Brainstorm: Write down a list of words or short phrases (3 words or less) relating to or describing your topic. There should usually be at least 4 or 5 entries in your list, but it can be much longer for more advanced or complicated research projects.
2. Consult a Thesaurus: There are often synonyms for your key words that could help you find even more relevant sources in a database search. To improve your odds of finding good sources, identify 2 or 3 of the most important key words in your list and run them through a thesaurus.
3. Preliminary searching: Get sense of how many sources exist for your topic. When searching, you may notice additional keywords, phrases, and subject terms to add to your list of synonyms and related terms.
   • a) Sprague Library Discovery Service: This tool simultaneously searches most of the databases we can access. However, although it can be incredibly efficient to search so many resources at once, you may also have to do a bit more work filtering out many non-relevant sources.
   • b) Databases by Subject: From the Sprague Library database page, select the subject that’s most relevant to your research. You should see 1 or more featured databases at the top of the page, which are a great place to start, along with a list of other databases related to the subject area. 
   • c) Points of View Reference Center & CQ Researcher: We’ve seen these databases before, and they’re still a great place to search for information about your topic. Even if you already used them during the Finding Background Information step, they’re worth revisiting when searching for additional sources to cite in your research paper.
   • d) Census Reporter: If you plan to cite demographic statistics or population data, Census Reporter is the best place to start.
4. Rinse and Repeat: If you’re having trouble finding enough relevant sources, or decide you would like to narrow down or broaden your topic, incorporate some of those new words and phrases on your list and run a new search.

Now that you’ve created your list of search terms and selected one or more databases, it’s finally time to start searching. Here are a few simple tips to help you get the most out of your searches:

• Avoid lengthy search phrases. Typing a sequence of more than 3 or 4 words into the search box will confuse the database and muddle your list of search results.
• Use the Advanced Search tools and BOOLEAN operators to help refine your search. When using any database, click “Advanced Search” and type your search terms into the expanded set of search boxes. Only type one word or phrase into each box, and toggle the connecting words as needed. If you want to search for all of the words/phrases, toggle the connecting word to “AND.” If you’re using synonyms from your search list, toggle the “OR” connecting word. 
• As you scan through a list of search results, skim over each title and ask yourself if this source might work for your project. If the answer is no, proceed to skimming the next title. If the answer is yes or maybe, right click the title and select “Open in New Tab.” Keep scanning the list until you’ve opened 5-10 sources in new tabs.
• Click on each source you’ve opened and skim over the abstract or summary. If the source doesn’t seem relevant to your research, close the tab and move on. If the source does seem relevant, go ahead and save it. You can either download it as a PDF onto your device or select the email tool to send yourself a copy. To save as a PDF, look for the "PDF Full Text" button in the top left corner of the page. This will allow you to open and save the file onto your device. To save the article by email, look for the "E-mail" button in the top right side of the page, then type in your own email address as the recipient. You will then receive a copy of the article as an email attachment that you can access any time.
• There’s a good chance that a source you’ve found for your research project can lead you to other great sources with very little time and effort. Whenever you find a source that’s a great fit for your project, scan its bibliography section (aka Works Cited/References) and read over these titles just like when you’re looking at search results in the library system. For any sources that seem promising, copy and paste the title into the Sprague Library database search (for articles) or catalog (for books) and then follow the same procedures described above. This handy research hack is known as citation mining.