Look It Up

You’ve already done some early research, taking a quick look at an encyclopedia and the Internet. Although you won’t take notes yet, these sources will help you gain important background information. This exploratory research tells you know where you’re going and what to look for when you do your actual research.

                              

A.  Where to Begin

To get a basic overview of information on any topic, start with the encyclopedia and the Internet. Many people have access to these sources right in their own homes, but they are also available at most libraries.

Choosing an Encyclopedia

What makes a “good” encyclopedia? First of all, look for one that includes a separate book for each one or two letters of the alphabet. One-volume encyclopedias probably do not provide enough information on your topic. Next, you want to find an encyclopedia that is on your level. The ones written mainly for adult researchers may be too difficult or too technical for your purposes. Of course, you don’t want to use an encyclopedia written for very young children, either. A few examples of multivolume encyclopedias that are written at an appropriate level for young adults are the Encyclopedia Americana, World Book Encyclopedia, Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia, and the online encyclopedia Encarta.

Some encyclopedias in book form also come on CDs that you can use at the library or install on a personal computer. If you’re using encyclopedias in the library, you can find them in the reference area. But remember, none of the books in the reference room can be taken out, so plan enough time to use them in the library.

Not all information on the Web is reliable. One way to judge a Web site is to look at its address. For example, an address ending in “.edu” means the site is connected to a college, university, or other school. (The letters edu stand for “education.”) Such addresses often contain good information, but not always. Of course, useful sources can end in “.gov,”“.com,” or something else. If you have doubts about the accuracy of a site or want help finding more reliable sources, consult your librarian, teacher, or parent.

B.       Research Questions: The 5 W + H

This may sound strange, but once you have a broad overview of your topic, you know enough to know what you don’t know. In other words, you know enough to ask questions—an important step in writing a research paper. Having specific questions (called “research questions”) to answer as you continue your research helps you find the sources that are most helpful to you. Your questions also help you focus on what information you want your paper to contain and how to organize that information.

Have you ever heard of the 5 W + H? The 5 W stand for “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?” and “Who?” The H stands for “How?” Let the 5 W + H guide you in developing your list of research questions. One way to do this is to make a six-column chart with these headings: “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?” “Who?” and “How?” Try to write at least one question about your topic in each column, but don’t worry if you have to leave one or more columns blank. The columns you fill in depend on your topic.

Your own questions can guide your research by showing you what kind of information you need. You also can see how your research questions give you an idea of how your report might take shape. The questions in the chart could lead to a report that has two or three main parts—how dogs communicate with sounds, how dogs communicate with body language, and how dogs use facial expressions to communicate. Or the questions could lead to a report that concentrates on explaining several specific types of behavior. Your next stop is the library. Be sure to take your questions along to remind yourself of the information you seek.

C. The Library Catalog

An important part of your exploratory research is identifying the specific sources to use when you begin taking notes for your paper. The best place to start is the library catalog, which includes a list of all the books in your library. Assuming the catalog is online and you need help using it, ask the librarian to show you how. (Check to see if you can access your library catalog on your home computer too.) You can search the library catalog in three ways—by subject, title, or author. A subject search shows the titles of books on your topic. To do a subject search, type in your topic. Then click on “subject.” You will get a list of all the books in the library on your topic, including the title, author, and call number for each book. The call number is important because the books are placed on the shelves in numerical order according to call number.

If you happen to know particular authors or titles of books that you might want to use, do an author or title search. Type in the author’s name to get a list of books by that author, or type in the title of a book to get information about that book.

In most online catalogs, you can get more information about a book by highlighting the title and clicking on “more information,” “expanded view,” or a similar phrase that appears on the screen. Then the catalog shows the name of the publisher, the place and date the book was published, whether or not the book is available, the call number, and where in the library it is located—the reference section, the adult nonfiction section, or the children’s section. You also may be able to click on helpful options such as “More by this author” or “More titles like this”.

D.The Periodical Index

A periodical is a magazine. It’s called a periodical because it is published periodically—every week or every month, for example. You can find a lot of useful information in periodicals. Information in periodicals is often more up-to-date than what you find in many books. For example, you may be using books that were published many years ago or even within the past year, but you may find a useful article in a magazine that was written just a few weeks ago. To locate articles on your topic, do a subject search in a printed index called the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. Your librarian can show you where to find it and how to use it. He or she also can help you find the actual periodicals and articles you decide to use.

Source:

Chin, Beverly Ann. (2004). How To Write A Great Research Paper. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.