Remember library research is iterative and can be non-linear.
Define your search topic and outline the concepts, keywords, or synonyms. Consider using a:
Concept Map
Research Strategy Worksheet
Determine the type of information needed. Current? Scholarly? Seminal/Classic? Qualitative? Quantitative? "Literature Review?" You can specify.
Select a database. Who is interested in your topic? What disciplines? Think about searching in those discipline-specific databases.
Construct an Advanced Search using concepts/keywords/synonyms and the type of information you want.
Tweak and repeat as needed.
These search features vary between products. Explore:
Thesaurus - See how terms are defined within a database.
Field Searching - You can specify in which fields your terms are searched. What happens when you limit search terms to the TI (title) field? AB (abstract) field? SU (subject) field?
What are the field definitions? They differ. See the help screens within each database for details.
Limiters - Review the options.
Staying organized:
Think about using a source matrix or research log.
Use Zotero to capture pdfs, citations, etc.
Examining what you've found:
Is the title scholarly?
Within the database search, choose the limiter for Scholarly/Peer-reviewed or
When looking at a citation within a database, click the journal title until you reach the Publication Details. Look for the "Peer reviewed" field or
Look up the journal title using Google. Look in the "Refereed" field. (Refereed = Peer Reviewed)
Review the item's bibliography for additional leads.
This moves back in time to related works. Search by book or journal title.
Use Library Search and enter the book title
Use Library Search and enter the journal title
Use the Cited By feature in Google Scholar to see where else the article you have has been cited. This moves forward in time.
What other disciplines are interested in your topic? Consult the library databases page. You may need to tweak your search terms; a word can have a different meaning in another discipline.
