Library Research
VANESSA LAWRENCE – [email protected]
Library research workshop
◦ Getting started
◦ Creating a search
◦ Choosing “good” results
◦ Changing your search
What are you looking for?
Why do we do research?
◦ Systemic investigation; contribute to knowledge
How do you do good research?
◦ Depends on the research context
What are you looking for?
Different types of research use different types of information
◦ Books, journal articles, news articles, and websites are some sources you might use
Different types of research need a different amount of information
A good researcher always looks for authoritative information
◦ Related
◦ Reliable
◦ Readable
Getting started
Do “pre-research” to understand the research context and:
◦ Narrow down a research topic
◦ Find synonyms for search keywords
Encyclopedia articles
◦ Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, but is it reliable?
◦ The library has academic encyclopedias
Textbooks and class readings
Library subject guides and course guides
Creating a search
Search for sources on your topic by deciding what key ideas are important
◦ Research topic  Key ideas
◦ How does using an eReader impact reading?
 ereader, reading
Search using key ideas in (parentheses), joined together using “AND”
◦ (ereader) AND (reading)
More key ideas will find less results
Creating a search
Brainstorm or research some synonyms for your key ideas
◦ More synonyms will help find more results
Use synonyms as keywords to describe each idea, joined together using “OR”
◦ (ereader) AND (reading)
 (ereader OR ebook OR “electronic books”) AND (reading OR comprehension)
If a keyword is one idea but more than one word, you can use “quotation marks”
to search for the words in the same order you wrote them
Activity: Creating a search
Write down a research topic you’re interested in
Write down the keywords, and think of some synonyms
◦ Share your ideas with a partner, and think of words together
Create a search with some key ideas and synonyms you can think of
◦ Use the format (key idea OR synonym) AND (key idea OR synonym)
Remember: (ereader OR ebook OR “electronic books”)
AND (reading OR comprehension)
Choosing “good” results
The most important part of searching is to actually find information that answers
your question. Look for results that are:
◦ Related
◦ Reliable
◦ Readable
Remember that you probably won’t find one perfect result, but look for a few
sources that will help you make an argument
Choosing “good” results
Find results that are related to your topic
◦ Check that your keywords show up in the title and summary
◦ Read the summary and ask:
◦ Are the keywords in the right context?
◦ Look at the book or article keywords to find the main ideas
Choosing “good” results
Find results that are reliable sources
◦ Make sure the content type is useful for your research question
◦ Make sure the information isn’t out of date
◦ If the information is from a website, find the source of the information
Choosing “good” results
Find results that are “readable” information for you
◦ Make sure you have access to the full text
◦ If you are looking at a print book, is it in the library?
◦ Make sure the writing isn’t too technical
◦ Can you understand the summary?
Choosing “good” results
Once you find a good source, write down the citation
◦ The citation will help you find it again
◦ The citation will help your instructor find it, to make sure you did good research
Activity: Choosing “good” results
Choose one “good” result from the list
◦ Make sure it fits with the research context
◦ How does using an e-reader impact reading?
Make an APA citation for it
Write down why it is a “good” result
◦ Is it related, reliable, and readable? How do you know?
Changing your search
Look carefully at the results of your search to find out how to improve it
We can change keywords, by adding or removing synonyms
We can change the search options, to look for specific content types, disciplines,
or dates
We can search in a different database
Activity: Changing your search
Look carefully at the search keywords and the search results
How would you change the search to find more “good” results?
Share one change you would make
Remember…
Start with background research to narrow your topic and learn the context
◦ Wikipedia, encyclopedia articles, or introductory books
Decide what you’re looking for – what does a good result look like?
Turn your research topic into key ideas and synonyms
◦ (keyword OR synonym) AND (keyword OR synonym)
Choose “good” results that are related to your topic, reliable for the context, and
readable for you
Change your search and try again to find even more “good” results
Ask for help
If you need any help with your research, you can always ask for help at the
library
◦ Visit the Research Help Desk or call 613-520-2735
◦ Email me, Vanessa Lawrence: [email protected]