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Maysville CTC English 101 Research Tutorial: Research

Research

There are three easy steps to do the research you need:

  1. KEYWORDS: Use the keywords or phrases from your keywords list. Expand or narrow your topic as needed.
  2. REFINE: Look for the icon indicating if the material is a book, e-book, article, or another material type.
  3. EVALUATE: Decide what type of material will be the most useful. This will be the most important step to finding the best and most appropriate information for your topic.

 

You can always find the Primo box on the library home page.

PRIMO

  Don't Google!  PRIMO!

 

  • A single search for books, e-books, magazine and journal articles, DVDs, audio, and more.
  • With a click or two you will find the full text of articles, read an e-book online, or find if there is a hardcopy of a book on the library shelf.

You can always find the Primo search box ont the library homepage.

Identify Topic

Having trouble identifying a topic?

  • Consult your instructor for assistance. Read the assignment closely to make sure you understand what kind of writing assignment is expected of you.

  • Ask a librarian. They can point to resources that can help you make a topic selection. You will want to pick something that interests you.

  • Use library resources.  Check out sources like Opposing Viewpoints or Credo Reference Topics for topics.

  • Follow these tips on the brainstorming process. 

  • Use a trusted internet source. Often free internet sites like Yahoo News can be useful.

  • Choose something that interests you.

  • Keep you topic within the assignment guidelines.

  • Broad or Narrow?  Is your topic too broad to write a short paper?  Is it too narrow a topic to find enough information for your assignment?

After selecting a topic, make a list of all the KEYWORDS or PHRASES related to the subject. Your keywords will be useful during your research process, especially in the online resources.  The online, or electronic environment, will search for the word you ask it to. Two different words may have the same meaning, but are spelled very differently.

After Topic Selection

TOPIC: Let's say your topic is "Marijuana use for pain control."
The main ideas to think through with this topic are marijuana and pain control.

Questions to consider:

 

 Marijuana

 

Pain Control

 

What medical conditions benefit from medical marijuana?

What are the benefits of using medical marijuana?

 

What are the negative side effects of using medical marijuana?

What are the positive side effects of using medical marijuana?

 

When can patients use medical marijuana?

Where can patients use medical marijuana?

 

How can patients use medical marijuana?

Who can benefit from the use of medical marijuana?

If you carefully consider other related terms and possible questions about the subject, what would your research question be?  

Let's consider this as your research question:

RESEARCH QUESTION:  "Is Medical Marijuana an Effective Treatment for Patients Suffering from Severe or Chronic Pain?"