ENG101 MCTC Library Research Strategy

Your research should be guided by a focused research question.

The question needs to be

• Not too narrow, not too broad.
  • If you can answer the question with "Yes" or "No" or in very few words, the question isn't very focused. 
  • If you need to write a much longer paper than required or even write a book about it to answer the question, the question isn't very focused.
• Specific, not vague
  • If you are asking "which is better," that is too vague of a question. This question does not state what you mean by "better."
• Something you can research (find an adequate number of sources).
  • If you cannot locate enough sources to answer the question, you will need to reevaluate your question and refocus your direction.

After deciding exactly what your research question will be, do some preliminary searching to be sure you can answer the question.

Go to the library search box on the home page and begin searching to see what kind of information you can find in relation to your question. 

Click on the blue button to view the video. You may need to scroll over the video to see the controls and unmute the sound.

When the video clip has stopped playing, click the Close link in the top right corner of the box.

Below are some examples of good and not-so-good research questions.

  An "I Understand" Moment!