Beginning the Research Process Presented by: Joyce Garczynski TSEM 102
Jan 04, 2016
Beginning the Research Process
Presented by: Joyce GarczynskiTSEM 102
OverviewO By the end of this session,
you should be able to:1. Identify the steps in the
research process2. Define your research
topic3. Locate relevant
background information 4. Locate relevant books5. Cite your background
information and books in APA style
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redlinx/
The Research ProcessDefine
Your Topic
Conduct Background
Research
Brainstorm Your Search
Locate Your Sources
Evaluate Your Sources
Write Your Paper and Cite Your Sources
Define Your TopicO What are “the rules”
of the assignment?O What to cover?O How to cover?
O Challenges of a group assignment
Source: Towson University Image Gallery
Background ResearchO You can do better than Wikipedia!O Library Subject-Specific Encyclopedia
O Sage Knowledge (social sciences)O Gale Virtual Reference Library
(sciences, humanities)O What to look for:
O Do I need to narrow/broaden my topic?O What are some key words that I should
use in my search?
Finding BooksO What are books anyway?O Finding books using Cook OneSearch
(aka the books tab of the big yellow search box)
Finding Books (Continued)
O Narrow resultsO FormatO LocationO Subject
O Evaluate resultsO How to find a book i
n the Stacks at TUO How to request a bo
ok from another USM School
APA CitationO Why do we
cite?O APA StyleO 2 pieces to APA
O In-text O Reference List
O Print BooksO E-Books
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan4th/
Practice
1. Find an article in a subject specific encyclopedia or a book on your topic
2. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/n3popaa3. Locate your group’s topic on the
page4. Under your topic, cite your source
as you would in an APA formatted reference list