| |
|
Library Home | Student Info | Faculty & Staff | Research Tools | Distance Learning | Remote Access | Useful Resources | Contact Us | Library Events |
If possible, select a topic that interests you. If your instructor assigns a topic, make the most of it by finding something about it that interests you. Narrow the topic as much as possible.
For example if I wanted to research Volcanoes I might want to narrow it down to a geographical region, Iike Hawaii and the Pacific islands, but I don't want to narrow it down too much, like a specific eruption from one volcano., because I may not find enough information if it is too narrow.
Explore your topic using a reference resource like an encyclopedia to learn more about the topic and find keywords for searching.
Once you have some background information about your topic, creating a research question will help narrow your focus on your topic. It will also help to determine keywords for searching the library catalog and/or databases. For example, how have volcanic eruptions on the Big Island of Hawaii changed the environment?
Think about the questions you want to answer. If you have been given a prompt, this can be very helpful. If not, think about how to fill in the following sentence.
I want to research ____(what/who)____
and ____(what/who)____
in ____(where)____
during ____(when)____
because ____(why)____.
| Blinn Home | Blinn A to Z | myBLINN | eCampus | Blinn Directory | Academic Calendar | Writing Centers | Learning Centers | Computer Labs | Comments and Suggestions? |