Research steps

• Identify the key concepts included in your research topic/question
• Think of other related terms or synonyms for the concepts
• Choose what types of sources would be the most useful for your topic -- academic journal articles, advertisements, magazine articles from the 1920s, etc.
• Choose the databases or other sources (e.g., Bantu World) that will cover those types of sources
• Create search statements that can be used to search library databases. Search statements use the AND connector to link concepts. E.g., if my topic were the role of women in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa:
  • My main concepts: anti-apartheid - women - south africa
  • My synonyms and related words: apartheid, ANC, African National Congress, bantu women's league, ANCWL - females, woman, winnie mandela, dulcie september, lilian ngoyi - cape town, durban, johannesburg
  • My possible search statements:
    • anti-apartheid and women and south africa
    • winnie mandela
    • dulcie september
    • ANC and women
    • African National Congress and women
• Locate the items you find in the UW Libraries. If you are need a book that is not available at the UW Libraries (or is checked out), first search the Summit Catalog and request the book be sent to the UW. If the book isn't available in Summit, request it via Interlibrary loan. Articles not available at the UW can also be requested via Interlibrary loan.