Introduction

In Brief: Research Topic

Step 1: Search Terms

Step 2: Search Strategy

In Brief: Primary & Secondary Sources

Step 3: Finding Books

Step 4: Finding Articles

Step 5: Locating Sources

Step 6: Evaluating Sources

Step 7: Using Information Effectively

What search terms will you use to find articles relevant to your research question?
Try to specify a handful of search terms before you begin your research. As you proceed, you can identify additional search terms by seeing how articles that seem relevant are indexed and using their subject keywords/headings as search terms.

Keywords

The crucial initial step in conducting a library search is discovering what words or phrases should be used in the search process. These search terms are keywords that describe your topic. You want keywords that are sufficiently broad so that relevant materials are identified; but you want them narrow enough that you don't have to sort through hundreds of citations.

To develop a vocabulary of search terms, think about your research question. What concepts are central to it? Do these concepts have synonyms? Are there other concepts that are similar to them? Are there key people and/or organizations involved? Does your question focus on a particular geographic location? Do significant events relate to your topic?

Look in one of your texts, articles that you've read, or encyclopedia entries. What terms are used there to describe your topic? Are there references to other sources that seem related to what you want to investigate? You can use the terminology used in a textbook, article, or encyclopedia, or a researcher's name as a search term.

Subject Headings

Subject headings are standardized terms used to describe the contents of items in a database. Subject headings, which can be referred to as descriptors, may describe a person, event, idea, or place. Note that they differ from database to database.

Help getting started:

• Library of Congress Subject Headings.
  Most academic and research libraries use the LCSH (many of us still have some materials classified by Dewey Decimal classification as well). The complete list of LCSH is published in 5 volumes. These are available at the Suzzallo Library reference desk.

• Take subject headings from a good source.
  Do a keyword search and find one good source on your topic. Look at the subject heading or descriptors. Find the subject headings that best describe your topic and do searches using those subject headings. See the example from the UW Libraries Catalog.

• Use the subject headings in an index/database.
  Some indexes (print or electronic) have their own list of subject terms, often called a thesaurus or subject guide. The thesaurus/subject guide will lead you to the subject terms used in a particular database.
  Examples:

  Keywords you might use	Database	Subject
  e-mail	UW Libraries Catalog	electronic mail messages
  e-mail	Expanded Academic Index	no exact subject

Step 2: Search Strategy