RD 115
Reading Research Project:
This project is an opportunity to find out more about a topic of interest to you, and share your knowledge with the class. Please see your assignment sheet for details.
Where do I start?
Research starts with an information need. (Task initiation, in Kuhlthau's terms)
Your assignment should give you some ideas about how big a topic you need. Make sure you know how much information you'll need, and how you need to use it -- you'll be presenting your topic to the class, and answering questions about it.
Topic Selection
Always choose a topic you care about! If you're bored with your topic, research won't be any fun and your audience will be bored at the end.
Prefocus investigation
Read to explore your topic, and to learn about different aspects. This is a good time to use reference books, like the online encyclopedias linked to the "Reference Shelf" at the bottom of the Research page.
Focus Formulation
Write down a few interesting research questions, and some of the terms you've thought about. Many students use Wikipedia to find out about the issues and controversies related to their topics. If your topic is at all government-related, CQ Researcher is a terrific source for further exploration. Now you're ready to find some information!
Information Collection -- How do I find information on this?
Start with the library catalog (the blue box) to find books and videos. If you start early, you'll be able to use Summit to request books from our partner libraries as well.
The PCC Library subscribes to dozens of article databases. Databases provide access to thousands of articles from newspapers, magazines, trade journals, scholarly journals, and more. The library groups some databases together for ease of searching, and each database is also searchable individually. For a complete listing of all the library's databases, go to the Databases by Title page.
Evaluating Information (not one of Kuhlthau's steps)
Is this information what you need in order to share your topic with the class? Do you need more information, or different information? Will you be able to answer questions your classmates might ask?See How to Evaluate Information for help.
Search Closure
This is the decision that you have enough information to complete your project. Double-check to make sure you have all your citation information, and make sure you have more sources than you need, in case you decide that some aren't helpful.
Using Information Appropriately
Make sure you paraphrase accurately, give credit where it is due, and keep your presentation to the assigned length! When you provide good citations, you also strengthen your argument by showing that it's based on respected sources, and help your audience find more information on your topic.
Need some help with your citations?The library catalog and databases can generate citations of its resources for you. These will do most of the work for you, but you should always check to make sure your citations fit your instructor's requirements.
There are also some great citation makers available online.
Try OSLIS Secondary MLA Generator -- it's designed for middle and high school students, but it works pretty well for college too.
Easybib is another popular citation maker -- but make sure your speakers are muted; the site is free because there's advertising, sometimes including video commercials.
Questions? Need Help? Ask a Librarian!
Databases
Here are some recommended databases to start with for finding magazine, journal, and newspaper articles.
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Academic OneFile
Academic OneFile is a great starting point for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, it contains millions of articles available in full-text. Includes full-text New York Times content from 1995 to present.
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EBSCOhost
Search from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily.
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General OneFile
General OneFile is a periodical resource with over 6500 full text titles, many dating back as far as 1980. It contains popular, business and professional journals, NPR audio files complete with transcripts, and Fodor's travel guides.
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InfoTrac Newsstand
Provides access to more than 1,000 major U.S. regional, national and local newspapers as well as leading titles from around the world. Does not include The Oregonian.
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LexisNexis Academic Universe
Full-text of newspapers, wire services, and magazines from around the world, including the New York Times and Oregonian . Also provides company profiles and financial reports, government transcripts, trade journals and academic and legal databases.