An Introduction. Welcome to the Library, the place to start and complete all your
research needs! ... information, related topics and historical discussions. 1.
Library Research: An Introduction Welcome to the Library, the place to start and complete all your research needs! Here are some of the essential steps required for academic research. DEFINING YOUR TOPIC: Think about the main concepts and keywords that describe your topic. These keywords will form the basis for searching and finding information about your topic in the library catalogue, online databases, and other resources. For the research topic “What is the relationship between violence and the media?” we might use keywords such as: violence, brutality, media, television, tv SEARCHING STRATEGIES: When doing research, use AND to connect two different concepts. Example: violence AND media SELECTING & LOCATING RESOURCES: Think about what type of information you need for this research. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are a great place to start your research and are helpful for finding definitions, overviews, background information and basic facts.
1. Start at the GBC Library website, then click Find Materials 2. Click Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 3. To access a specific resource, click on the title (Example: Encyclopedia Britannica) ** Your library login is required for offcampus access to library databases, check here for details.
Once you have some background information, you may want to move onto more focused coverage of a topic. Books and E-books can be found through the Library Catalogue and provide in-depth information, related topics and historical discussions.
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1. From the GBC Library website, click the Books tab and search for books and ebooks using keywords. 2. Remember it is helpful to star with a general search (Example: violence = 390 books titles), then add keywords to narrow your search (Example: violence AND media = 24 titles).
Check out our "How to Find a Book" tutorial or use our Search Tips for details on how to search the Library Catalogue by: Keyword, Author, and Title. Articles are helpful for finding highly specific information on a topic, new research in the field, and information on current events. To locate articles, you will need to search within a database. Select a library database that covers your general subject area. For step by step instructions, check out our tutorial “How to Find an Article”! 1. Using the GBC Library website, search for Articles & Databases by Subject Area. *If you’re not sure what area to select, try General. 2. Use keywords you might expect to find
in the title or subject of the article. ** Remember, if you receive too many results, add keywords that are more specific (using AND). If you don’t receive enough results, try being more broad (using OR). Example: media OR tv.
Websites are also useful resources but remember, when searching the internet it is very important to critically evaluate the information you find. Check out some recommended websites by subject using our Research Guides and check out our guide on Evaluating Websites for helpful hints! CITING YOUR SOURCES is an essential part of college research. Any information (including ideas!) that you did not create yourself must be credited using a citation method. Check out our guides to citation styles, including APA and MLA as well as our citation tutorials. ** If you have any questions please let us know, the library is here to help: via email
via chat
via phone
in person
http://library.georgebrown.ca/ Last Updated: LLC April 2012-CA
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TTY
