ENG 112

As you learn more about a topic, you will get better at crafting search terms that get the search results you’re looking for. Try to use as many different types of search terms as possible, and be creative in your vocabulary:

Keywords: simple words and phrases that find basic information on a topic (ex: “immigration”)

Natural Language: regular phrases and terminology that you might use if you were asking your research questions out loud (ex: “how many people have immigrated to America illegally?”)

Controlled Language: a list of standardized subject headings used by catalogers and database indexers to describe what a source is about (ex: “illegal aliens,” “noncitizens”)

Jargon: Industry or field of study common phrases, or terms of art that are regularly used in the area. These may have implicit bias or partisan backgrounds, which may help you find diverse viewpoints. (ex: “undocumented workers”)

If you’re having trouble finding search terms that lead to the results you want, ask for help from your instructor or librarians. 

That’s an easy one… Refine your research question! You probably came up with the question before you really knew much about the topic, so it makes sense that after you’ve learned more, you’ve come up with a better question. 

Some ways to consider refining your research question:

• Determine if you’re still interested in your original question, or if a more exciting one has come up.

• Break a complex question down into multiple smaller parts.

• Look for gaps or holes in your research and craft a question to fill them.

• Stay open-minded as you read your sources.

• Be critical of the conclusions you had in your head when you first started the assignment. Consider whether or not the question you’re asking is the right one, or if there’s a more important one.

•  When selecting a topic, you want to think of something that interest you
  •  If you are passionate about a topic, the effort comes easier and typically you’ll produce better work
•   Also, before researching a potential topic, we’d recommend completing the TOPIC exercise

•  Each letter in TOPIC represents a question about your potential topic to help generate keywords to search with
•  You can list as many keywords for the columns as you'd like, but we recommend thinking of one word per column and see where that gets you first

Create a Concept Map

• Identify subtopics & topic-related ideas by creating a Concept Map

Give it a Try!

• Write your general topic, centered, at the top of a piece of paper
• Around your topic, brainstorm & write down as many subtopics as you can think of
  • Use Credo Reference Database to help during this process

• Based on your subtopics, try to think of & write down sub-subtopics
• Think of ways your subtopics & sub-subtopics interconnect with each other, & draw lines between these 
• Write two questions you have about each of these relationships between subtopics & sub-subtopics