Week 1 – Assignment:

5/2/22, 11:03 PM Preparing to Search - Research Process - LibGuides at Northcentral University

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NCU Library / LibGuides / Library How-To Guides / Research Process / Preparing to Search

Research Process These pages offer an introduction to the research process

at a very general level.

Home

Finding a Research Topic

Determining Information Needs

Scholarly Research

Preparing to Search

Database Research Log

Search Limits

Keyword Searching

Boolean Operators

Phrase Searching

Preparing to Search

Once you have selected a topic and reviewed general resources, you

must decide what exactly interests you most about your topic. For

example, you may have chosen globalization as a topic, but when you

run a search for globalization in the Library databases, you get over

12,000 results! In a situation like this you will need to narrow your

search. What about globalization interests you? Try adding some

keywords to globalization to come up with a smaller, more

manageable, set of search results. You may also find that your

research topic is much too narrow, or focused. Trying to look for

articles about the effects of globalization on outsourced employees

living in Hyderabad, India, will more than likely return zero results. In

this situation you need to broaden your topic by taking away some

keywords or being less specific about your research topic.

globalization = too broad globalization on outsourced employees living in Hyderabad, India

= too narrow globalization on outsourced employees = manageable topic

As mentioned above, it’s important to choose a topic that is not too

narrow or too broad. It is also helpful to select a topic where you can

effectively explore relationships. For example, "Is there a relationship

between globalization and the human rights of workers from local host

countries?" Use your research topic or question to identify the main

ideas, which will become your keywords.

keywords = globalization, human rights, outsourced employees

Search this Guide Search

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5/2/22, 11:03 PM Preparing to Search - Research Process - LibGuides at Northcentral University

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Truncation & Wildcard Symbols

Nesting

Proximity Searching

Field Codes

Subject Terms and Database Thesauri

Reading a Scientific Article

Evaluating Information

Finding Similar Resources

Resources for a Literature Review

Resources for Dissertation Research

Organizing Research & Citations 

Scholarly Publication

y g , g , p y

As you continue searching, refine your search by adding or combining

different keywords that further explore your topic. You may find you

need to modify your question. Carefully read and evaluate scholarly

research articles to determine their suitability and validity. Use

information from selected articles to form a response to your question

and guide future searches.

Understanding how to narrow or broaden your topic is a an important

part of the research process. Learn to recognize when these steps

need to occur and what to do to carry out these steps. Once you have

developed a research topic, you will want to begin thinking about the

type of information you need and the best approach to finding it.

The sub-pages in this section will describe techniques for searching in

the Library's databases.

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5/2/22, 11:03 PM Preparing to Search - Research Process - LibGuides at Northcentral University

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Learn the Library 

Ask Us!

Top 5 Searching Strategies

 Top 5 Searching Strategies EBSCO

handout

identifies

powerful

search

strategies to be

used at the

onset. Note

that some

search

commands

may vary in

other

databases.

Searching 101 Workshop

This workshop covers the basics of searching: Boolean logic,

keywords vs. subjects, how to use a database thesaurus, and

truncation. Various databases will be used throughout the workshop to

demonstrate different searching techniques.

Searching 101Searching 101

 Searching 101 Workshop Outline

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Searching 102 Workshop

This library workshop builds upon Searching 101 and covers field

searching, nesting, proximity searching, and finding similar resources.

Various databases will be used throughout the workshop to

demonstrate different searching techniques.

Searching 102Searching 102

 Searching 102 Workshop Outline

One-on-One Sessions

Below are our current one-on-one session offerings. Each one-on-one

offers a specific type of assistance. Please review them thoroughly and

if you need assistance deciding which session would be best for you,

speak with a Library team member through our Ask Us! page.

For questions or assistance with assignment interpretation or specific requirements, please speak with your course instructor.

Research Smart: Getting Started is a one-on-one session that provides students with the opportunity to learn how to conduct

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research, find relevant resources, and explore ways to effectively build

upon knowledge within their fields of study. Sessions are personalized

toward student needs and provide students with the insight and tools

needed for successfully completing assignments and establishing a

research routine.

Recommended prior to signing up for this session:

Attend the Library Orientation workshop. See the Library Events page for scheduling. Watch the ‘Search Like an Expert’ tutorial.

Research Consultations are live, one-on-one sessions that provide in-depth, high-level, and customized research assistance with a

reference librarian. These sessions are NOT meant to provide basic

Library navigation and searching skills. Research consultations are

most beneficial for students who have a clearly identified research

topic and have already done significant research on their own.

Research Consultation Areas of Assistance:

Developing your search strategy

Identifying relevant databases and journals

Finding and evaluating information resources

Discovering alternative search terms for your topic

Using advanced search techniques for specific databases

Narrowing your search results

If you need help with APA, Mechanics, Style of Writing, or Citation

Formatting, please contact the Academic Success Center for support.

Please review all requirements for a Research Consultation prior to

signing up on our Research Consultations page.

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Recorded Video Research Consultations provide in-depth, high- level, and customized research assistance with a reference librarian.

These 30-minute sessions will be recorded and emailed to you within 3

business days (Monday - Friday).

These sessions are NOT meant to provide basic Library navigation

and searching skills. For help with basic library techniques, please

schedule a Research Smart session.

Research consultations are most beneficial for students who have a

clearly identified research topic and have already done significant

research on their own.

Research Consultation Areas of Assistance:

Developing your search strategy

Identifying relevant databases and journals

Finding and evaluating information resources

Discovering alternative search terms for your topic

Using advanced search techniques for specific databases

Narrowing your search results

If you need help with APA, Mechanics, Style of Writing, or Citation

Formatting, please contact the Academic Success Center for support.

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Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022 5:09 PM URL: https://library.ncu.edu/researchprocess  Print Page Login to LibApps Report a problem

Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Business, Computing & Information Technology, Dissertation Resources, Education, Government & Criminal Justice, Health, Medicine & Nursing, Law, Library Services, Tools & Resources, Marriage & Family

Science, Psychology & Social Work, Sociology & Diversity Studies

Tags: annotated bibliography, Boolean operators, cited, cited references, citing articles, dissertation research, field codes, Google Scholar, literature review, measurements, organizing citations, peer-reviewed journals, popular sources, primary sources, research

design, research methods, research topic, research_process, scholarly sources, searching, secondary sources, statistics, tests,

theoretical frameworks, theory

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