The University of Tennessee - Martin

1. Identify and Define Topic

• Start early and allow plenty of time to explore, locate materials, and read them!
• Begin by choosing a topic that interests you. Brainstorm! Ask a librarian, your instructor, or scan the media (television, newspapers, radio, Internet) for ideas.
• When you decide on a topic, think about where you want to go with it.
  Example: Your topic is "violence in the media." Define the media: radio, television, films? Who is the violence impacting: children, adults, or animals? Additional terms to describe these subjects?: adolescents, youth, infants?
• Refine and focus your topic in a statement: "I need information on the effect of television violence on children."
• Consider the type of information you need on this topic. Is it current? Do you need a general overview or in-depth research? Magazines, journals, and newspapers provide current information, while books can provide more in-depth coverage

2. Locate Background Information

• Encyclopedias (general and subject-specific)
  Provide an overview of topics and their relationship to other subjects.
• Familiarize yourself with the issues.
• Review & Evaluate
  Do you have too much or too little information? If so, now is a good time to rethink and refocus your topic. You may have to broaden or narrow your search.

3. Locate Materials

• Books
  Books are useful for broader or more in-depth coverage of subjects than journal/newspaper articles. Online catalogs list books held in a specific library's collection.
• Journal & Magazine Articles
  Provide current information on topics. Indexes & Abstracts provide access to the journal literature (articles) for different subjects. Indexes list references (also called citations) to journal and magazine articles by subject. Abstracts include a brief summary of the article. Most indexes focus on a specific subject area and many are also available in computer format. Once an article is located and read, remember to check the bibliography for additional sources.
• Bibliographies
  Books and journal articles often contain bibliographies of relevant materials. Bibliographies list sources (books, journal articles, etc.) that were either used in writing a chapter/article or are recommended for additional information. If your course reader/syllabus contains full articles or book chapters, check their bibliographies for additional references.

4. Evaluate Sources

• Are the souces objective, or do they have a particular bias?
• What points-of-view have you collected, and are they relevant to your paper?
  

5. Cite and Document Sources

• You must provide accurate and complete references to other authors' works when you incorporate their ideas or words into your research.
• Record all sources used in writing you research paper. You will need this information for footnotes and a bibliography. Failure to do so is considered plagiarism.
• Different style manuals provide concrete examples on citing print and electronics sources. Your instructor may require a specific manual.

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