1. Choosing a Topic

Interest- Research is an involved process and it is critical that you choose a topic that interests you. 
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The "W" Questions- Ask yourself the following questions to help narrow down your topic:

WHO? Who are you talking about? Who is publishing the articles you are using? 
WHERE? Where is your topic relevant? Are there specific places where your topic is influential?
WHEN? When did the research take place? Will you be focusing on a specific time period? 
WHY? Why is your topic important? Why do you find this topic interesting? 
HOW?​ How are you going to do your research? How will you phrase your thesis? How are you going to focus on specific areas of this topic? 

2. Selecting Sources

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Image Credit: https://libguides.webster.edu

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3. Identifying Keywords

​Identify the important nouns or main ideas in your research question. 

• Research Question: What is the effect of incorrect health information on social media?

Consider the keywords you selected and brainstorm a list of synonyms for each term:

• Incorrect information: lies, false, misinformation
• Social media: social network, online, internet, instagram, facebook
• Health: wellness, doctor, medical

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**TIP** Begin with 2-4 keywords and adjust accordingly based on the results of your searches!

4. Finding and searching the database

13 STEPS

1 Visit the library website by going to LibraryJFK.weebly.com. From here, click DATABASES to access research resources. 

2 Click DATABASE LIST to access the list of databases we subscribe to.

Below, you will find the separate link to JSTOR, a large academic database. You can access JSTOR without a password when you are on campus. 

3 This is the database list page. All of the databases are listed alphabetically with a short description. For this example we will use OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS.

4 This is the homepage for Opposing Viewpoints. To conduct a search we can type in the search bar OR select advanced search.

5 This is the advanced search page. Let's enter the search term 'vaping' here.

To the right of each search bar where you see "keyword" is a drop-down menu of different search options such as title and author.

6 When you begin typing, the database will suggest search phrases based on other users. You can select one of these or type your own term. 

7 Let's narrow our search by adding another keyword with AND. Click on the second search bar to add the keyword 'teen'. 

7b Click

8 Click search.

9 This is the results page. Let's select the Viewpoint article 'Vaping Regulations Should Not Favor Big Tobacco'.

Note that we can see the year of publication, author, length, and origin of the article below the title. 

10 Here you can read the full text of the article. Across the top you will see options to Cite, Send To, Download, and Print. 

11 When you find an article you'd like to use it's important that you cite it using the correct format. For science research we would use APA. Click to select APA 6th Edition. 

12 You can also export your citation to NoodleTools or Google Drive. 

Click to close. 

13 By clicking the Google Drive icon you can save the full article to your Google account. 

Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/1630282/Database

Anatomy of a search result-

5. Advanced Searches

BOOLEAN OPERATORS-



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FILTERS-

6. Evaluating Information

7. Citations