The following five steps describe the process of finding
information in the Newbury College Library. These steps are
suggestions, not rules. Your topic may require you to rearrange
these steps to fit your own research needs.
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Step 1: Finding a Topic
Focusing or narrowing your topic of interest is always a good idea before you get too far into the
research process. If you have a clear idea of what you are looking for, you are less likely to be
overwhelmed by the amount of information that is out there. Here are some suggestions for narrowing your topic:
Look up your topic in the encyclopedias in our reference collection.
Encyclopedias will give you general background information on your topic and will help you identify
different aspects of your topic.
Identify main concepts or keywords related to your topic.
You can do this by phrasing your topic as a question.
For example, if you are interested in finding information
about politics and the media, you might ask, "What effect
does the media have on the success of politicians?"
In this case, keywords might include media and politicians.
Test out your topic by using your keywords.
Once you have found some keywords, try typing them into the library catalog or databases to see how many books or articles you find.
For example, try typing in the keywords "media and politicians" in the Expanded Academic Index.
If you get more information than you could possibly want,
you might want to narrow your topic even more. For example,
you could focus on the effect that the media has on a specific
politician. In this case, you might type in "media and George
Bush."
Step 2: Search for Books in the Library
Use the library's resource
catalog to locate books in the library.
The catalog will give you a Library of Congress call number
to help you find a book in the library. The Library
of Congress classification system groups books together
by subject area. Each call number represents a different
subject. For example, communication titles are assigned
the call number PN. So if you want to browse among
our communication titles, just look for the shelves labeled
PN.
Many databases give you the full text of an article,
meaning that you will be able to print out the entire article
directly from the computer.
Sometimes the databases give you a citation rather
than the full text. A citation gives you the journal, title,
and page number of a published article. Once you have the
title of the journal that the article is from, check the
electronic
journal holdings list to see if another library database
gives the full text of the article. If this does not work,
check the library resource catalog to see if we carry the
journal upstairs in our periodical collection.
Step 4: Search for Web Sites
The Internet can be a rich resource for anyone doing research.
Because of the wealth of information out there, it is important
to search for information effectively and know how to evaluate
a web site.
The Internet is a particularly good place to find pictures, maps, government information, listserves, and news.
If you are looking for comprehensive coverage of a topic
conveniently gathered in one place, it is best to use books.
If you are looking for information that is heavily researched
and written by scholars or experts in a field, you probably
want to use journal articles.
