Topic Selection and Search Techniques

Jane LongMLIS, University of OklahomaMA, English, Wright State University

Reference Services LibrarianAl Harris Library jane.long@swosu.edu

How Do I Choose a Topic?• Select something that is of interest to you.• Remember that as an academic writer, you

will need to develop a scholarly perspective on your subject.

• A scholarly topic should: – Examine one narrowed issue, not a broad

subject.– Address knowledgeable readers and carry

them to another plateau of knowledge.– Have a serious purpose—one that demands

analysis of the issues, argues from a position, and/or explains complex details.

– Meets the expectations of the instructor and conforms to the course requirements.

• Try to make a connection between your interests and the inherent issue of your subject.

• Remember, you can’t write a personal essay and call it a research paper, yet you can choose topics close to your life.

• Let’s look at a few ideas.

Relating Your Personal Ideas to a Scholarly Problem

1. Combine personal interests with an area of academic studies:

Personal interest: SkiingAcademic subject: Sports medicinePossible topics: “Protecting the Knees”

“Therapy for Strained Muscles”2. Consider social issues that affect you and your

family:Personal interest: The education of my childAcademic subject: The behavior of my child in

schoolPossible topics: “Children Who Are Hyperactive”

“Should Schoolchildren Take Medicine to Calm Their Hyperactivity?”

3. Let your cultural background prompt you toward research into your heritage or your culture:

Ethnic background: HispanicPersonal interest: Struggles of the Mexican child in

an American classroomPossible topic: “Bicultural Experiences of Hispanic

Students: The Failures and Triumphs”

Potential Topic Ideas:• What can I do to take better care

of the environment? • Do Americans need health care?

What does the taxing of health care mean?

• Are the Vietnam War and the war in Afghanistan similar?

• What is Lupus, and am I at risk?• Is traditional marriage going out

of style?• Do Americans need more security

when they are using the Internet?

Where/How Do I Begin My Topic Search?– Library Catalog

• Reference Area• Search the catalog for:

– Books, ebooks, videos

– Databases• TOPICsearch• CQ Researcher • Issues and Controversies• Points of View Reference Center• Pop Culture Universe• Newsbank Access World News, Newspaper

Source Plus

Catalog:

Finding books

Check the Reference Materials

• Almanacs, dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias are useful tools for finding quick facts, statistics, or a broad overview of your topic.

• If you need background information about your topic, these tools can be a good place to start.

• You can find them in

the catalog.

Ebrary

• Ebrary provides more than 44,000 digital books in a broad range of subject areas, including business, technology, health and medicine, literature and the humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. Ebrary digital books contain the full-text and illustrations of their print counterparts

Open WorldCat

Search Techniques:

1. Keywords– Flexible Terms– Easy Searches– Less Accuracy in

Searching– Use of Phrases

Identifying Keywords

• Identify the significant terms and concepts that describe your topic from your thesis statement or research question.

• These terms will become the key for searching catalogs, databases and search engines for information about your subject.

Keyword Phrases• Single concept, multiple words• Some electronic resources require

keyword phrases be enclosed with punctuation by using– Quotation marks – SWOSU Catalog– Parenthesis

Keyword Phrase Examples:

• Basic phrase “criminal justice”• Proper names “Native American”• Hyphenated words “x-ray”• Slogans,

advertisements “The quicker picker- upper.”

• Famous quotations “hope is the thing with feathers”

• Movie titles, song titles “The Blind Side”

Search Techniques:

2. Boolean Operators– Connect keywords only– Must be placed between keywords– AND

• Narrows your search– OR

• Expands your search with synonymous terms

– NOT• Excludes words from your search• If used too much, it can work against

you!

How do I pick the right keywords?

• Here is an example of a visual word search tool:– Visuwords

– Use the suggestions made in the databases

How can I conserve energy?• First, narrow down the topic

– What type of energy?• Oil resources?• Water resources?

– What is meant by conserve?• Will I focus on health issues?• Focus on using fewer products?• Focus on preserving what we have?

– Who is involved in conservation?• Is this a call to action? • Will I consider what can be

accomplished by an individual?

How “AND” is used

• AND (narrows)– conservation and energy– conservation and preservation and

“alternative transportation”

How “OR” is used

• OR (expands)– conservation or environment– improvement or betterment

• AND & OR together– conservation or environment and

ecology– improvement or betterment and

“alternative transportation”

How “NOT” is used

• NOT (excludes)– preparation not cookery– maintain not embalm

• AND, OR & NOT together– ecology and “biological science” or

environment not element

Truncation (Wildcards)

• Non-universal symbols used in searching

• Common symbols:

* ?• Used with a root

word• Used to replace a

vowel or single character

Truncation (Wildcards)

• Root Word- looks for multiple endings of a word, in this case it takes the place of ‘OR’– jump?– jump, jumps, jumping, jumper,

jumpers

– rope and jumping or jumps or jump – rope and jump?

Truncation (Wildcards)

• Singular/Plural- replaces a vowel or single character in a word, in this case it takes the place of ‘OR’– wom*n– woman, women

– history and woman or women – history and wom*n

Things to remember --• Rely on the use of Boolean

Operators to search• Remember the importance of

good keywords; use synonyms that provide additional search possibilities

• Formulate a research question that aids you in narrowing your search

• Example: What are a few simple things we can do to protect our natural resources?

Using Databases to Locate Topics

TOPICsearch

• An Ebsco product• Use Limiters to Narrow

Search

• Example: Environment– Current Events– Full Text– Topics– Document Type

• CQ Researcher• contains information on current

and controversial issues concentric to the U.S. Government

• Points of View Reference Center• provides a variety of essays

presenting multiple sides of a current issue

• Issues and Controversies• provides up-to-date, objective

information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day

Questions?

• Contact me:– Jane Long

• 774-3030• jane.long@swosu.edu• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long/

Thanks!