You're ready to start researching!
But how should you actually start?
First, get a good background. Find out what your topic is about and get some overview information. Wikipedia may be a good option for that.
Wait, did I just say Wikipedia??!? Yes, I did! Wikipedia is a great place to get a general understanding of a topic. While it may not always be reliable since anyone can edit it, it generally provides good overviews. However, you shouldn't believe anything you read there without verifying it from a more credible source (more on credible sources in Step 3 "Finding and Evaluating Scholarly Sources"). Wikipedia often has a list of references at the bottom of its articles- this can be a good source of credible information. And you should never cite Wikipedia as a source for a paper unless your professor explicitly says you should.
As you continue finding information, keep in mind that research is a cycle- first you SEARCH, then you READ, then you search again... RESEARCH!
As you use the library databases, you'll find that some keywords work better than others. Be sure to keep an eye out for additional keywords that you may not have originally thought of. For example, you might start by searching in the databases with the word "education", but maybe a better keyword would be "school work" or "college", depending on your topic. Be flexible and use lots of different words!
Also try searching in multiple databases. After searching Literary Reference Center, try Academic Search Complete and JSTOR. They are all great databases for Literature. Check out our guide on library databases to for how-to videos and to explore more!
Books are a great resource for your assignments and research! Why?
But they're so... LONG! No one has time to read a whole book for just one source in a paper!
Don't worry, you don't have to read the entire book in order to cite it in your paper! Skim the book's contents for information relevant to your research by looking at the table of contents or chapter titles. If you are using the library's eBooks, you can also search within the book to find where your keywords appear in the text to find the most relevant sections.
A sampling of helpful eBooks on Grimm's Fairy Tales:
There's a team of research experts who are eager to help you find the sources you need- your Chaffey Librarians! Whether you're trying to figure out how to use the databases, how to figure out if a website is credible, or how to pick a good topic, we are here to help you at all points of your journey! You can find a librarian on Cranium Cafe or you can email us at library@chaffey.edu. You can also make an appointment to talk with a librarian on Zoom by emailing us as well.