Search Strategies - ENGL 1102 - Abbott (Online) - Summer 2021 - LibGuides at Georgia Highlands College

Research Strategy Links

The following links provide additional resources for developing a research strategy. Use the strategy that works best for you!

The Seven Steps of Research from Cornell University Libraries
A LibGuide from the Cornell University Libraries that breaks down the research strategy into seven basic steps. Also geared toward Cornell students, so be sure to consult GHC library resources in place of Cornell ones.
Smart Research Strategies Tutorial from Ohio State University
Another interactive step-by-step tutorial about developing a research strategy.
Research Strategy Worksheet Tutorial from Seneca Libraries
"My Research Strategy" Interactive Tutorial from UNC Wilmington
The interactive tutorial will take you step-by-step through developing search terms for your research. However, the tutorial is geared toward UNC students, so when you are prompted to actually search for information, you will need to use our library's catalog (GIL Catalog) and databases (GALILEO, subject databases) instead!
Research Strategy Worksheet from UNC Wilmington
A printable worksheet to help you develop search terms.

Searching 101

THINK first, SEARCH later.

What kind of resource are you searching for? (Book? Video? Website? Academic article?) This tells you WHERE to search: Galileo, GIL, or in a web browser!
Are there other important things you need to consider?
- Something written by a specialist? Go for Peer Reviewed!
- Something written during a specifc time? Check out the date range!
What information are you searching for? This is where keywords come in. Make a list. Check it twice! (Don’t know anything about keywords? Watch that video right there! -->)

Always remember: KEYWORDS are critical!

Here's an example.

My topic is "Females have brought a positive element to the military."

My keywords in this topic are "female" and "military" and maybe something like "benefit".

My "related words" lists might look like this:

female	military	positive
woman (women)	soldier	benefit
girl	army	good

So I could mix and match - pick one word from each list and I could get great results from each search!

OR - if I wanted to be even more specific, I could make a phrase: <"Female soldier"> and then add a word from my third list: <benefit>. My full search would look like this: <"female soldier" benefit>

See how that works?

Keywords - A Quick Guide

One Perfect Source?

One thing to keep in mind when you are doing research on your topic is that there is NO SUCH THING as a single perfect source that you will be able to cite to support your thesis. Researching and writing is a process of learning about your topic, thinking critically about what you've learned, and supporting your thesis through referencing a variety of sources.