A short video (less than 1 minute) on turning your question into keywords.
Before you can begin searching for information in a print or online resource, you need to identify keywords related to your topic. Key terminology can be found easily by scanning:
If you are still struggling, then try these suggestions:
Welcome to the guide for CHI 320: Gender Politics in Chinese Culture.
This guide will help you find scholarly sources for your final research project. If you are having difficulty finding good information, you can contact the reference desk by using any of the methods in the Ask-a-Librarian box.
The most challenging part of any research assignment is deciding what you are going to look for and how to look for it. If your research question is too broad or too narrow, chances are you will find nothing. If you don’t have the correct words or word order, you will come up with sources that are not relevant to your topic. The key is coming up with a specific question and then distilling it into the right combinations of words (keywords).
To develop your research question, you begin with a vague notion and ultimately develop that notion into a question that you can use to look for information. Below is an example on how to take a notion and develop it into a searchable question that will enable you to develop keywords.
|
Vague idea: Fox News and MSNBC |
Developing the Idea: Agenda setting and Fox News and MSNBC |
Further refining your idea: How is agenda setting theory |
Specific Research Question: What role did agenda setting theory play in the |
Once you have your idea developed into a research question, you can develop your keyword list to effectively search the scholarly literature.
In order for us to improve on what we do, we would appreciate it if you would fill out this brief survey before you leave here today. The last day to do the survey is November 8th. Thank you!