Need help? Just ask!
Research Process Overview
| 1. Start by writing a question or two to guide you as you research. |
What are the health concerns for children who eat too much fast food? At what point does fast food consumption become a health concern for children? |
| 2. Break down your question into its essential concepts to identify keywords. | What are the health concerns for children who eat too much fast food? |
| 3. Brainstorm synonyms for each of your key concepts / keywords. |
health concerns... obesity, diabetes, fitness, weight children... youth, minor, adolescent fast food... McDonalds, take out, junk food, processed foods |
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4. Decide which databases will have the information you seek. |
Research Guides by Subject - Research Guides @ UK - Research Guides at University of Kentucky (uky.edu) |
| 5. Search by combining terms. This part is experimental. You will need to adjust - use different terms, combine terms in new ways, etc. until you find what you need. |  |
| 6. Look at the records for articles that seem promising to see what search terms the database uses to describe them. Add those to your keyword list. |
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| 7. Analyze your results. Read the title and abstract. Decide which articles are most likely to meet your needs. |  |
*If you find that your question has been asked and answered by another author or authors, look at the discussion or next steps section of their work to see what gaps they have identified. Use that information to help you draft a different research question related to your topic and start this process again.
| 8. Keep track of what you found (articles), where you found them (databases) and what search terms you used. |  |
If you get stuck at any point in this process, contact a librarian - we're always happy to help!
What are Scholarly Articles?
Introduction to Scholarly Articles helps you learn about what defines a scholarly article, whether or not "scholarly" means "peer reviewed", etc.
Length: Approximately 6-8 minutes
