Developed to help students guide themselves through the research journey as they incorporate ideas and guidance from peers, teachers, and experts.

Are there key documents–letters, speeches, legislation, etc–that are important or lead to a better understanding of the topic? Consult our primary source pathfinder for ideas. Cite and annotate those that are most relevant.

Cite any major organizations, support groups, etc. involved in the topic. If you have chosen a controversial topic, attempt balance by including representative groups on all sides of the issue.

Are there particular sites that will provide researchers subject-specific media? For instance, you might recommend one of NASA’s image databases for researchers in aeronautics. Does the library have any films or film series that will add understanding of the topic? Have you discovered any videos that should be rented or purchased and viewed? Are there relevant Web-based videos available from reliable, stable archives? See our streaming media pathfinder for ideas and access to our media database. Cite and annotate the best of the sources you find!

Which professional or trade journals, online or offline are most likely to contain articles relating to your research?

List and annotate in this category, the very best of the websites you find. Why did you select these over the many available others? You’ll find guidance on annotating here http://www.sdst.org/rguide/page9.html

Which experts, scholars, practitioners, etc. are continually being mentioned or cited in this area of knowledge?

Subscription databases (like those contained in EBSCOhost, GaleNet, ABC-CLIO, or databases like ProQuest Historical Newspapers or eLibrary) have materials not generally available on the free Web. Which were particularly helpful for your project? Describe here the most relevant databases, not specific journals or articles.

Search the library’s online catalog, the state interlibrary loan catalog, online bookstores like Amazon, RedLightGreen, ebooks, etc. for books that will help with your research. If you’d like to suggest a book for purchase, see a member of the library staff or fill out our online suggestion form.

Cite and annotate the best books you find!

Who is talking about this issue? Are there well-established blogs that offer credible voices behind an issue or question? (For instance, a soldier’s blog might give in-the-field perspective relating to the war in Iraq.) Use sites like technorati.com and A9.com to help you search the blogosphere. Cite and annotate these blogs!

Ask these questions about blogs you consider using for research:

• Who is the blogger? This may be challenge with so many blogs offering spotty or nonexistent “about” pages. That may be a clue in itself.

• What sorts of materials is the blogger reading or citing?

• Does this blogger have influence? Who and how many people link to the blog? Who is commenting? Does this blog appear to be part of a community? The best blogs are likely to be hubs for folks who share interests with the blogger.

• Is this content covered in any depth, with any authority? How sophisticated is the language, the spelling?

• Is this blog alive? It there a substantial archive? How current are the posts?

• At what point in a story’s lifetime did the post appear? Examining a story’s date may offer clues as to the reliability of a blog entry.

• Is the site upfront about its bias? Does it recognize/discuss other points of view? (For certain information tasks–an essay or debate or student blog–bias may be very useful. You need to recognize it.

• If the blogger is not a traditional “expert,” is this a first-hand view that would be valuable to your research? Is it a unique perspective?

 

Your project might be a simple review and analysis of the literature in a focused area. Let us know. This category is especially important if your research is more original. Did you use a survey? Did you observe subjects? Did you analyze content of documents or media? If you did, use this space to describe exactly how you did it!