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The Research Process  Tags: research start process  

An overview of the Research Process, which includes information about search strategies, how to choose and refine topics, kinds of resources, and citing sources
Last update: Sep 25th, 2009 URL: http://libguides.aacc.edu/researchprocess  Print Guide  RSS Updates

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Worksheets

Download Worksheets (PDF) detailing The Research Process.  To view the file, you will need Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from Adobe.
 
 

Develop Research Vocabulary

To dramatically increase the relevancy and usefulness of the information you find, you should conduct multiple searches using different search language. To this end, it is helpful to create a list of possible search terms. Remember that even an "s" on the end of a word can make a difference in your search results.

  • As you research, add to this list any words or phrases you commonly see.
  • Use a thesaurus (for example, thesaurus.com) to find synonyms and other vocabulary.
  • Mark each word or phrase on your list as a synonym for your topic, a broader topic, a narrower topic, or a related topic.
 

Create Search Strings

Please note: when searching, avoid using connective words (like and, but, or), articles (like a, an, the), and other very common words; try to use only nouns and verbs.

Main terms go across. Synonyms for each go down.

 

AND

AND

 

OR

 

OR

 

OR

 

AND

 

AND

 

OR

 

OR

 

OR

 

AND

 

AND

 

 

Example: To find information about working as a librarian at a college or university

librarianship

AND

career

AND

college

OR

  

OR

 

OR

libraries

AND

jobs

AND

university

OR

 

OR

 

OR

librarians

AND

profession

AND

higher education
 
 

Research Assistance

If we can further assist you in your search for information, please drop by the reference desk or contact reference staff by phone at 410-777-2456 or by email at refdesk@aacc.edu.

 
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