Researching a Term Paper

• How do I get started?


• How do I plan a research strategy?
• Where can I find background information on my topic?
• What kinds of resources should I use to research my topic?
• How do I find scholarly journals?
• How do I find newspaper articles?
• How do I evaluate information resources?
• How do I read call numbers?
• How do I cite my sources?
• Where can I get more help with researching my topic and writing my paper?

• What type of assignment is it?
• How much information do I need?
• Is currency an issue?
• Do I need information from a certain type of publication?
• What if I need to find scholarly/peer-reviewed journals?
• Is point of view an issue?
• What if I hate to go to the library?

• Establish a good foundation
• Choose appropriate resources
• Evaluate your sources
• Put your thoughts together

• Why should I do background reading?
• Where should I look for background information?
• What do I look for?

• How do I decide what kinds of resources I need for my topic?
• What are the different resources available?

• What is a scholarly journal?
• How do you know if the journal you have selected is scholarly?
• What is the difference between a magazine and a scholarly article?
• How can I find scholarly journals?
• How can I tell if a journal article is peer-reviewed or refereed?
• How do I find out if WSU has the journal I'm looking for?
• How can I tell if WSU has the specific volume that I need?

• Where do I find today's news?
• Where do I find news from the past few days or weeks?
• Where do I find news from the past several years?
• Where do I find newspaper articles that are more than 10 years old?
• How do I find a newspaper on the web?
• How do I find articles on my topic from local, state, and regional newspapers?
  • How do I find the Dayton Daily News?
• How do I find articles on my topic from national and large city newspapers?
• How do I find articles on my topic from ethnic and minority newspapers?

• What criteria should I consider to evaluate print and electronic information sources?
• Are there any other criteria I should consider to evaluate electronic information sources on the Internet?
• Where can I get more information on evaluating information sources?

• What is the Library of Congress (LC) system?
• How do I read LC call numbers?
• What is the National Library of Medicine (NLM) system?
• How do I read NLM call numbers?
• What is the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) system?
• How do I read SuDocs call numbers?

• What am I required to cite?
• What citation style do I need to use?
• Are these style manuals available on the web?
• What information do I need to actually cite my sources?
• What if I need to write an annotated bibliography?

• Where can I go to talk to somebody about my topic?
• Where can I read about my topic?