POLS Y205: Elements of Political Analysis   Tags: government, political_science  

When you are assigned a research paper or project, you may feel a little overwhelmed.  There is so much information, and so little time!

How do you go about finding just the information you need? Experienced researchers follow a process called a "search strategy."  The search strategy outlined below will guide you through the process of finding primary and secondary sources for your research paper.

Start your research as early as possible.  The extra lead time will allow you to take full advantage of the services offered by the library, including specialized reference assistance and borrowing materials not available in the Helmke Library.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• Doing Library Research Guide
• Helmke Library Self-Guided Tour
• Foraging for Information Worksheet (How to Select Keywords and use Boolean Operators)

Follow these steps:

FIRST: Use specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, and textbooks to identify who, what, when, where, how and why.  Get Started on this Step

SECOND: Use the references cited at the end of chapters or articles in textbooks, specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, and guides, and specialized bibliographies to identify the core scholarly research on your topic or research problem.

THIRD: Use databases and indexes to update core scholarly research with current scholarly material.  Get Started on this Step

FORTH: Identify and obtain as much primary source material as possible. A primary source documents first-hand accounts or first recordings of events. The historian using a number of such primary sources produces a secondary source. Examples of primary source materials include letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, contemporaneous newspaper accounts, government documents, statistics, photographs, etc. Consult the Political Science librarian for help in locating primary source materials.  Get Started on this Step