An Introduction to Research Processes

Before you commit yourself to a topic, conduct a preliminary search. A preliminary search is ideal for getting a good overview of a topic. It can also help you begin narrowing your topic by helping you learn which aspects of a particular topic you find most interesting.

You might start a preliminary search by looking up your topic in an encyclopedia and reading the general articles about it. Then you might visit your library's reference room and check the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, an index of recent articles in popular magazines. It will direct you to the latest information and opinion, classified by many subjects. You can also look in a newspaper index such as NewsBank, a computerized index now available in many libraries. Browsing in an introductory textbook, if any seems likely to help, is also a useful early step.

You can spend time on the Internet, visiting sites on the World Wide Web and reading messages posted to newsgroups or Web discussion forums. Searches on some of the leading Web search sites, such as AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, Google, and Yahoo, can lead to you a wide range of Web pages that might be of interest to you. Similarly, searches of the Deja News and Liszt Web sites can help you locate newsgroups and mailing lists that deal with your topic. The number of sources you can locate on the Internet is large — and growing on a daily basis — so you'll need to exercise discipline when it comes to spending time online, especially in this early research stage. Depending on your topic, however, it can be time well spent.

Finally, consider discussing your topic with an expert in the field. If you're interested in a topic such as gun control legislation, consider meeting with a professor, such as a political scientist or a sociologist, who specializes in the area. Or talk with friends or acquaintances who are particularly passionate about the issue. Or spend time at a gun show talking with the people who attend.