Have a Plan
Libraries have lots of information. It can be overwhelming to find the right information for your project. So it's best to have a plan to keep you focused and to avoid frustration.
Having a search strategy will help you (see the Tools below), but as you gather information, you will refine your topic, and you will need to search for more specific (or general) information. Research feels like you are repeating yourself, but you are actually focusing in on your topic:
Research Preparation Tools/Handouts
- KWEL Questions ChartHelps you concretize the knowns and the unknows about your topic. From the University of Connecticut.
- Generating Keywords for Searching WorksheetHelps you break your topic into keywords and work with others to generate synonyms. Use these keywords to search online resources and discover additional keywords, and those that don't work.
- Research Log WorksheetAsks you a series of questions to help you identify what you need to know, where to look for it, focus on specific aspects of your topic, etc.
