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ENGL 1302 SO McAdams

This guide has been designed to assist you in your research for Dr. Ruth McAdams' ENGL 1302 assignments.

Start Here

This guide is designed to help you:

  • Start Here:
    • Identify resources the library has that can help you with selecting a topic
    • Choose keywords that will allow you to begin searching for information
    • Learn strategies that you can use to conduct a basic search for information
  • Articles:
    • Recognize subject-specific databases and journals the library has access to
    • Select an appropriate database for researching your topic
  • Books & More:
    • Find and access books, eBooks, and other materials relevant to your topic by searching the library catalog
  • Websites: 
    • Find topic-related information online (outside of the library)
    • Learn guidelines you can use to help you evaluate your sources

Start Here

Start with your assignment

Read over your assignment and make sure you understand what it is you need to do. See if you can answer the following questions:

  • What is the assignment? Are you creating a presentation? Are you writing an essay? If so, what type of essay (descriptive, cause-effect, etc.)?  
  • Did your instructor provide a topic or do you have to come up with one yourself? 
  • What types of works (journal articles, books, etc.) can you use as sources and how many sources do you need? 
  • What style do you need to use to cite your sources?

Where to get ideas

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If you are picking your own topic, you might get ideas from:

  • Class materials or discussions
  • Current events or news
  • Topics you are interested in

Check your assignment to see if there are any guidelines related to what your topic can be. Check with your instructor if you have questions about whether a certain topic is acceptable for an assignment. 

A librarian can help you narrow or expand your topic or help you do pre-research to see if a topic is a good fit for you and your assignment. 

When choosing keywords to use for searching, think about your topic. What are the main ideas that you are interested in? What words could be used to describe these ideas? 

Example: 

Instead of a long sentence like, "Teens shouldn't have tiktok because it's bad for them," take out the extra words and focus on the key words.  

  • Teens
  • TikTok
  • health

And consider what related terms or synonyms you might need. 

  • Teen = teenager, adolescent, young adult, high schooler
  • tiktok = social media, instagram
  • health = mental health, wellness, brain, maturity