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*STEM Library Research Overview

Guide created to support research in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math at TCC

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Ready to begin your research?

Illustration of a checklist
  • What is it that you will turn in? Are you creating a presentation? Writing an annotated bibliography? Writing an essay?
  • What are you being asked to do? Describe? Define? Compare and contrast? Persuade? Analyze?
  • What types of sources can you use? Are you looking for peer reviewed journal articles? Primary sources? News articles? Books?
  • How many sources do you need?
  • What citation style do you need to use to cite your sources? MLA? APA? Chicago?
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

In addition to a general topic, you will need to figure out what aspect of that topic you are most interested in. This will allow you to create a clear and focused research question. 

The library has access to many different newspapers, news databases, and general reference databases. The library also has access to databases that explore current and controversial issues. These databases can be helpful for exploring possible topic ideas and gathering background information. Gathering background information can help you learn the basics about the topic, develop your research question, and identify keywords you can use for searching.

Check with your instructor if you have questions about whether a certain topic/research question is acceptable for an assignment. 

Once you have chosen a topic and developed a research question, come up with a list of keywords that you can use to start searching for information. Think about your topic: 

  • What are the key concepts?
  • What do you want to focus on?
  • What words are used to describe these ideas?
  • Are there any other words that might be used to talk about these same ideas?
  • How can you put these different keywords together to search?

Keep this keyword list going! Once you start searching, you may come across words that you didn't think about or know before, which might be good to include in your search strategy. Different words get different results. 

Revise and refine your search strategy as you go. If you aren't getting the results that you hope to find, try searching with different words, or try some of the general search strategies listed on this page.

Databases may be set up to search differently, so check the database you are using to find out how to search in that database. Look on the database search screen for things like "Help" or "Search Tips".

In general, you may be able to use the following search strategies:

  • asterisk Use an asterisk: Known as truncation, using an asterisk at the end of part of your search word will pull different endings, searching for many different keywords at one time. This can help you broaden your search and get more results.
     
  • quotation marks Use quotation marks: Put quotation marks around your keywords to search them as a phrase. This can help you focus your search by only pulling the results that include a specific phrase.
     
  • Venn diagram showing only the intersecting part of two overlapping circles shaded in Search keywords with AND: Results only include those with both of your keywords. Use this to put keywords that describe different concepts together. This can help you narrow your search, getting fewer results.
     
  • Venn diagram with intersecting and non-intersecting parts shaded in Search keywords with OR: Results include those with either one or both of your keywords. Use this to put synonyms or related words together that relate to the same idea. This can help you broaden your search and pull in more results.
     
  • Venn diagram showing only the non-intersecting part of the first of two overlapping circles shaded in Exclude results using NOT: Results do not include any that have the keyword following NOT. Use to exclude irrelevant results. 

     

The databases provide options for limiting your search results. The options that you'll have will depend on the database that you are searching. Some options may be available from the search screen. Others will be available on the screen with your results, after you have run your search. Look for things like "Limit to" or "Filter your results".

  • You may have the option to limit your results to peer-reviewed journals.
  • Many databases offer some option to limit by publication date.
  • You may have options to limit by source and/or document type.
If you are working on an assignment, it is important to refer back to your assignment criteria to make sure you know what types of sources you can use. Using limits in the database may help you narrow in on the types of sources that you need to find.   

Remember to always evaluate all your sources!

You want to make sure you are picking high quality, credible sources. Reviewing your sources using the C.A.A.R.P. guidelines will help you evaluate the currency, authority, accuracy, relevance, and purpose of the information you find. A link to the C.A.A.R.P. test is provided in the Library Resources box on this page.

Learn More

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New to library research, or want to take your research skills to the next level?

This guide will help you get started, but the library also has many books about topics such as conducting research, thinking critically, and evaluating sources. The library also has books that focus on writing skills and presentations. Check out the selected resources listed on this guide or search the library catalog to find more.

Develop Your Research & Writing Skills

Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words

eBook

Telling people about research is just as important as doing it. But many competent researchers are wary of scientific writing, despite its importance for sharpening scientific thinking, advancing their career, obtaining funding for their work and growing the prestige of their institution. This second edition of David Lindsay's popular book Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words presents a way of thinking about writing that builds on the way good scientists think about research. The simple principles in this book will help you to clarify the objectives of your work and present your results with impact. Fully updated throughout, with practical examples of good and bad writing, an expanded chapter on writing for non-scientists and a new chapter on writing grant applications, this book makes communicating research easier and encourages researchers to write confidently. It is an ideal reference for researchers preparing journal articles, posters, conference presentations, reviews and popular articles; for students preparing theses; and for researchers whose first language is not English. Makes it easy to understand what goes where in scientific publications and, equally importantly, why Reinforces principles with examples of good and bad writing Addresses new issues for publishing, including open access and predatory journals Emphasizes writing effectively in other media that scientists must use, including conference papers, posters, theses, reviews, popular articles and grant applications Explains the principles behind writing and how it affects readers rather than proposing recipes for good writing

The College Student's Research Companion

Print Book

Most college students are novice researchers for whom Google is the option of first resort. But the information provided by the surface websites usually found this way often lacks substance and is of questionable authority. You can save your students from fruitless, random web searching with the help of this cutting-edge guide, newly updated to reflect the broad range of today's information sources. It's a must-have tool for first-year composition and information literacy courses, LIS collections, and graduate-level research. With this trusted resource by their side, students will  master the skills needed to integrate quality informational sources into their writing, enabling them to craft better essays; receive guidance on topic selection, time management, and research planning; learn a five-step process for evaluating sources; be introduced to the fundamentals of database searching, using reference sources, and finding periodical articles, books, and websites; get pointers on using sources properly, with advice on citing them according to widely used documentation styles, avoiding plagiarism, quoting or paraphrasing correctly, and incorporating notes; and find review questions and exercises at the end of each chapter, reinforcing the concepts they have just learned.

Research and Technical Writing for Science and Engineering

eBook

Engineering and science research can be difficult for beginners because scientific research is fraught with constraints and disciplines. Research and Technical Writing for Science and Engineering breakdowns the entire process of conducting engineering and scientific research. This book covers those fascinating guidelines and topics on conducting research, as well as how to better interact with your advisor. Key Features: advice on conducting a literature review, conducting experiments, and writing a good paper summarizing your findings. provides a tutorial on how to increase the impact of research and how to manage research resources. By reflecting on the cases discussed in this book, readers will be able to identify specific situations or dilemmas in their own lives, as the authors provide comprehensive suggestions based on their own experiences.

The Oxford Guide to Library Research

eBook

The information world has undergone drastic changes since the publication of the 3rd edition of The Oxford Guide to Library Research in 2005, and Thomas Mann, a veteran reference librarian at the Library of Congress, has extensively revised his text to reflect those changes. This book will answer two basic questions: First, what is the extent of the significant research resources you will you miss if you confine your research entirely, or even primarily, to sources available on the open Internet? Second, if you are trying to get a reasonably good overview of the literature on a particular topic, rather than just "something quickly" on it, what are the several alternative methods of subject searching--which are not available on the Web--that are usually much more efficient for that purpose than typing keywords into a blank search box, with the results displayed by relevance-ranking computer algorithms?This book shows researchers how to do comprehensive research on any topic. It explains the variety of search mechanisms available, so that the researcher can have the reasonable confidence that s/he has not overlooked something important. This includes not just lists of resources, but discussions of the ways to search within them: how to find the best search terms, how to combine the terms, and how to make the databases (and other sources) show relevant material even when you don't know how to specify the best search terms in advance. The book's overall structuring by nine methods of searching that are applicable in any subject area, rather than by subjects or by types of literature, is unique among guides to research. Also unique is the range and variety of concrete examples of what to do--and of what not to do. The book is not "about" the Internet: it is about the best alternatives to the Internet--the sources that are not on the open Web to begin with, that can be found only through research libraries and that are more than ever necessary for any kind of substantive scholarly research. More than any other research guide available, this book directly addresses and provides solutions to the serious problems outlined in recent studies documenting the profound lack of research skills possessed by today's "digital natives."

Sharing Our Science

Print Book

A personal, practical, and inspirational guide to written and oral STEM communications for scientists and technical professionals. In Sharing Our Science, scientist-turned-writing teacher Brandon Brown offers an eminently useful guidebook for STEM practitioners looking to communicate their technical work to either a technical or a broader audience. Professionals are increasingly required to communicate their work through blogs, podcasts, and newsletters and to submit to traditional media. After seeing his colleagues struggle to find a writing guide that tackled the unique challenges of writing and speaking about scientific topics, Brown set out to write the definitive handbook to assist STEM students, scientists, engineers, and tech workers alike. In this practical and relevant book, Brown uses his experience as a proven science communicator to cover three levels of writing- fundamental craft considerations, such as narrative tension, structure, sentences, and audience; unique scientific considerations, such as conveying numbers and utilizing metaphors; and finally, social considerations, such as public speaking and writing inside and outside of silos. In place of a reference manual, Brown's engaging narrative guide clarifies the fundamental principles that impact all scientific communication tasks, from white papers and slide decks to Zoom meetings and emails.Sharing Our Science represents the culmination of a lifetime of writing, research, and teaching that will enrich scientists' careers and illuminate the ways in which science is done and conveyed to the world.

How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor

Print Book

The New York Times bestselling author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor uses the same skills to teach how to access accurate information in a rapidly changing 24/7 news cycle and become better readers, thinkers, and consumers of media. We live in an information age, but it is increasingly difficult to know which information to trust. Fake news is rampant in mass media, stoked by foreign powers wishing to disrupt a democratic society. We need to be more perceptive, more critical, and more judicious readers. The future of our republic may depend on it. How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor is more careful, more attentive, more aware reading. On bookstore shelves, one book looks as authoritative as the next. Online, posts and memes don't announce their relative veracity. It is up to readers to establish how accurate, how thorough, how fair material may be. After laying out general principles of reading nonfiction, How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor offers advice for specific reading strategies in various genres from histories and biographies to science and technology to social media. Throughout, the emphasis will be on understanding writers' biases, interrogating claims, analyzing arguments, remaining wary of broad assertions and easy answers, and thinking critically about the written and spoken materials readers encounter. We can become better citizens through better reading, and the time for that is now.

Thinking Critically in College

Print Book

Finally, a college prep book that actually prepares students for college! Almost all first-year college students discover that college courses are more academically challenging than they expected, and certainly harder than classes in high school. Professors expect students not just to absorb material, but to analyze and synthesize it, consider multiple perspectives, evaluate conflicting evidence, and then apply what they've learned in new contexts. Thinking Critically in College explains how to do all this and more. Louis E. Newman draws on decades of experience as a professor at Carleton College and Dean of Academic Advising and Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford, offering the guidance you need to succeed both in college and in life post-graduation. Unique among college prep books, Thinking Critically in College builds on the latest research in learning, spells out the key critical thinking skills you need, shows you how to tackle actual college assignments, and provides exercises throughout to reinforce the lessons. Written in a personal, engaging style, Thinking Critically in College explains how to do the work your professors will require--exactly the preparation you need, no matter what your academic background. Practical, accessible, comprehensive, and interactive, Thinking Critically in College is the definitive guide, not only for those in college or headed there, but for everyone who needs a refresher on thinking clearly.

Read Critically

Print Book

Critical reading is the foundation of good research.  Read Critically gives you the knowledge and tools you need to be able to extract meaning from texts and judge its quality, relevance and significance. Understand your assignment question Know how to think critically, and in turn read critically Write critically and ace your assignment. Super Quick Skills provides the essential building blocks you need to succeed at university - fast. Packed with practical, positive advice on core academic and life skills, you'll discover focused tips and strategies to use straight away. Whether it's writing great essays, understanding referencing or managing your wellbeing, find out how to build good habits and progress your skills throughout your studies. Learn core skills quickly Apply them right away and see results Succeed in your studies and in life Super Quick Skills gives you the foundations you need to confidently navigate the ups and downs of university life.

Check That Fact

Print Book

Knowing how to check and challenge information is essential for academic study - and our everyday lives. This practical guide shows you how to be savvy about using sources and improve your information literacy. Learn techniques for efficient and effective fact-checking Find out how to evaluate whether a source is credible Identify and challenge misinformation in academia and beyond. Super Quick Skills provide the essential building blocks you need to succeed at university - fast. Packed with practical, positive advice on core academic and life skills, you'll discover focused tips and strategies to use straight away. Whether it's writing great essays, understanding referencing or managing your wellbeing, find out how to build good habits and progress your skills throughout your studies. Learn core skills quickly Apply right away and see results Succeed in your studies and life. Super Quick Skills give you the foundations you need to confidently navigate the ups and downs of university life.

Developing Information Literacy Skills

eBook

Developing Information Literacy Skills provides guidance and practice in the skills needed to find and use valid and appropriate sources for a research project. Anyone who does academic research at any level can benefit from ways to improve their information literacy skills. This text has been structured around the six critical elements of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, contextualizing these elements by fitting them into the research and writing process. The book focuses on providing students with the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills needed to: (1) identify the conversation that exists around a topic, (2) clarify their own perspective on that topic, and (3) efficiently and effectively read and evaluate what others have said that can inform their perspective and research.  The critical-thinking and problem-solving skills practiced here are good preparation for what students will encounter in their academic and professional lives.  As an experienced writing instructor, the author has evaluated the final written products of hundreds of students who were trained through one-shot workshops and first-year introductory courses. She has applied that knowledge to create the tasks in this book so that students have the skills to successfully find, evaluate, and use sources and then produce a paper that incorporates valid research responsibly and effectively.   

MLA Guide to Digital Literacy

Print Book

Students face challenges assessing, responding to, and producing information in today's fast-paced, complex digital landscape. This guide helps students understand why digital literacy is a critically important skill: their education, future careers, and participation in democratic processes rely on it. Hands-on, structured activities give students strategies for evaluating the credibility of sources, detecting fake news, understanding bias, and more. Readings and writing prompts support specific concepts, including how to craft a research question and effectively conduct searches. An appendix contains three sample lesson plans.

APA Style Simplified

Print Book

Master the fundamentals of 7th Edition APA style with this newly updated one-step resource  The newly and thoroughly revised Second Edition of APA Style Simplified: Writing in Psychology, Education, Nursing, and Sociology delivers a concise but comprehensive guide to writing clearly and effectively in APA style. It incorporates fresh guidelines from the Seventh Edition of the APA publication manual.  Distinguished psychologist, academic, and author Dr. Bernard C. Beins walks readers through how to write objective scientific research papers using engaging prose. He explains how to develop ideas, connect them to what others have written, and express them clearly. The book also describes the differences between written, oral, and poster presentations and offers instructions for applying APA style to each one.  APA Style Simplified: Writing in Psychology, Education, Nursing, and Sociology 2nd Edition goes beyond mere structural conventions and teaches readers the  importance of choosing effective wording, the right and wrong times to use technical language, and avoiding commonly encountered mistakes in word and sentence selection. The author also includes sections on:  How to write an engaging and informative introduction, including an interesting hypothesis  How to describe your chosen experimental method, including participants and subjects, materials and apparatus selection, procedure, and design  How to effectively communicate statistics and statistical concepts by keeping your mind on the point you're trying to make  How to show your results and relate them back to your hypothesis, including a few points about how to present your results to others  Perfect for students pursuing psychology, education, nursing, or sociology programs at any level, from undergraduate to postgraduate, APA Style Simplified also belongs on the bookshelves of working professionals in the same fields who hope to sharpen their APA-style writing, communication, and presentation skills. 

College Research Papers for Dummies

Print Book

Get ready to take on your first college research paper like a pro Just got assigned your first college research paper? Don't sweat it! College Research Papers For Dummies has your back with the perfect companion to these not-as-hard-as-they-look assignments. Discover how to research, argue, problem-solve, analyze, and synthesize your way through even the densest material. Find out how to best revise and rework your paper until it's a polished gem. Plus, get some quick tips on higher-level research papers, such as literature reviews and white papers. Accurately cite references using APA, MLA, and Chicago styles Take advantage of all the resources available to you as you write your first research paper, from your university's library databases to your local college center's support services Develop common research paper writing techniques, including argumentation, research questions, and thesis statements Don't wait until the night before your paper is due! Grab a copy of College Research Papers For Dummies today and ace that first research paper like we all know you can.

Critical Writing

eBook / Print Book

The main goal of Critical Writing is to provide students with a set of robust, integrated critical concepts and processes that will allow to them think through and write about a topic in a way that is built on--and permeated by--substantive critical thinking. This step-by-step guide shows: how to construct a thesis statement and the other main points that constitute the structure of the paper; how to write the paragraphs that make up the body of the paper; how to engage in productive research in a planned, self-directed way; how to make a point clear--not just grammatically or stylistically but also how to clearly convey ideas to an audience; how to think your way through the numerous unanticipated issues (including aspects of grammatical correctness, transitions, and many others) that arise while writing papers. Each step provides close and careful processes for carrying out each of these tasks, through the use of critical thinking.

Library Resources

Illustration of a piece of paper with writing on it, a laptop, and a stack of books

Click on the tab for relevant library resources.

To access library resources, use your TCC email and password when prompted to log in.

C.A.A.R.P. Test

C.A.A.R.P. TEST
DOES THIS RESOURCE SMELL A LITTLE FISHY?

Picking the right sources is a key step to creating a high-quality research paper or presentation. Choosing resources is easier when you evaluate them with the C.A.A.R.P. guidelines.

Currency:
Currency guidelines vary depending on the topic. A literary analysis from five years ago may still be relevant, but a science research article published at the same time may be out of date.
  • When was the information written or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or reposted?
  • Is this resource timely for your topic?
  • Are there newer resources that are more appropriate?
Authority:
Authority is contextual. A good author for one topic may not be an expert in a different topic.
  • Who is responsible for this information? Is there an identified person or organization?
  • Is the author an expert on this particular topic?
  • What are the author’s qualifications and affiliations?
  • Can you independently verify (e.g., do an internet search) the author’s credentials?
Accuracy:
The information should be correct and verifiable.
  • Does the resource provide citations?
  • Can you verify the information in the resource from the citations or other sources?
  • Is the resource peer-reviewed?
  • Do the information and tone seem unbiased and free from emotion?
Relevance:
The resource fits your topic and is written to the right audience.
  • Is the information about your topic? Does it support your thesis?
  • Have you looked at a variety of other resources before deciding which ones are the best fit?
  • Who is the intended audience for this resource?
  • Is the resource written at the right level (e.g., the coverage is not too shallow or too in-depth)?
Purpose:
The purpose is the reason the information exists.
  • Is the purpose of the information to inform, teach, entertain, persuade, or sell?
  • Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
  • Is the information objective or biased?
These guidelines have been adapted from the Meriam Library at California State University.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Databases

Refer to our databases listed by subject, under Encyclopedias and Dictionaries, for additional resources.
(Database links open in a new tab)

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - eBooks / Print Books

These are just a few of the available titles. Search the library catalog to find more.

Topics - Databases

If you have not yet decided on a topic or just want to explore the issues, you may find the databases listed below particularly helpful. Each of these databases offer options for Browsing the Issues, so you don't necessarily have to have a topic in mind yet. Instead, browse through the listed issues to find topics that interest you.
(Database links open in a new tab)

These are just a few of the resources available to you. Check the Databases by Subject list to find more.