A good researcher, is able to locate, organize, evaluate, and communicate information. When researching for an assignment, you will be required to use your library resources which include databases with academic journals which allow you to access scholarly content. Google or Google Scholar are online search engines that offer quick and easy web searching.
Research: Where to Begin (Purdue OWL)
A great place to begin your search is the Search box on the UCNJ Home Page. This Search All box searches most of the library's databases all at once.
What type of information to use
Scholarly Journals vs Popular Magazines
Scholarly Journals are usually peer-reviewed and are written for a specific audience (those actually in the field) and by experts wishing to share their own information/research with other experts in their field. They include expansive articles with exhaustive research, citations, and bibliographic information.
Popular Magazines are mostly for entertainment value or to get quick news related information.
Primary and Secondary Sources
A primary source has original data created and recorded by the individual who experienced the event. For example, letters, diaries, memoirs, and speeches, interviews, oral histories, artifacts, photographs, and artwork.
A secondary source is one created by someone who did not experience the event firsthand. Secondary sources interpret and comment on information found in primary sources. For example, books, essays, encyclopedias, biographies and journal articles that are not new research.
Choosing a Database
The library subscribes to many databases. Some are general databases and others are dedicated to a specific subject. English Composition essays tend to rely on general databases such as Academic Search Premier and Opposing Viewpoints. Academic Search Premier is the most popular general database for finding articles on a variety of topics.
Academic Search Premier Video Tutorial
If you need subject database, see this alphabetical listing of specialized database you can choose by subject:
Researching your Topic
Great research strategies make your search more productive and saves time. Remember to evaluate your information sources to ensure that they are credible and appropriate for your assignment.
Conducting Research (Purdue OWL)
Research Strategies (Excelsior Owl)
Searching for Information (EAP)
Keywords
Keywords are single words or short phrases that represent the main concepts in your topic. They can be combined in various forms to generate different search results. There are various techniques you can use to identify keywords:
Boolean Operators
Boolean operators are logic-based words or symbols used in search engines to combine or exclude keywords in a search and narrow down or broaden search results. Boolean searching helps you find relevant information faster and with more precision. Boolean operators include words like AND, OR, and NOT and symbols such as parentheses (), quotation marks, and asterisk *.
Searching with Boolean Operators (EBSCO)
Google & Google Scholar Boolean Operators (Southern Adventist University)
Evaluating Sources
"Evaluating sources means recognizing whether the information you read and include in your research is credible. Despite the large amount of information available, both in print and online, not all of it is valid, useful, or accurate. Evaluating sources of information that you might include in your writing is an important step in any research process..." as per Purdue OWL website.
Evaluating Sources of Information (Purdue OWL)
Evaluating Sources and Evaluation Checklist (Excelsior OWL)