FYS 100 The American Public School System -- Fall 2018: Getting Started

Try using a database like Credo Reference to learn about your topic and help you focus. Background reading can show you the different facets of a topic and provide you with more vocabulary words to use in your searching.

Another strategy is to locate a book on your topic and examine the chapter titles in the table of contents and entries in the index at the back of the book to learn more about aspects of the topic that could narrow your research question.

Purdue Online Writing Lab

Excelsior Online Writing Lab

• Select an interesting and doable topic.
• Identify each component of your topic.
• Select appropriate terms to describe the components and use truncation as appropriate.
• Determine the correct use of Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).
• Select fields to search if appropriate (author, title, subject).
• Limit your results as necessary (date, scholarly vs. popular, etc.).
• Evaluate your results and rethink your strategy as necessary.

Here is a brief list of materials in the reference collection. They are only a few steps away and can be very useful as you begin your projects.

• Almanac of American Education (ebook)
• Condition of Education 2016 (Ref 370.973 U58Nc 2016)
• Encyclopedia of Education Ref 370.3 E526G 2003
• Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration (Ref 371.2 E56e 2006)