1. Tips For Effective Research

2. Identify and Document Your Research Topic or Problem
Think about your argument
Identify main concepts for your research
Write everything down.

3. Conduct Background Research
Look at previous research
Reading is essential
Reference sources and books

4. Give Yourself Plenty of Time
Don’t leave it until last minute
Allow time to get materials
Anticipate problems
i.e. books through loan, a journal may missing or web connections maybe down

5. Determine The Types of Information You Will Need
Consider the information type
What tools do you need to locate your sources.
Ask yourself the following questions:
What format of material (books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts, etc?) will most likely contain the information you need?
How important is "time" in your research? Do you need "up-to-the-minute" information or are you looking for materials that cover a specific time period?
How important is place in your research? Are you looking for materials covering a specific geographic area or are published in a certain place?
What languages do you need material in? Is reading documents in their original language important for your topic. Can you read languages other than English?

6. Select Your Tools Carefully
Identify the tools to use to locate the resources for your topic.
Talk to people
Watch out for unreliable information found on the Internet

7. Plan Your Search Strategy
Planning is important.
“If you fail to plan you plan to fail”
Decide on the specific information you want.
Key Words
Topics
Printed materials
Use introduction
Check indexes for specific subjects or names.
Electronic resources,
write down keywords

8. Document Your Search Thoroughly
Document the resources (electronic or print)
What you have used
Where they are located

9. Evaluate Your Results Is the information relevant to your topic?
Is it from an authoritative source?
Did you retrieve enough information, not enough, or too much?
Revise your search strategy if necessary
Repeat the process of searching and/or select another tool to use.
Read through and highlight relevant notes

10. Cite Your Research
Remember to record the publication details from your sources
Appropriately cite them in footnotes and bibliographies.
MUST HAVE THIS TO PASS

11. If You're Confused, Ask for Help!
If you are having difficulty ask for help!
Make an appointment with tutors
Don’t struggle and leave it too late!