You will need to do some background reading on your topic. This will allow you to become familiar with the key terms or words that other researchers use when writing about your topic. This will help you to find relevant information.
Consider the scope of your search by thinking about the type of assignment that you are being asked to complete. For example, a 1000 word essay will require less material than a 5000 word literature review, so planning your search can really help to focus your search and make doing your assignments less frustrating.
Once you draft your question or select your topic you should develop your keyword strategy. This is an important step because databases and search engines use keywords to maximize results. Remember to use synonyms and alternative keywords to ensure that you capture all the relevant information. You can find alternative keywords in:
Below is a worked example of a keyword strategy. Please have a look at this short video for further details.
Sample research topic: How to motivate doctoral students in third level education
Keywords:
How to motivate doctoral students in third level education
Develop synonyms or alternative keywords
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Searches that use Boolean operators to combine keywords will produce more effective search results than sentences.
AND, OR and NOT are the most popular Boolean operators. Many databases offer drop down menus with a choice of AND, OR, NOT.
For example the search; motivation AND (academics OR students) will retrieve results that contain information about motivating academics or motivating students. However the search; motivation AND academics OR students won't necessarily combine motivation with student.
Boolean Operators in order of precendence (Usually capitalised if visible on screen):
The Boolean search for "How to motivate doctoral students in third level education" could look like this.
There are many different types of information resources. Students and researchers can use a combination of resources when completing assignments or research. Some of the most widely used sources are described below.
Textbooks that you find in the library are usually written by experts. Textbooks are structured for ease of use; they begin with simpler aspects of a topic before progressing towards more complicated aspects. Books often have useful glossaries and an index of subjects and authors. They also include references and bibliographies, which can help to expand your search.
Conference Papers can be very important for researchers because often, the first time research is published, is at a conference. These papers can provide access to specialist and focused information.
Dissertations are final year research projects submitted by students completing an undergraduate degree. Also known as a capstone project, dissertations contain a literature review, methodology and have references and a bibliography.
Journals are published at regular intervals, such as monthly, bi-monthly or even annually. This mean that journals can be a good source of up to date information. They can be written by either academics, specialist researchers or professional practitioners. Some journals are peer reviewed, this means any material published in the journal has undergone an evaluation process to ensure the quality and validity of the information. Journals can be highly focused on a specific subject and also include references.
Official Publications are published by governments and government departments all over the world. They can be a useful source of information on areas such as legal, education, finance, science, health and social policies.
References Material includes subject directories, almanacs and encyclopedia. They can provide useful definitions and can be a good sources of primary data (statistics, speeches, diaries). There is no evaluation or interpretation of the material provided, which allows the student or researcher to use the data for their own purpose and to drawn their conclusions.
Research Papers usually present the context or argument, methodology and analysis and interpretation of data of a research project. Research papers can be presented at a conference or published as part of journal or series.
Standards are an agreed set of procedures, processes or technical specifications that provide guidance across multiple disciplines and industries.
Social media, such as blogs and twitter feeds can highlight key topics and discussions that are current and fast moving. Social media has the potential to help researchers to stay up to date with developments in different disciplines.
Theses are final year research projects submitted by students completing a postgraduate degree or doctorate level qualifications. Theses can be a valuable information source for researchers as they are highly focused on a particular topic, They also contain a detailed literature review section, and have references and a bibliography.
Other resources
Patents
Technical guidelines
Reports
Statistics
Datasets
Newspapers
Company reports
It is important to be aware of the many different sources of information that exist, so you can select the most suitable ones for your project or research. Below is a list of some of the most popular sources.
Library catalogues provide access to a combination of print and digital material and often cover multiple disciplines. Most library catalogues can be searched by anyone, although access to material in other institutions is subject to certain permissions.
Institutional repositories provide access to the research outputs of individual academic institutions. This includes PhD and other research theses. OpenDOAR allows users to find repositories. The institutional repository at TU Dublin is Arrow@TuDublin.
Databases contain many different types of information resources, such as: journal articles, books, conference proceedings, newspapers and reports. The databases that are available through the library provide access to scholarly, and frequently, peer reviewed material. Academic databases are designed to help researchers, so many have advanced search features to facilitate accurate and focused searches.
Search Engines are useful resources discovery tools. They contain links to, and information on a wide variety of subjects in various formats. However there is very little, if any, oversight or review of the material. So any information taken from a search engines must be thoroughly evaluated. Although results may be largely relevance based, some search engines manipulate how results are displayed for commercial purpose, so there is a chance that you are not seeing the most relevant information at the top of the results page.
Subject Directories provide access to curated, and sometimes annotated, subject resources. Sites included in the directory are usually selected by an administrator according to a set criteria. The directory is navigated by clicking through options rather than a search box. Directories contain less information than a search engine, but they can be useful for specific subject areas. See the subject guide in your area for further information.
Other Sources available to researchers include, government & EU websites, NGOs and other voluntary and professional organisations,
The literature review provides the foundation for your research. It is important that the information you use as part of your review is of a high standard and accurate. Below is an initial criteria for selecting material. Please note, individual resources will then need to be further analysed and evaluated.
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Relevance
Who is the intended audience? Remember, information that is aimed at the general public can be over simplified and too general for research or academic study. |
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Quality & Accuracy
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Authority
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Currency
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Purpose
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The default Boolean term for a database or search engine (unless otherwise stated) is AND. For example, a search for -information technology- will be interpreted as information AND technology. However, if you want to search for information on the topic - information technology, put inverted commas around both words, "information technology". Phrased searching should decrease the number of results you retrieve but increase the relevance of those results.
Wildcards (?/#) allow you to search for the American and British spellings of words. For example, a search for the word behavio?r, will include both behaviour and behavior. You can also use # to include plurals of of words like man or men by using m#n.
Truncation (*) allows you to include variations of a word. For example, teach*, will include teachers, teacher, teaching and teach.
