Step 1:  Deciding on a Topic

For a brief paper you may not need much information, but a larger research paper or project will require more detail and, consequently, more information. If your topic is too broad, you will be overwhelmed with information.  If it is too narrow, you will have difficulty finding enough information.  Consider the following ways to revise a topic and make your research more manageable:

A.  Narrowing a broad topic:

What is your topic? _________________________________________________________________

(Example:  religion in Colonial America)

Decide on a narrower area of interest:  _________________________________________________________________

(Broad topic:  religion in Colonial America > Narrower topic: freedom of religion in Colonial America)

If the topic is still fairly broad, you can narrow the topic further using one or more of the following (if applicable):

1.  Time period:  __________________________________________

     (present, ten years ago, Civil War era, Depression era, 20^th century, etc.)

2.  Location:  _____________________________________________

    (geographic location or place: city/town, state, region, country, world region, etc.)

3.  Population/group:  ________________________________________

    (women, children, an ethnic group, political group or organization, laborers, etc.),

4.  Point of view:  ___________________________________________

    (legal, social, political, economic, religious, etc.)

(Example:  Population: Quakers and freedom of religion in Colonial America)

B.  Broadening a narrow topic:

The narrower the topic, the less information you will find.  You may want to broaden your topic to find additional information.

What is your topic? _________________________________________________________

(Example:  history of the paper mill in Jay, Maine)

Think about the bigger picture and how it relates to your topic.  Broaden your topic using any of the four options listed above (time period, geographic location, population/group, or point of view): 

_________________________________________________________________________________

(Narrow topic:  history of the paper mill in Jay, Maine > Broaden by location: the history of the paper making industry in Maine or Broaden by population and location: immigrants and the paper making industry in the United States.)

Look for information on the narrower topic (the history of the paper mill in Jay, Maine) and information on the broader topic (immigration and the paper industry in the U.S.).  Analyze and synthesize the information you find on both aspects of the topic to show the “big picture.”

Step 2:  Choosing Your Search Terms

Think about the themes or concepts that best describe what you are interested in.  Come up with some synonyms or related words or phrases for each of your key concepts and list them in the box below:  

Example:

        (Key Concept: freedom > Synonyms or related terms: tolerance, intolerance, prejudice, persecutions, etc.)

Step 3:  Preparing a Search Statement

The following search tips can be used in URSUS and the Indexes and Databases.  Use them to prepare your search statement.

Now join the search terms you filled in the table in Step 2 above:                                                      

You do not have to use all of the related terms or synonyms you came up with in your search statement. Try the ones you think will be most useful.  If the ones you choose to use are not giving you the results you want, substitute other terms or phrases and try searching again. 

Example:                                                                      

Write several possible search statements using the above search tips to join your search terms:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

(Examples:  religio* and (freedom or tolerance) and Quaker*;  religio* and (persecution or intolerance) and Quaker*)

Now you can use your search statements to look for information in URSUS or the Indexes and Databases.  Use URSUS to locate books and the Indexes and Databases to find articles from newspapers, magazines and journals.

Other Tips:

• Look for general sources of information that might contain some material on your topic (example: a book on religion in Colonial America might have a chapter on the Quakers).

• Use a fairly simple Keyword search in URSUS (example: religion* and Colonial America). Look at some records and see what subject headings are used.  Subject headings will link you to more books on the same subject and can be a useful way to find more information.

• Look at the bibliography or list of works cited in the books and articles you find to see if there are other materials that will be useful for your topic.

• Search in more than one place for information.  You should check URSUS, MaineCat, and Worldcat to find books on your topic. Also check several different databases to find journal articles.  Academic Search Premier, America: History & Life (U.S. and Canada), Historical Abstracts (world history, excluding U.S. and Canada), and the Making of America databases are good resources to start your search for articles.

11/8/06 (lm)