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Integrative Seminar and Studio Student Guide

A guide to research tools, resources and techniques for PUFY 1000, 1001 and 1011.

Start A Research Paper

Begin developing your research question.



Perform preliminary / contextual / exploratory research.  (Learn about Searching as Exploration.)

  • Search encyclopedias to find verifiable background information and bibliographies suggesting further sources. As a free encyclopedia that is edited by the public, Wikipedia cannot be completely relied on for accurate information and should never be cited in academic research. However, we can use it for basic background information and some entries have bibliographies with links to published material that can be cited for your paper.
  • Search our databasesGeneral databases (such as ProQuest) contain current and historical articles on almost any topic. Search an e-book database like Ebook Central and discover what literature exists on your topic.  To identify appropriate subject-specific databases, 
  • Search Google Books or Google Scholar. Google Scholar provides access to scholarly articles and conference papers, many of them available online as PDF files. If you open Google Scholar when logged into the online catalog or MyNewSchool, you'll also have access to journal articles that are part of library databases. Do not pay to get the full text of any article. If you can't find the full text, Ask Us for help.

Brainstorm

Create a mind map using bubble.us or MindMup.com (or pen and paper) to help brainstorm keywords and concepts.


Determine what information is needed to answer your research question.  

  • What types of materials do you need to research your topic? Books? Articles? Images? Scholarly Journals? Magazines and Newspapers? Websites?
  • Which catalogs, databases, or other resources are needed to locate these materials?

Find materials 

Combine the amazing keywords that you've developed through preliminary research and brainstorming, with the search techniques that you learned during the library orientation, to search for relevant content.


Remember: Research is not a linear process!

Writing Resources