Considerable time can be saved in doing library research if a few simple preliminary steps are carried out before you actually plunge into the research resources. All of these steps are not always necessary -- and they certainly probably won't always be necessary -- but it is none the less important to be aware of these things.
First
Identify what you would consider to be the title of an ideal journal article or an ideal book title. Do you know if such a document exists? Have you seen it? If not, use these ideal titles to generate a list of keywords.
Second
Write up a list of keywords associated with your problem definition. Don't hesitate to list concepts and broad subject-areas that are implicated. List professional jargon associated with your problem definition. Next, write a brief description of your project that could be understood by a layperson with little or no knowledge of your topic. Use this description to generate additional keywords, if possible.
Third
Be sure to learn about the library databases that are available to you. Before searching them, quickly scan descriptions in order to assure that you are searching the appropriate resource. Quickly scan any help documentation. Library databases are not search engines. To effectively retrieve results, databases should be searched in compliance with their individual search languages. Understand the concept of controlled vocabulary versus keyword searching. Whenever possible, use controlled vocabulary in a true database. The START Tutorial offers an excellent summary of these concepts.
In fact, a good place to begin is with the START Tutorial. START stands for "Student Academic Research Tutorial". It was created, prepared, and written by Technical Communications students in TC 332 (Advanced Technical Writing).
START provides lessons and steps on:
- Choosing a research topic
- Developing and implementing a research strategy
- Evaluating information sources
- Preparing a proper bibliography and doing proper documentation for your paper
START specifically provides information on searching online databases, including "The Four Steps of Expert Database Searching". Important concepts are reviewed, such as Boolean searching, and important techniques are summarized, such as truncation methods and the use of database fields. All of these things tend to vary from database to database!
Fourth
Quickly identify any professional associations, organizations, or groups that may be related to your project topic. Many of these organizations produce standards, sponsor important research, and have unique libraries and information centers. Start to find organizations by looking up organizations on the Internet. Use a search engine, or find Nursing Organization Links at Nurse.org
Fifth
Quickly follow a basic strategy for locating information. Stay focused. Use this tutorial as a map. Search for books first, then articles, then technical information, and then web resources. Study results to obtain new ideas for searching and new search terms. if you get stuck.