Research needs and requirements vary with each assignment, project, or paper. There is no "right" way to conduct research but some methods and skills can make your research efforts more efficient and effective.
If you have questions or can't find what you need, Ask NURIA or check out our research guides.
State your topic idea as a question. For example, if you want to learn about Title IX (Title Nine) and women athletes in college athletic programs. You might ask, "How did Title IX impact women athletes in college athletic programs?"
Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question. These are potential search terms. In this case, they are "title ix," "women," "athletes," and "college athletic programs".
Before you commit to a research topic:
If you are uncertain, especially when planning to use data in your research, do not hesitate to seek guidance from your professor. Their expertise can provide reassurance in your research process.
If you find too much information and too many sources, narrow your topic. For example: "women and athletes and college and athletics". Finding too little information may indicate that you need to broaden your topic by using a more general term or terms in your search.
Keyword Search is the "default" search. Keywords and terms describe the subject or topic you are researching. The default search is usually less precise, so the results are broad. It is useful when the information you want is flexible or is a new topic for you.
Subject Search looks for words in the Subject field. Subject searching is a good strategy for topics that are well-defined and have a lot written about them.
More Search Tips
From the search box on the Library homepage find exactly what you are looking for.
Check the result record for...
The results list could have more than one million hits. To find the right result, use the "Refine my results" option on the left side of the search results list. Options include:
Visit our Primo Quick Start Guide to learn more about Primo's navigation and features.
Databases have information, specialized data, and services that are often best discovered when searched independently.
Primo is a good starting point if you do not know which database or directory to choose or when searching for multidisciplinary topics. For more specialized searches, we recommend our subject databases, which can be found in our A-Z list of databases.
Are you not sure which database is best for your research? Visit the research guide for your school or your Subject Librarian.
The Citation Styles and Tools page can help you cite the information in your assignments and projects.