The first step in research is to define a problem or topic. Usually it is best to select a general topic and then narrow it to a specific topic. Librarians can help you determine the best research strategy. They also can advise you on appropriate search terms, and refer you to relevant periodical indexes, bibliographies, and other reference materials. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you will remember where you found all of your information. When you find a useful reference, record all the bibliographic information for that resource as you take notes or copy relevant pages. You will use this bibliographic information when you prepare a bibliography or a footnote. Review the material you have collected. If there is too much information on your subject, you may have to limit your topic and focus your research. If there is very little information, you will have to broaden your topic. The Library has several style manuals that explain footnote and bibliography format and paper arrangement. Other sources in the Library contain biographical, statistical, and geographical information as well as book reviews and film reviews.

Within this Handbook are two lists that will help you identify these materials; one is labeled General Resources-Multidisciplinary and the other is labeled General Resources-Science and Technology. A guide to the literature may be available for your subject area. Check the relevant resource list to see if a guide to the material is listed. Additionally, you should consult a librarian.

Knowing how to locate and use reference materials can save time and improve research effectiveness. If you are uncertain about where to begin your research, start at the Reference Desk, the Reference Office, or follow a basic research method. A reliable, proven model has you
identify the kind of information you need so you can select the appropriate types of sources to find
that information.

Electronic scholarly journals are growing in number and quality.  Some have print counterparts while others are available only in electronic form.  In addition, full length books and documents, in many cases complete with graphs, charts and pictures, are available online.

 To be an effective Web searcher, it is important to understand the arena in which we are working.  First, there are thousands of search services on the Web containing millions of sites in their databases.  The top search engines – Google, Alta Vista, and Hot Bot – are the most comprehensive, most precise search services.  No single search engine searches the entire Web.  That’s why it is important for the searcher to learn how to use one or two searching services well.

 When using a search engine, be sure to read the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions, Help, How to Search, etc.) and use as described.  In general, use specific terms then use more generalized terms if necessary.  Enter proper nouns with capital letters.  Enclose phrases in double quotation marks.  Enter your most important concept first – word order matters in some search engines.  Use a Metasearch engine (MetaCrawler or DogPile) for needle-in-a-haystack searches.  Metasearch engines take one query and send it to several different search engines at once.  For a listing of URL addresses for these and other search engines refer to Search Engine URLs.

 We have provided a selective sampling of Internet resources at the end of each Resource list in the handbook.  Remember, since Internet addresses can and do change rapidly, you should be prepared to use various search engines (such as Yahoo, Infoseek, Alta Vista and Northern Light) to identify new and changing addresses of internet sources.  Librarians are available to suggest search strategies and sources.

The World Wide Web is one more source of information. It can be useful for researching certain topics and almost useless for other topics. To research a topic thoroughly, use a variety of sources both Web and non-Web. Technology is outpacing the ability to create standards and guidelines. Establishing evaluation procedures will be an ongoing evolutionary process. However, evaluations can be made by examining the Top Level Domain (TLD) name for each Web page. At this point in time TLD's such as: