 
1.
Do Initial Planning
2. Choose
a Topic
3. Do
Initial Search
4.
Refine topic
5. Identify
key sources
6. Study
key sources
7. Integrate
8. Present
findings
Another kind of information
Points
of view
Creativity
References
|
If you are happy with the general topic you selected, great! Step 4 will
help you refine and focus your topic.
If you are dissatisfied with your topic, you can change it. It is better
to start over than to work on a topic you aren’t really interested in.
Reflect on what you have learned before you start over.
Refine Topic
So far, you have probably picked a broad subject area (for example, rock
music) and a general topic (e.g., the Beatles). Now you need to narrow
your topic further.
Look for a specific aspect of the topic, such as how it relates
to another subject or topic. This will make your exploration unique, and
thus valuable.
For example, you could decide to focus on how the Beatles were influenced
by blues music. Or to use an example from classical music, you could narrow
down the general topic of "Mozart" to a narrower topic on how Mozart
was influenced by Haydn.
-
Ask yourself questions such as:
-
What fascinates me about this topic?
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What would I like to learn about this topic?
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What important aspects of this topic are unexplored in the literature?
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Write down your answers to the questions
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Consider how your questions relate to the literature you have reviewed
thus far.
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Based on your questions and thoughts, refine your topic and write down
a description of it.
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Refine Search
Conduct another search to uncover valuable information pertaining to your
refined topic.
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Use the search engine to search using key words that pertain to your narrower
topic
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Create bookmarks for sources that seem to be important.
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Delete bookmarks for sources that no longer seem to be important
-
Rearrange your bookmark hierarchy if it would help you better organize
information sources about your topic
Step 4 Outcomes
-
Questions about topic
-
Refined topic description
-
Refined set of bookmarks
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Health Sciences Library /
HSL Instructional Modules
Evaluating Online Information |