NICC Library: Library Research: First Steps

First Steps

Use the resources below if you have not yet chosen a specific topic but wish to browse generally, then select some narrower topic you can use for your assignment. It often is easier to choose a topic from a list than needing to think up keywords and terms for an unfamiliar subject. As you look for an interesting topic think about the approach you will take in your research. Will you analyze, explain, narrate, or persuade? Will you be humorous or serious? What's the class perspective, is it philosophical, historical, sociological, psychological, or scientific? This is how you start to form your research question, thesis statement, or persuasive argument.

Academic OneFile
Peer-reviewed and general interest full-text articles for academic libraries. Subjects include physical and social sciences, technology, medicine, engineering, the arts, technology, literature, and many others. You may also wish to browse by discipline.
Access World News Research Collection
Explore news articles from 1978-present. Includes printed and online newspapers, blogs, journals, newswires, broadcast transcripts, and videos. Their "Hot Topics" and "Special Reports" pages offer users the opportunity to browse topics rather than have to think up your own search terms.
Associates Programs Source Plus
Articles and E-books on topics taught in community colleges, including accounting, agriculture, child care, cosmetology, cooking, food service, forestry, graphic arts, hospitality management, interior design, veterinary science, plumbing, heating & air conditioning, welding.
Issues & Controversies
Researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics. In-depth investigations of today's top issues. View A-Z list of all research topics in this resource.
Opposing Viewpoints
Provides full-text access to differing points of view on current social issues in primary source documents, articles, statistics, websites, and multimedia. You may browse topics on their A-Z Browse Issues page.
Sirs Government Reporter, Renaissance & Researcher
"Social Issues Resources Series" (SIRS) provides a list of leading social issues you may browse to explore and narrow down a topic.
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher?accountid=45561
Very Short Introductions
You may browse subjects by clicking browse by subject in the masthead of this database. Then you may read a "very short introduction" on a topic you think will interest you.
World News Digest
Covers all major political, social and economic news since November 1940. You may also browse news by topic to explore broad issues you may then refine based on your reading.

Encyclopedias

After you think you have selected a topic the next step is background reading to gain an overview of the topic and determine if it will work for your research assignment. General and subject encyclopedias are an excellent resource for people, dates, events and concepts on your topic. There are not digital subject encyclopedias available for every subject, but here are the links for some from the NICC library collection:

Encyclopaedia Britannica
General knowledge English-language encyclopaedia.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research:
BROWSE ALL TITLES or click below for individual resources.

Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia
Business Plans Handbook, Vol. 1--Vol. 30
Alternative Energy, 2nd ed., 3v
Americans at War, 4v --
Career Information Center, 10th ed., 16v
Climate Change, 2v
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th ed., 4v
Encyclopedia of Emerging Markets
Environmental Encyclopedia, 4th ed., 2v
Gale E-Commerce Sourcebook, 2v
Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce, 2v
A Student Guide to Climate and Weather, 5v

You can use the library's "Multisearch" tab to find "research starters" on your topic. These offer general overviews of popular subjects you may have chosen to research. Just type in your search terms.

For examples see below:

Bullying
Drug Abuse
Research Starter: "Drug Abuse and Addiction"
Climate Change
Research Starter: "Climate Change Theories"

Further thinking on your topic:

Review the assignment
What types of resources are you required to use (books, articles, audio-visual, websites, etc.)?
Were you told to limit your research to specific ranges of dates?
Have you found lots and lots of material on your topic, perhaps indicating it is very broad?
Have you found little information on your topic, perhaps indicating it is too specific and narrow?
Can you reframe your thesis (research question) to better use NICC's existing resources?

Some of these pages may help you think through the research process.

Presenting Your Research: Writing a Research Paper
Presenting Your Research: Writing and Delivering a Speech
When You Need a Research Topic
How to Judge Information (2 p.)
Work sheet for this topic.
How to Choose a Topic
Worksheet for this topic.
Big Data, Little Data, No Data : Scholarship in the Networked World
An examination of the uses of data within a changing knowledge infrastructure, offering analysis and case studies from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Gentle Guide To Research Methods
Authors are experienced researchers with previously published research methods/study skills books. This book provides a systematic overview of research methods, including research design, data collection methods, statistics, and academic writing. It includes a systematic coverage of data collection methods - from interviews to indirect observation to card sorts.