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Quick Tips on Preparing for Research
Before you start:
- understand the key terms you may be using as well as the general area that interests you;
- think about ways to narrow your topic, making it as specific as possible (unless you have been given a specific topic to research!);
- create a thesis statement;
- list the main concepts (key words) included in your thesis statement (research question), then based on your readings;
- find as many synonyms as you can for each main concept. You are now ready to start searching in the library's catalogue and databases.
When you are looking for definitions or if you don’t know much about a specific subject, reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias become invaluable because they contain relatively short—and accessible—articles. These articles often lay out the parameters of a subject and can assist you in trying to narrow your topic. Often such articles are accompanied by lists of readings (bibliographies) which allow you to explore your topic further.
Encyclopedias
- Black Women in America
- Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender
- Encyclopædia Universalis
- The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World
- Women in World History: A Biographical Enyclopedia. Online and print
- Women's Studies Encyclopedia (In Print - 2nd Floor: Ref. HQ 1115 W645 1989)