Defining Your Topic

Write your topic as a question.
You may need to do this to help focus your information search. For example, your general topic may be home care. One specific research question you could ask is “How has home care for the elderly in Canada changed over the past twenty years?” It is okay if this question evolves or changes as your research progresses. Consult your professor about the questions you need to ask for your particular assignment.

Recognize the subjects covered by your research question.
Information in libraries and library databases is organized according to broad subjects. These broad subjects are often university departments or faculties (e.g., Sociology, Nursing, etc.). However, subjects are interrelated, so you should not limit yourself to just one section of the library or one database. Our home care question relates to several subjects, including nursing, history, sociology, and gerontology.

Get some background information.
A basic understanding of your topic will help you with your search. You may also find additional aspects of your topic that you would like to investigate, or words related to your topic that you will be able to use as keywords in your search. Your textbook may provide some background. You may also need to consult a quick reference tool, as explained in the next Info Search step.

Before we get started, let’s quickly address some common research misconceptions:

“Google will find everything I need.” While more information can be freely found every day through web sites such as Google, such search tools cannot access material in many regions of the “deep web.” For example, Google cannot find research articles within the library’s collection of over 15,000 e-journals, or the contents of the library’s 20,000 e-books. Google misses a lot of the good stuff.

“The library is all online.” Although the library does have an extensive collection of e-journals and other electronic resources, and there is a lot of other good material out there on the internet, there is a vast amount of important research material in the world that is only available in print form. UNB libraries, for example, have over 4.4 million volumes in their combined print and microform collections. Books are still important.

“The library has only good academic research material.” The library supports the full range of teaching and research at UNB and STU. This means we do have some popular books, children’s literature, newspapers, and magazines—both in print and online. Do not assume that everything you find on your topic at the library will be academic in nature or useful for your specific research purpose. Critically evaluate everything you find.

“Doing research is always quick and simple.” While information is much more accessible today than it was when your professor was a student, do not assume that you will be able to find everything you need for your term paper in an hour or two. As a general rule, expect the research process for your paper to take about three times as long as the writing process. Start your research early.