CQ
Researcher - A
great source for in-depth, objective analysis of contemporary, controversial
issues. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment,
health, education, and science and technology.
There is a big difference between a "subject area" of research interest and a "research topic." Subject areas are quite broad and cover too much material for a meaningful research project. A very common problem students have with research assignments is that they often select subject areas rather than specific research topics to write their paper on. This can make the research process overwhelming, frustrating, unfocused.
For example: "Terrorism" or "War crimes" are very broad subject areas. There are entire books written on both of them!
Ø There are several ways to narrow your topic:
Ø Form your research topic into a question - if you can't, this may mean that you need to define and narrow down your topic further.
For example: "War crimes"--> What is the U.S. response to the recent genocide events in Rwanda ?
Ø Note that sometimes topics may be too narrow, technical, or peculiar for extensive research. Always ask yourself:
o can the answer to my research question be found in a single source (ex. an encyclopedia or statistical source)?
o can the answer to my research question be a simple 'yes' or 'no'?
o is the information I need contained in highly technical journals written in language I may not understand?
o is my topic so unusual that it would be difficult to research?
Examples: Good, Too Broad or Too Narrow?
What is the number of U.S. casualties in Iraq?
What are the reasons of conflict between U.S. and international law on the treatment of prisoners of war?
Does modern technology harm the environment?
What is the US policy in The Middle East?
The two databases below can be a big help as you brainstorm possible research topics/questions for your project:
CQ
Researcher - A
great source for in-depth, objective analysis of contemporary, controversial
issues. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment,
health, education, and science and technology.
Opposing
Viewpoints - Another
great resource for controversial social issues! Offers viewpoint
articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine, academic journal, and newspaper
articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links
to websites.
Here is one way to access these two wonderful databases (there are other places where these two databases are also listed on our library web site):
COCC Catalog - use for access to our local book collection
Summit - use to search for, find, and request books in other libraries
collections
Here is how you may access these two catalogs:
COCC has paid subscriptions to many periodical databases.
Here is how you may access these databases:
Search Hints
All databases are slightly different, but here are a few hints you should be
able to apply in all.
Start with keyword searching. If you find a highly relevant article, look at its subjects and try those subjects.
Use quotation marks for phrases, for example "blood pressure."
Use or to link synonyms.
Use and to combine concepts.
Check out those dropdown boxes! They can be very helpful.
If possible and appropriate, limit searches to scholarly articles.
Note that a good number of databases give you the article in full text, right there from the screen. To get to that full text, just click on the html or pdf full text link under the article in your results list. You can also limit your search results to only full text.
If an article is not available full text, the database may give you the option to request it through Interlibrary loan. Just look for the link that will allow you to place your request online! Articles requested through interlibrary loan are usually delivered to you electronically (check your COCC email) within a week.