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Library DIY for Online and Distance Students

A guide to getting started with Bradley library resources for students in online programs or studying at a distance.

Choosing a Topic

Choosing a topic may seem like something quick and easy that you do before you get to the "real" research, but it's also a part of the research process. If you choose a topic thoughtfully, you'll have less of a chance of being frustrated and having to change your topic later.

Consider Assignment Requirements

The first thing you may wonder about your potential topic is whether or not your instructor will approve of it. The first place to look for information about this is the assignment itself. Are there are limitations placed on your topic? Are examples given of good topics, and what made them good topics? Look through the assignment thoroughly to understand your instructor's expectations. If you're still unsure, ask your instructor for clarification.

Do Some Initial Searching

Once you have some topic ideas in mind, do a basic preliminary search. Make sure to search for the kinds of sources that will be required for the final project - for instance, if your assignment requires you to find academic sources, do your preliminary search in a library database. Unless you're doing very general research, a basic Google search probably won't give you an accurate idea of what's out there.

You don't have to try and find your final sources during this search. You're just trying to get the lay of the land. If you do an initial search and there isn't very much out there, it may be an indication that you would struggle to support your topic well enough for the assignment. A large number of results with a lot of variety could show that you'll be able to more thoroughly explore your topic. Looking at initial search results may also give you alternative topics - if there is a subtopic or a related topic that keeps coming up in your results more than your initial idea.

Think About Your Own Interests

You will have an easier time of completing an assignment if you can connect to your own life and your own interests. Where is the overlap between what the assignment requires and what you are interested in? Resist the temptation to fall back on a "safe" topic that you have no investment in; this could make it harder to stay motivated. If you want assistance making connections between the assignment and your interests, consult your instructor and/or a librarian.

Browsing for Topic Ideas

If you find yourself stuck for ideas, browsing might be an option. Here are places you can look for topics ideas:

  • Your textbooks and course readings (skim the table of contents or indexes to see if anything sparks an interest)
  • Recent issues of journals in your field
  • Websites of professional organizations in your field (look for "resources" or "publications" to see what their members may be researching or producing)

If you have a general area of interest, a librarian can also help you find more specific places to browse for topics.

 

Writing a Research Question

The following explanation of what entails a good research question is taken from the website of the George Mason University Writing Center:

"A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should be:

  • clear: it provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.
  • focused: it is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing task allows.
  • concise: it is expressed in the fewest possible words.
  • complex: it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer.
  • arguable: its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.

You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or passionate about."

This video from Laurier University gives an overview and examples of appropriate graduate-level research questions.

Specific Kinds of Research Questions

Research questions in the field of nursing are often structured according to the PICO formula: Problem/Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome. 

Many programs at Bradley University utilize Action Research for student research projects. The following tutorial from the Center for Collaborative Action Research covers developing an inquiry question as part of an Action Research process. It is part of a larger 12-part tutorial series on Action Research.

Selecting Keywords

No matter where you end up looking for information sources, it's likely that your research process will include keyword searching. If you have a topic in mind, then you already have at least one keyword to start with! It can also be helpful to brainstorm alternative and additional keywords for your topic. You can do this before you start searching, and continue as you move through your searching.

Having different keyword options is important because different people writing about your topic may use different words to describe it. It can also help you research your topic more thoroughly by considering different subtopics. Not every keyword you generate will end up being useful, but the process can help you identify more efficiently which ones are most helpful. Here are some strategies for developing a good set of keyword options for your search.

Consider synonyms and related terms

Starting with each keyword you have, brainstorm synonyms, or words that have the same or similar meaning. For instance, if you are interested in the effect of a specific psychological therapy on "college students", consider also searching for "university students" and "young adults." Similarly, if you're researching "marijuana", try using "cannabis" as a search term as well. Synonyms do well when linked together with OR within a database search box (eg. "mindfulness" AND "college students" OR "young adults").

Answer the 5 Ws

This technique is useful if you have a very general idea of your topic and want to narrow your focus. Start with your general topic (for example, "nursing home falls") and come up answers for the following questions:

  • Who is involved? (elderly patients, nurses, physical therapists)
  • What is happening? (accidental falls, fractures, contusions)
  • Where is it happening? (nursing homes, residential facilities)
  • Why is it happening? (risk factors, environmental factors)
  • When is it happening? (the last ten years)

Now you should have options for a more focused topic (maybe "how can physical therapists mitigate risk factors of accidental falls for elderly patients?") and more ideas for keywords to use in different combinations.

Investigate the subject headings

The first keywords that most people come up with for their topics are the common, everyday words that they use to talk about it in general conversation. In addition to these, it can be useful to explore more specialized terms that professionals and researchers use when writing about their work. Article databases that organize this work will also decide on standardized terms to describe certain topics. You can discover all these terms from within the databases.

If you find a good article using a general keyword, look at the Subject Headings applied to that article to find the standardized terms the database is using to describe the topic. For example, an article discovered by searching for "anxiety" and "academic performance" may have a subject heading of "academic achievement," meaning searching for "academic achievement" may find you more results.

The title of an article and its assigned subject headings may use different terms to describe the same topic.

Most databases will also let you search or browse a list of the subject headings being used to organize their contents. Look for a button or menu item labeled "subject headings" or "thesaurus" on the main page of the database. Searching for a general term in this list or thesaurus can help you discover the preferred term before you begin searching for articles, especially in healthcare and the sciences.

A search for "heart attack" reveals that the preferred term in the nursing database CINAHL is "myocardial infarction"

Search Tips

Search tips infographic that contains the same information as the Search Tips document linked above.

How do I use a specific database?

There are lots of specific database tutorials on the Using Databases page of this guide. If you still have questions, or need help with a database you don't see a tutorial for, you can always contact a librarian.