Sociology

You have several options when searching for information. Where you go next depends on what you're looking for. 

• Multi-subject databases - best for a broader, less in depth search. Also good for topics that cover more than one subject or when you're not sure which subject database applies to your research topic.
• Individual databases related to your subject - use for a deeper, more comprehensive search within a subject area.
• The library's book catalog (books and ebooks) - best for a deep dive, overview and context.
• HawkFind - searches across all library databases, the entire book catalog, and all library research guides. Includes open source material. Can expand results to search outside MU collections to other libraries. Useful if you want all articles by a particular author, if you want to search across broadest selection of databases, or if you are having difficulty getting started.
• Google Scholar - includes open source articles, drafts or newly published material. Useful when trying to track down a specific article by title.

1. Define your topic. Think about the following:

• What interests me?
• What question am I trying to answer?
• Is this topic too broad? Too narrow? 

2. Determine what kind of information you will need. Options include:

• Academic studies
• News reports
• Literary criticism
• In-depth analysis
• Context/overview 

3. Find background information using reference sources. 

• Who are key figures?
• Important dates or concepts?  
• What is the event timeline?
• Definitions of terms?

4. Choose key search terms from your search topic/question and use these terms to search for information.

Topic: Does childhood trauma affect student success? Keywords/search terms might be "trauma", "effect", "success."

5. Choose databases or other search options. The search options/databases you use will depend on the type of information you need:

• If you need to see how a topic was presented to the public, use news articles, blogs, social media or general interest magazines.
• If you want to see trends in a specific industry, use trade publications.
• If you want analysis based on research data, use a scholarly article. 

6. Conduct your search and look for reliable, credible resources. See the Media Literacy & Misinformation guide for additional details.

• Believable
• Fact-Based
• Verifiable
• Trusted

7. Save your work.

• Download articles or save to a thumb drive, Google drive or Dropbox.
• Track key ideas, dates, search terms, authors, publications.
• Create a personal account in a database and save articles to a folder..
• Create an account on NoodleTools or Zotero  - helps organize an outline, store ideas and articles and create citations.

• All three types of periodicals may appear online or in print.
• If you are not sure whether your article is appropriate, ask your instructor.
•  Start from Advanced Search screen and use database filters to select your source type.