POLI 76 The Obama Presidency: Home

Searching for Sources Effectively

Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information efficiently is to follow the citations or references from one source to another. The author's bibliography can lead you to other sources on the topic.

Identify Keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, take a few minutes to write down all the words that describe your topic. Use these words in keyword or Boolean searches.

Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to additional materials in the Library Catalog with the same subject/topic.

Search Strategy Worksheet from Humboldt State University

Research Design & Support

What Makes a Good Research Question?
Handout from Duke University's Thompson Writing Program Writing Studio. Has good guidelines for and examples of research questions in the social sciences.
UNC Writing Center
Visit UNC's Writing Center to make appointments, find writing tips, and access handouts useful for writing literature reviews and research papers.

Finding Books

Start with a keyword search in the catalog. Once you have located a relevant item, you can look at the Subjects in the record and follow those links to find related books.

You can also refine your results by using the facets on the left side of the screen.

Sample Subjects: