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SFL 290: Critical Inquiry and Research Methods: Getting Started Tutorials

This is a course guide for students enrolled in SFL 290 to help them become more familiar with doing academic research in the social sciences.

Basic Research Strategy

Check out this course guide! Step-by-Step Guide & Research Rescue: Basic Research Strategy. This guide will help you understand how to efficiently and effective do basic research.

Tutorials

Tips for searching databases

1. Identify key terms for your topic
2. Select appropriate search fields for your terms
3. Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) to broaden or narrow your search
      i. AND is used to NARROW your search, combining two or more search topics
      ii. OR is used to BROADEN your search results
      iii. NOT is to ELIMINATE unwanted search results
4. To narrow your results further, explore the different databases and to find where you can adjust the date, request only peer-review articles, etc.
5. To include all variations of a word in your search, truncate terms by placing an asterisk (*) after the common root
      i. For example, famil* would search for family and families.

For more information on Boolean Operators, check out this tutorial!