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Start Your Research

Follow these steps to get started on your research project: 

  1. Develop your thesis statement or research questions. 
     
  2. Identify keywords that you can use for search terms. These could be the name of person, theory, or key concepts from your research questions. 
     
  3. Identify the databases and resources that will help you find the sources you need for your project. Check the Find Books, DVDs, etc.Find Articles, and Background Information tabs for more information. 
     
  4. Conduct a search in these databases using your keywords. Refine your keywords and search strategy and repeat the search until you find the most appropriate materials. Watch the Smooth Operator video for developing an advanced search strategy.

Zotero

Zotero is a free bibliographic management tool that can help you organize, save, and format citations. It can also enter and format footnotes or endnotes within Word and some other word processing programs. See this guide for help with this powerful tool. 

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