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The Research Process: Select, Explore, Narrow, Refine, and Use: Explore information

Learn how to search, write a thesis, and evaluate resources effectively.

Basic principles for starting a search

  • Keyword choice: when doing a search, identify the main concepts of your topic: what basic ideas, words, or perspectives describe the subject? Make a list of those words and use them as keywords.

  • Keyword combination: how can you combine your keywords? Do you want them all in the same results? What related subjects could you include and which ones can you eliminate? Use Advanced Search or Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine your terms.

  • Avoid questions while searching library databases: for example, instead of searching for "what strategies northern cities can use to develop a good cycling infrastructure?", a better option would be searching for strategies AND cycling infrastructure AND northern cities.

  • Identify relationships and similar keywords: what synonyms or related keywords can you identify that would help you describe your topic?

  • Your research question and thesis: if you have a research question or thesis, which points are you trying to argue? Each of these points can result in a different search strategy, with its own keywords.
What about using Artificial Intelligence? 
While AI can be useful to provide ideas, some background information, or even some keywords for your search (for instance, you can ask AI to generate a list of synonyms or related terms about a particular topic), it should not be used as the sole or main source of information in your research. There are a few reasons for that, including issues with academic integrity, copyright, false or misleading information, fake citations, and more.

Keep in mind that some instructors do not accept AI use in assignments, and various academic publishers require specific disclosure of whether and how AI was used in a study before accepting it for publication.

When doing your search, consider your assignment: what kind of sources can be used? Use the guidelines below to distinguish different types of sources.

 

 

Popular x scholarly sources

Appearance
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Colourful images, pictures and embedded Youtube videos.
  • Different font types, colours, and sizes throughout the text.
  • Lots of advertisements.
  • Includes links to unrelated or sponsored content.
  • Sparse image use.
  • Font usually doesn't vary throughout the source.
  • Few or no ads.
  • When present, links will point to related research or to other sources that were used as part of the study.
Citations & Bibliography
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Does not include citations or bibliography.
  • May include links to other related sources, but links are used in an unstructured way.
  • Includes in-text citations and a bibliography.
  • Citations follow a specific format and can be easily identified.
Authorship
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Author is usually not an expert in the field.
  • Author is not always identifiable.
  • Author affiliation to a company or institution is usually not described.
  • Author is an expert in the field.
  • Author names are clearly identified.
  • Includes affiliation, usually to a university or institute.
Structure
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Structure is loose and not uniform.
  • Usually has a clear structure with an introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. This structure may vary depending on the field and type of study.
Language
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Language for a general audience; no use of specific terminology or jargon. Conversational style.
  • Employs jargon of the discipline or technical language.
Purpose
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Has the purpose to inform, persuade, or entertain.
  • Aims to report on original research, or summarize/evaluate existing research in a particular field.
Publisher
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Publisher is not always clear or present.
  • Publisher is usually an academic press, professional association, or an academic institution.
Examples
Popular Scholarly or peer-reviewed
  • Blogs, social media posts, news articles, magazine articles, general websites.                
  • Original research articles in academic journals                  

 

Primary sources x secondary sources

Primary sources Secondary sources

Primary sources are the first-hand account about something. They can also be an original object, artifact, or direct evidence.

Examples:

  • Scholarly articles about original research. These articles describe the results or an original study, or provide discussion about a perspective that hasn't yet been explored.
  • A research report or dissertation
  • Corporate or institutional records
  • Original answers to a survey or interview
  • Archaeological artifacts
  • Works of art, literature, or music
  • Historical documents (e.g. manuscripts, letters, maps)
  • Case laws and legal cases

Secondary sources describe the characteristics or contents of primary sources. May provide synthesis or analysis about primary sources.

Examples:

  • Literature review articles in scholarly journals. These articles provide analysis for how a particular topic or perspective was explored by other authors.
  • Meta-analysis articles
  • Systematic reviews articles
  • Annotated bibliographies
  • Book reviews
  • Interpretative blog posts
  • Interpretative news articles

 

 

Grey Literature

Grey literature is a type of information source produced outside of the traditional publishing model, normally by governments and other organizations such as academic departments, non-profits, private companies, and consultants. Because its mode of publication and distribution are different, grey literature is neither a popular nor a scholarly source, and it can provide insights on a problem or area of study. However, quality varies greatly and it can be difficult to find. 

Examples of grey literature include:

  • Government reports
  • Technical & research reports
  • Newsletters
  • Policy & governance documents
  • Working papers
  • Conference presentations

 

 

 

Examples of sources

Popular source Newspaper article (published in The Independent)
Scholarly source Research paper (published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy)
Primary source Original study (published in Physics of Fluids)
Secondary source Systematic review article (published in Viruses)
Grey literature Health report by Statistics Canada

The strategies below are useful for several library databases and some search engines.

1. Boolean search

2. Thesaurus & subject headings

3. Truncation & nested search

4. Natural language search (NLS)

5. Search filters

1. Boolean Search

The boolean search is a specific way to combine your keywords. See below:

AND

What it does: Searches all terms.

Example: history AND Yukon

What you'll get: Results with all keywords occurring simultaneously.
OR

What it does: Searches either keyword. Good for synonyms or related words.

Example: First Nations OR Indians OR Aboriginal

What you’ll get: Results that have at least one of the words.

NOT

What it does: Excludes search results.

Example: real estate AND Yukon NOT potatoes

What you’ll get: Results that have only what you want, excluding items that contain certain keywords.

2. Thesaurus & subject headings

Some databases such as CINAHL, Business Source Ultimate, Medline, and APA PsychInfo include a Subject Headings or Thesaurus feature.

Subject headings and thesaurus are options that allow you to browse for subject terms better suited to find sources about certain topics. Subject terms are assigned based on article content, allowing you to create a targeted search.

Learn more about Thesaurus Search here.

3. Truncation & nested search

Truncation works in several library databases and the Discovery search (main search on library home page).

*

What it does: Finds words related to the same topic, or words that have multiple spellings.

Example: behavi*

What you’ll get: Results that include words beginning with the same root. For the example above, the search would include words like behaviour, behavior, behavioural, behaviourist, etc.

?

What it does: Finds words with multiple spelling variations. Use it in the middle of a word.

Example: wom?n

What you’ll get: Results that include multiple spellings of the required word. For the example above, results would have women or woman.
"..."

What it does: Searches an exact phrase

Example: “climate change in the north”

What you’ll get: Results that include your keywords in the exact sequence that you typed. For the example above, results would include climate change in the north as one single keyword.
(  )

NESTED SEARCH

What it does: Specifies the order of the search and groups related keywords or synonyms. Use this with the operator OR.

Example: (First Nations OR Indians) AND Yukon

What you’ll get: Without brackets, the database will combine search terms incorrectly.

4. Natural Language Search (NLS)

If you have used Google, you were probably using natural language search: you can simply type in a question directly and let the system interpret the question for you. It is also how Artificial Intelligence tools take your prompts: ask a question and retrieve an answer. 

While this mode of searching hasn't always been good to capture the most relevant or credible information on a topic, natural language search has been re-worked by some academic providers to enhance search options in library databases. Certain databases such as Academic Search Ultimate or Business Source Ultimate now include a Natural Language Search option. 

How to use it?

On search interface of Academic Search Ultimate or another Ebscohost database, go to "Search Options" and then select "Natural language search". Enter your question and hit Search.

natural langauge search - interface on Academic Search Ultimate

5. Search filters

Several databases have the option to filter results by year, type of resources, and more. Usually those filters will appear as additional options on the main search page or on the result page, after you submit your search. See a couple of examples below:

 

Filter options on the main page of Academic Search Ultimate

Filter options on the results page of the CBCA database