Where Do I Start?
EXERCISE 1
At this point you've chosen a broad social issue for your team assignment and submitted it to your professor. Most likely your topic is still fairly broad as you're just beginning to explore it and understand some of the nuances to in order to narrow it.
How do you discover those nuances? Through pre-reading and exploration. This is a valid and expected part of the research process.
To help facilitate your exploration of your social issue, we'll be using a topic map shown below. Click here to open up the tool and make a copy.
Places to Start
It's useful to start exploring your topic using specialized encyclopedias and ebooks. These kinds of sources usually summarize a lot of research in highly accessible language.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowSearch this collection of research reports on recent news topics and issues of broad interest in the public policy sphere, including health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowAllows you to search for articles from over 600 different encyclopedias.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearch over 200 subject encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries.
- SCU Library eBooksSearch for ebooks on your topic. Skim the titles and Table of Contents for ideas to add to your topic map.