Before you can start looking for resources, make sure you take the time to properly define your research question. A research question states the specific query the researcher wants to answer to address the research problem. A good research question should be clear, focused, concise, complex, and relevant.
Primary sources (research articles) |
Secondary sources (review articles) |
|---|---|
| Has a clear hypothesis | Provides and overview of the existing primary literature |
| Reports original research, presents new data and analysis | Does not report original research |
| Includes the following sections: methods, results, discussion | May or may not include a methods and results section (depending on the type of review) |
| Often includes ideas for future research | Often discuss trends in a particular topic, or identifies gaps in the literature |
Please note that resources are listed alphabetically within each section
This section includes 4 short videos that explain the basic search process, from how to find a database related to your field to how to create more complex search queries. A written summary is given next to each video. If you need help with your research, don't hesitate to contact me, I am here to help you!
This video will show you how to locate and access databases using subject or course guides, Databases A-Z, and the McGill catalogue.
1. Formulate a specific research question.
2. Identify the main concepts.
3. Brainstorm synonyms and related terms for each of your concepts.
Boolean operators are used to narrow or broaden your search.
AND: results include all keywords (used to narrow a search)
Example: "climate change" AND Canada AND Indigenous
Search results will contain all three terms.
OR: results include any or all keywords (used to broaden a search)
Example: Canada OR Quebec OR Abitibi
Search results will contain any of these terms.
NOT: results ignore a keyword (used to narrow a search)
Example: Turkey NOT Thanksgiving
Search results will exclude articles containing Thanksgiving.
Be careful when using the NOT operator - you could unintentionally exclude useful results!
Truncation (*): used to search variations on a word stem.
Example: Canad*
Search results will include Canada, Canadian, Canadians.
Be careful with truncation as it may yield results that contain unrelated words. Example: leg*
Search results will include leg, legs, legging, legal, legalized, etc.
Phrase searching (“”): used to search for an exact phrase or a concept containing more than one word.
Example: “climate change”
Search results will include the exact phrase, with the keywords next to each other and in the order they are typed.
Climate change (without quotation marks) will be searched as separate keywords.
Parentheses (): used to control the order in which Boolean operators are resolved. Operations within parentheses are resolved first followed by those outside the parentheses.
Use this Search Strategy Builder from the University of Arizona Libraries.
You can also use the Search Plan handout linked below.
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