Research Help

Consider topics that are:

• Related to your background, interests, or hobbies
• Seen on the news or social media
• Related to your favorite course/class subject

...and are within the scope of your assignment/project guidelines, of course!

Narrow your topic so it focuses on addressing on a specific, manageable research question.

• Do some preliminary research to determine if there are current and relevant articles, books, resources, etc. for your chosen topic.
• Brainstorm different sub-topics within your broader topic and/or related subjects/topics
  • Example: Historic movements in the United States: Labor Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Anti-Vietnam War/Counterculture Movement, Women's Movement, LGBT Movement, Disability Rights Movement
• Narrow your topic
  • Example: Historic movements in the United States > Civil Rights Movement > March on Washington, 1963 > March on Washington, 1963 key figures and leaders > John Lewis, March on Washington, and impact on the Civil Rights Movement

• Write down (or keep track of) words, phrases, names, locations, etc. having to do with your topic.
  • Example: Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, DC, impact, segregation, freedoms, race, African Americans, Black Americans, etc.
• Video/Tutorial: Authoring Research Questions
  • Learn brainstorming strategies, how to narrow your topic, draft a research question, and develop keywords

Explore your topic broadly to help identify additional keywords, search terms, and concepts related to your topic. This will help you gain an understanding of your topic before continuing with more in-depth research.

Background research resources from Schumann Library:

• Credo Reference: Encyclopedic coverage in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
• CQ Researcher: Provides in−depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
• Encyclopedia Britannica: An authoritative source for general information on virtually any topic.

Locate reliable information that is appropriate for academic work. You should also consider what types of information you need for your research (i.e. peer-reviewed sources, trade/industry publications, primary sources, statistics and data, etc.).

• Video/Tutorial: Effective Search Techniques:
  Learn to develop keywords and search databases and the web more efficiently to get to the information you need.
• Interlibrary Loan Request Form
  If you need a resource that we do not have, submit an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request and we will request it from another library (for free!).
• Primary Sources Guide:
  A guide about what primary sources are and how to access them.
• Need an information starting point? Take a look at our research guides in the table below.

Evaluating sources: is your source...

• Credible?
• Accurate?
• Relevant?
• Current?
• Reasonable?
• Objective?
• Reliable?

Things to consider:

• Who wrote it?
• What are their credentials?
• Where is it published?
• Does it include citations to other quality sources?
• How recent is the information? How important is the date to the topic?
• Is the information out of date?
• Can you verify the information in other sources?
• Is the author biased? Do they state their bias?
• Is the information presented to sell you something?

Find more information on evaluating sources, identifying different types of sources (like peer-review), recognizing bias, etc. on the Evaluating Sources Research Guide.

Free Presentation Resources

• Find free poster templates and design ideas (including conference poster layouts), locate images for presentations, and learn how to do large-format poster printing (i.e. plotting) at Wentworth on our Poster Resource Guide.

Writing Help

• Contact your professor, thesis advisor, or the Success Studio if you need assistance with the writing component of your research.

Student Resources & Publications

• Find resources and opportunities for undergraduate student research, internships, presentations, publications, etc. on the Council of Undergraduate Research page.

Remember to cite your sources, including any articles, books, blogs, videos, podcasts, site plans, blueprints, datasets, statistics, etc. that you use in your research. Don’t forget to cite images, too!

Each discipline typically follows their own citation style. Check with your professor or thesis advisor to determine which one you should use. Find citation style guidelines on our Citations & Academic Honesty Research Guide.

Organize and cite your research by using Wentworth’s citation tool RefWorks. Save all your sources in one place and create your works cited/bibliography automatically with just a few clicks. Sign-up for RefWorks.

Below, please find some additional resources for graduate student research.

• Human Research Protection Training is useful for students participating in research that involves human subjects.
• Talk to your faculty advisor about uploading your Master’s thesis into the Wentworth Digital Collections
• Learn the basic principles of copyright and Fair Use on the Copyright Research Guide.
• For information on how to successfully approach annotated bibliographies and literature reviews, check out our Annotated Bibliography Guide.