1) Create a new project in NoodleTools where you can track your citations and take notes.
2) Brainstorm some keywords to use when you search; ie. "Liberation Theology AND Brazil" or "Christianity AND Marxism AND Latin America".
3) Use Wikipedia or an encyclopedia article as a pre-search to help you develop additional keywords and broaden your preliminary understanding of the topic.
4) Search the databases and suggested websites listed below.
4) Set up a Google alert for your topic / keywords (https://www.google.com/alerts)
5) If you need to access a database from off-campus, use the usernames and passwords listed below each one.
6) Feeling stuck? Review the Upper School Research Skills guide for additional tips.
Popular - Written by professional journalist for the general public. Sources are cited in passing, but not formally. Editorially reviewed for grammar, not necessarily content.
Scholarly - Written by researchers or scholars in the field for other researchers and scholars. Always contain references and footnotes.
Primary - created as close to the original event as possible. Examples: photography, video, speech, data from an experiment.
Secondary - based on, or about, a primary source. Examples: articles or books that are based on or interpret the event.
Tertiary - Sources that summarize / synthesize the information in secondary sources. Examples: textbooks, references sources like encyclopedia.
Peer-reviewed sources have been vetted by people who are authorities within their field of scholarship. When academic journals are considering publishing an article, a panel of scholars assess the quality of the article.
See example from ProQuest:
Now you have your sources! Use the following writing tips to comprise your paper:
