Basic Steps to Doing Library Research

Want to research a topic? Need to research a topic?! Not sure where to begin? Whether recreational or educational, there are lots of places to look for information and lots of approaches to take to find it. These pages provide you with an overview of the theory and lead you step-by-step to locating information from different types of sources.

The Theory Behind The Research

Steps For Performing Effective Research:

Step 1: Define Your Topic

Step 2: Refine Your Topic

Step 3: Finding Specific Kinds of Sources
• Part A: Find Books
• Part B: Find Reference Material
• Part C: Find Reserve Books
• Part D: Find Articles
• Part E: Find Internet Sources
• Part F: Find Government Sources
• Part G: Find News Sources
• Part H: Find Biographies
• Part I: Find Book Reviews
• Part J: Find Citation Guides
  
  Step 4: Evaluate Information
  
  Step 5: Cite Your Sources

Resources mentioned on the following pages will be marked with an icon. This legend, identifying the meaning of the icons, will appear at the bottom of each page:

Accessibility Legend
	Resource available via the Internet to everyone free of charge.
	Resource available via the Internet to the Oklahoma State University community (faculty, staff, and students), Stillwater campus. These resources may be available to other users depending upon permissions from their home institution.
	Resource available via CD-ROM at public workstations in the Oklahoma State University Library. These resources may be available to other users depending upon resources at their home institution.
	Resource available in print at the Oklahoma State University Library. All call numbers refer to this library. These resources may be available to users at other locations.

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