Research Project Checklist
The most skilled researchers don't settle for the first few sources they find. They look in several places for the best sources possible. Check off these tasks as you complete them.
□ Decide on a topic
o Pick up “100 unique research topics” handout from reference department
o Scour newspapers and news magazines for ideas
o Talk to instructors
o Ask friends
□ Get an overview of the topic
o Encyclopedias
o Wikipedia.org
o Reference books in the reference department
o Read news magazines or newspapers
□ Write a thesis statement
□ Jot down important keywords
□ Ask a librarian for help, if needed
□ Go to the library’s homepage http://eagles.midway.edu/library
□ Search Athena (the online catalog) for books and/or videos
□ Search relevant EBSCO databases for magazine, journal, and newspaper articles
o Academic Search Premier – for all subjects
o CINAHL – nursing
o ERIC – education
o Business Source Premier
o Agricola – equine
o Medline – nursing and equine
o Psych Info – psychology
o Newspaper Source
□ Search NetLibrary for e-books
□ Search WorldCat for ordering books owned by other libraries
□ Search “America’s Newspapers” from the library’s homepage
□ Order any Interlibrary Loans at least 2 weeks before you need them
□ Click on “Recommended sites by subject” on the library’s homepage for reviewed websites
□ Search Google if you need more information from the WWW
□ Evaluate your websites for currency, objectivity, credibility, accuracy, and scholarly coverage
□ Pick up a copy of the “Avoiding Plagiarism” handout from the reference department
□ Create a reference page (also called “works cited” page) before you begin writing
