Research Guides: UNIV 4995: Senior Project: Develop Your Topic

Craft of Research

The Craft of Research (eBook available) by Wayne C. Booth; Gregory G. Colomb; Joseph M. Williams
Call Number: Q180.55.M4 B66 2008
Publication Date: 2008

The Craft of Research's "The Ethics of Research" (p. 273)

Chapter 1: Thinking In Print: The Uses of Research, Public and Private
Chapter 2: Connecting with Your Reader: (Re-)Creating Yourself and Your Readers
Chapter 3: From Topics to Questions

Tutorial: Develop Your Topic
Your instructor and embedded librarian created a short tutorial on developing your research topic and question! Click the picture to take this tutorial!

Preliminary Research

Encyclopedias online & in McWherter Library
Browse our collection of encyclopedias to research your topic.
Journals
Search journals by your topic area to read recent articles.
Opposing Viewpoints
Check here to explore various viewpoints on a single topic. click on "Connect to Opposing Viewpoints in Context" to actually access the database.

Other possibly useful websites to brainstorm topics:

Tutorial & Research Guides

Use these subject-specific resources to find many more resources relating to your area of study. Click the Research Path to take short tutorials developed by your instructors and librarians.

UNIV 4995: Senior Project Library Research Path
by Ashley Roach-Freiman Last Updated Jun 2, 2020 17 views this year

Search Library Resources

What's Peer Reviewed?

To determine if a journal is peer reviewed:

Go to the Libraries webpage (memphis.edu/libraries).
On the next page, click on Databases (under Search UM Libraries) and type Serials Directory (see example below).
Type in your journal title and select it from the return list if there is more than one similar title.
Scroll down the page. Near the bottom, you will see Peer Reviewed: Yes.
If that topic does not appear, then the journal is not peer reviewed.

Example:

Title: American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology

Status: Active

Subjects: Forensic Medicine, Medical Jurisprudence; Pathology

Description: The journal features original articles on new examination and documentation procedures, as well as provocative discussions of the forensic pathologist's expanding role-in human rights protection, suicide and drug abuse prevention, occupational and environmental health, and other key areas.

Abbreviated Title: Am. j. forensic med. pathol.

Publication Date: Vol. 1 (Mar. 1980)-

ISSN: 01957910

Publication Type: periodical

Language: English

Issues Per Year: 4

Frequency: Quarterly-4 per year (1 each 3 months or season).

Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS

2 COMMERCE SQ, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 19103

Peer Reviewed: Yes

Accession Number: 043561315

Evaluating Websites

Tutorial: Evaluate Sources
Learn more about evaluating sources online. Click the image to take the tutorial.

Evaluation of Web documents	How to interpret the basics
Accuracy of Web Documents Who wrote the page and can you contact him or her? What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced? Is this person qualified to write this document?	Accuracy Make sure author provides e-mail or contact address/phone number. Know the distinction between author and webmaster.
Authority of Web Documents Who wrote the page and can you contact him or her? What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced Is this person qualified to write this document?	Authority What credentials are listed for the authors? Where is the document published? Check the URL domain.
Objectivity of Web Documents What goals/objectives does this page meet? How detailed is the information? What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author?	Objectivity Determine if page is a mask for advertising; if so information might be biased. View any Web page as you would an infomercial on television. Ask yourself why it was written and for whom.
Currency of Web Documents When was it produced? When was it updated? How up-to-date are the links (if any)?	Currency How many dead links are on the page? Are the links current or updated regularly?
Coverage of the Web Documents Are the links (if any) evaluated and do they complement the document's theme?	Coverage If page requires special software to view the information, how much are you missing if you don't have the software? Is it free, or is there a fee to obtain the information? Is there an option for text only, or frames, or a suggested browser for better viewing?
Putting it all together: Accuracy: If your page lists the author and institution that published the page and provides a way of contacting him/her and... Authority: If your page lists the author credentials and its domain is preferred (.edu, .gov, .org, or .net)... Objectivity: If your page provides accurate information with limited advertising and it is objective in presenting the information, and... Currency: If your page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date, and... Coverage: If you can view the information properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirement, then... You may have a website that could be of value to your research!