Keywords Pack-a-Punch” highlights the importance of keywords to an effective search strategy. Having relevant, specific keywords makes finding quality academic articles easier. To identify your keywords, follow the steps below:
1. Pinpoint the main ideas of your topic/research question
2. Identify synonyms or alternate/related words of the main ideas
“eTextbook Portal” shows you how to identify if your digital textbook is available for free through the library by using the eTextbook Portal.
Click the link to view the video: https://vimeo.com/665607454
“Scholarly vs. Popular Sources” discusses the differences between scholarly and popular sources; it also describes different types of academic publications.
Click the link to view the video: https://vimeo.com/878776777
“UCF Databases Introduction” discusses databases accessed through UCF Libraries, which are used to narrow down the field of search by organizing free, online, and relevant research articles.
Click the link to view the video: https://vimeo.com/878770910
Welcome to Video Spotlight, a series in which I provide a detailed summary of a UCF Libraries research video for your convenience.
“Three Steps to Getting Started on Your Research Project” breaks down three important steps to start a research project and complete it on time.
Understand the assignment
– Ex. Due date, document length, amount of sources, and where they have to come from (primary or secondary sources, peer-reviewed journals, etc.)
Create a timeline
– If you are looking for a handy checklist to get you started, UCF Libraries has just what you need: https://guides.ucf.edu/rtt)
Choose your topic
– Identify a balance between what you want to research and what is feasible. You need base-level information in order to identify such a topic, so be sure you are leaving yourself time to investigate various ideas.
– If you are struggling to find a topic, look through your assigned readings. A concept with a solid body of research and resources behind it will be presented as important subjects for you to know in your course.
If you need assistance, UCF has various resources available to you: such as a research consultation with a subject librarian or a visit to the UCF Writing Center. If you’d like to view more videos from UCF Libraries, navigate to https://vimeo.com/ucflibraries