CCSF Library: History: Brainstorming Research Ideas

Process

Spend some time trying to understand what your instructor wants. For example, you may be asked to write a research paper on a particular aspect of something broader you are discussing in class. It may help to jump into a background resource to get a broad understanding of the topic again. A background resource might be an online encyclopedia of some kind.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference offers background information on topics from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference/encyclopedia titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.

Opposing Viewpoints | Browse Issues
Covering today's hottest social issues, and includes viewpoints, reference articles, infographics, news, images, video, audio, and more. Using a category from this "Browse Issues" section will provide helpful overviews.

Take notes as you read the background source. Did your brain gravitate to any particular angle on the topic? Is this something you could pursue in your paper?

After exploring the broad topic in a background resource (such as Credo), and thinking through your focus/aspect, it's a good idea to write down words to help with the search.

The table below is an example on how to brainstorm related, synonymous, and adjacent terms that might help you find great sources! The words you use access different information from different communities.

Example research topic: gentrification (and what about it??)

Search Word Brainstorm
main words	main topic: gentrification	focus/angle: economics
synonyms & helpful terms	Bay Area, housing inequality, dense housing, urban environment	scarcity, socio economic, lower class, upper class, poverty, low income, tech

Try the library's OneSearch to cross search all the excellent content you have access to as a CCSF student! CCSF Library resources are often NOT available for free in a Google Search.

Here is an example using some of the words we brainstormed in the previous part of our process:

(Want to see? The demo search is available.)

By skimming your first page of results, you will get a sense of whether your combination of search words was helpful. If there is not one single helpful result on the page, go back to your word brainstorm and replace an old search word with a new one. Here are some things to consider when looking at the results of a search:

Magnifying Glass icon [by Freepik]

Skim the initial set of results and think, "Where are my search words coming up?"
- In the title?
- In the subjects?
- When you click into the item, do you see any of your search words in the abstract?

Look at the page length of the items you are surfacing.
- This is not to say that you don't want to use long items - there are some gems in there! But think about your assignment and the amount of time you have to complete it. If an item is too long to use in it's entirety (such as an entire ebook), you may be able to use a section (such as a relevant chapter within an ebook).
Can you focus your search beyond the words you put in? In some library tools, you may see some check boxes to adjust your results.
- If you are looking for academic sources, clicking the filter for "Peer-reviewed journals" may help.
- You may also want to adjust the date range of results.

Resist the urge to pick ALL of your needed sources in one go!
Instead, pick a couple of sources, read them deeply, and take notes.
You can find more in your next layer of searching!

Did you read your first few sources? Really REALLY read them? Good! Your brain is probably swirling with ideas! Good ones, bad ones, annoyed ones, anxious ones.

What are you thinking about? What did you highlight the most? What is sparking interest in your brain?

Pay attention to what your brain is gravitating toward,
brainstorm some new search words, and
search again!

You will find results that did not come up last time, and your search words will be even more specific to your interest, and this will help you find what you need to write your paper. By giving your brain room to think deeply, you can find even more sources to include in your project, and they will help you write an amazing research paper.

Good luck! We are here in the library and ready to help. Visit us today!

A process for evaluating sources...

Letter	Evaluation Criteria	Questions that might help you think about the criteria.
P	Purpose How and why the source was created.	Why does the information exist? Why was it published in this format? Who is the audience?
R	Relevance The value of the source for your needs.	Is it appropriate? How useful is it? How detailed is it?
O	Objectivity The reasonableness and completeness of the information.	Is the information presented thoroughly and professionally? Do they use strong language? Does the source present fact or opinion?
V	Verifiability The accuracy and truthfulness of the information.	Do the authors use factual evidence? What do experts say about the topic? Are there errors (in spelling, grammar)?
E	Expertise The authority of the authors and the source.	Why do you trust the author? Has the item been checked (editor or peer review)?
N	Newness The age of the information.	Does it require current information, or can information be found in older sources? When was the information first published? Are there newer sources available?

Adapted from work by librarian superhero Ellen Carey at Santa Barbara City College under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

History

Process

A process for evaluating sources...

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