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Defining Your Research Topic and Starting Your Search The difference between a beginning researcher and an expert is in the amount of time spent in defining the topic. Expert researchers take the necessary time to think about what it is they are trying to find and put their requests into terms that work within the structures of the library and online information systems. The time you spend defining your research topic is well worth the effort. In order to locate information in library databases or on the Internet you must clearly understand what you are looking for and know how your topic fits into other areas of knowledge and research. David Novak makes a very good point in his "The Information Research FAQ: 100 Pages of Search Techniques, Tactics and Theory," when he states: The information sphere is very large and rather confusing. Each item of information has aspects of authenticity, accuracy, reliability, and bias. Information comes in many formats: interviews, books, articles, statistics. We learn about information from many sources: literature, discussion, resource lists, experience. There are also personal issues: budget, time, depth and purpose. With all this to think about, we must be very careful about each question we ask. This issue is vital once we start an article search, and can easily mean the difference between 5 concise articles, and hundreds of general articles. The essence of our question is the manner with which we approach the information sphere. The question directs our efforts. One key is to treat searching as an art, much like painting or photography. The true mark of an artist, and the primary step wanna-be artists miss, is visualizing what you want before you begin. The following sections of the Tutorial will provide you with ideas on how to begin the research process.
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Introduction
