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SURVEY YOUR SOURCES Once you have chosen a topic that fits the requirements for your research paper you should make sure that sufficient resources are available that also meet your instructor's requirements. Many instructors will specify a particular number or type of sources to be used in your research paper, so it is always a good idea to "survey" what is available before you commit to your topic. The idea is not to begin collecting information, but to make sure that enough research material is available to meet the requirements of the assignment. Can you find enough information specifically related to your topic to complete your assignment? Start with LINCC, your library's online catalog (click here for instructions). How many results do you get from a search on your topic? Don't forget to use a subject heading that is narrow enough to give you a good idea of what is available and relevant to your paper. For example, a subject search for gun control will not give a realistic picture of what is available on hand gun legislation or the problem of guns in schools. Your campus reference librarian can help you by supplying relevant subject headings. Remember that libraries today are not limited to the resources located within them; through online catalogs like LINCC, you can locate titles from thousands of libraries around the state and across the country. Items located at other libraries can be requested through inter-library loan. Don't overlook this valuable source of material. Next you should survey your library's collection of indexes to magazines and other periodical articles. These indexes can be online or print sources. These indexes will help you locate magazine and journal articles on your topic. There are several online resources available to SJRCC students that contain full-text articles on a wide variety of subjects. Again, a reference librarian can help you decide which resources will be of value for your topic. What happens if you find that little or no information is available on the topic you've chosen? There are a number of things that you can do in that situation. One is to go back to an alternate topic from your earlier reading. Again, you would follow the steps of background reading and doing a survey of resources for that topic. Instead of changing topics completely, you might want to focus on a different aspect of the topic. From your background reading you should have a number of significant issues surrounding your broader topic; moving in one of those directions may result in a larger group of resources available for your research. Your campus reference librarian is available to help you both redirect your research and find useful resources.
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