FYWS Essentials

Understanding Your Assignment

Before beginning research, make sure you fully understand your assignment requirements.

Quick Checklist:

• Read the assignment carefully

• Note key requirements: due date, page length, format, citation style

• Identify important terms or concepts

• Ask your professor if anything is unclear

Starting Your Research

Begin with background information

Before searching library databases, start with general sources to build foundational knowledge:

• Google Scholar or Google for overview information
• Wikipedia for basic definitions, dates, and context
• News sources for current events

Why start here?

• Familiarize yourself with key terms and concepts

• Identify major researchers or debates in the field
• Gather background context before diving into scholarly literature

Important: General web sources are a starting point, not an ending point. For academic research, you'll need to move beyond Google and Wikipedia to find scholarly sources through library databases.

Understanding Your Information Needs

Consider timing and source types

The type of sources you need depends on your topic and assignment:

For current events (within the past year):

• News websites and online newspapers

• Recent blog posts or opinion pieces

• Social media and online discussions

• Scholarly articles may not yet be available

For established topics:

• Scholarly journal articles
• Academic books
• Research reports and studies

Tip: If researching a very recent event, look for scholarly articles on similar past events to provide context and framework for your analysis.

Key Takeaways

• Understand your assignment before you start

• Begin with general sources to build background knowledge

• Consider how recently your topic emerged when planning your search strategy

• Move beyond Google and Wikipedia to library databases for scholarly sources