Research Tips

Research is a scholarly conversation, and it builds upon each other. As a researcher, you are adding to the conversation.

Researcher Types

As a researcher, you are one of the following:

• Hunter: Someone looking for something specific
• Gatherer: Someone gathering anything that could be useful

Beginning Research

• Develop your research question
• Brainstorm and identify keywords that you can use to search for more information on your topic

Note: When you are searching through databases using keywords, make sure to put quotes around keyword phrases that include two or more words. Examples are given below with quotation marks around them.

Research Example

Research Question:

How are high schoolers experiencing or addressing privacy issues on social media such as Instagram and TikTok?

Initial Keywords:

• "high school"
• privacy
• "social media"
• Instagram
• TikTok

Each of the keywords above are a great starting point; however, it is important to think of other ways these similar topics may be talked about.

Expanded Keywords

• "high school" ---> teenagers, "secondary school"
• privacy ---> data, surveillance, consent, breach, "data mining"
• "social media" ---> "social networking", "content sharing"

Librarian Support

UW-Stout librarians and archivists are here to support you in your research. Visit the UW-Stout Library website for more details on how to get help: https://library.uwstout.edu/home