ENGC 1101 College Writing (Meek)

Exploratory Research is exploring a topic through various kinds of sources (books, magazines, encyclopedias, journals, etc.) without any end goal in mind, just to see what has been written about this topic. 

As you explore a topic, you will begin to formulate questions about it that you can eventually turn into an inquiry question. 

Start your exploratory research by looking for topics in these databases:

Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context)
Topic overviews, opinion articles, and additional sources on social, economic, and political issues.  Search "food" to see pages about food.

CQ Researcher
Reports on controversial issues of national importance (health care, public safety, education, environment, etc.). Each report is on a single topic. Helpful as a topic overview.   Search "food" to see reports about food.

Gale eBooks
Selected dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference books in many subjects.  Search for specific food topics.

A to Z the World
Country reports for most countries with basic geography and politics, human rights and religious freedom information, descriptions of business culture, and travel warnings.  Each country in this database also has a section on the country's national cuisine. 

Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
A three-volume survey of food and its place in human culture and society, presented through 600 alphabetically sorted entries. Features multidisciplinary coverage of such topics as comfort food, ethnicity and food, medieval banquets, and nutrient composition, among many others. Includes photographs, illustrations, sidebars, recipes, menus, and timelines. For students and general readers.

ABC-CLIO eBook Collection
 Link to dozens of ebooks on food and culture which are mostly focused in individual countries

Research is a circular process. You will pick a topic, formulate an inquiry question, and research sources about that topic to answer the question. However, you may find that sources don’t quite address the question you’re asking, or they may give you a different understanding of your topic. This will in turn cause you to tweak your inquiry question or topic to incorporatie info from the sources you find, and research in a new direction.

When you have an inquiry question, search these databases: 

Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost)
Articles in all subjects from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. An all-purpose database and often a good place to start.  All types of sources. 

Academic OneFile (Gale)
Articles in all subjects from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. An all-purpose database.  All types of sources. 

ProQuest News & Newspapers

News articles from U.S. newspapers. Includes the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, and many local newspapers.

 Newspapers only.

Research Reminders

• Research is a process. You probably won’t find everything you need on the first try. You may need to do multiple searches or read some background information about your topic before contining to search.
• If you can’t find much on your topic, try different keywords. Using synonyms or broader related terms can help you find more articles. As you research, be on the lookout for new keywords to use.

Choosing a Topic Is Research




Developing Keywords



 

 Keyword_Worksheetwboolean_Revised.docx  

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