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How to do Research for a College Paper
STEP 5: Refine Your Search
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How to do Research for a College Paper
Overview of the Research Process
STEP 1: Choose a Topic
STEP 2: Brainstorming and Background Information
STEP 3: Identify Research Questions
STEP 4: Find Scholarly Sources
STEP 4a: Find Books
STEP 4b: Find Articles
STEP 5: Refine Your Search
STEP 6: Evaluate Sources
STEP 7: Cite Your Sources
Annotated Bibliographies
APA and MLA Format
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STEP 5: Refine Your Search
Refine Your Search
Review your search results.
What have you learned from your searches so far?
How much information is available on the topic?
Too Much? You may need to narrow down your topic.
Too Little? You may need to broaden your topic.
Identify new keywords to broaden or narrow your search.
Consider rephrasing your research question.
Search for more sources using your new keywords.
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STEP 4b: Find Articles
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STEP 6: Evaluate Sources >>