by Mia Hill

Created on: May 25, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2012

The first step towards a successful research project should begin in the classroom. Before starting the task of gathering information for your assignment, ask the professor for clarification of any of the requirements about which you are uncertain. It is pointless to spend hours doing research and then be unable to use the material because it is not what your professor requires.

It is best to ask the questions in class so that other students will benefit from the responses to your questions. Additionally, you may get input/advice from other students in the class. There may be students who have information or experience from previous courses that is relevant to your project. Take notes because when you start your research you may not remember what was said in class.

The next step is to go to the information desk at your school library. School libraries have librarians/staff who are responsible for specific areas of study. The librarian will have experience from assisting other students; additionally, many have education and training in the area of the library for which they are responsible. The librarians are knowledgeable about the resources available in the databases at the library and can save you hours of fruitless searches. School libraries spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for licenses to access online databases not available on the Internet. The librarian can help you navigate the information and produce good data mining results that will make your report more comprehensive.

There are several software applications that can be used to assist you when doing a research project. As with most computer technology, these applications are continuously being upgraded; also, new software is being developed regularly. For example, RefWorks is a new web-based bibliographic management tool. You can use it to maintain your own references or you can use the thousands of existing references from RefWorks' many online databases. You can select the citation style and RefWorks will format the paper for you and will also generate the bibliography. This is only one of the many resources that your library has to offer.

Document delivery is another invaluable research tool available at college/university libraries. You can request material from other libraries around the world. If a student or professor at another college/university is doing research similar to yours, you can corroborate with them using document delivery. The document delivery service can also

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