Research Series: Refining Your Topic

Sometimes when we choose a topic to research, our topic is too broad. For instance, you’re assigned a 5 page research paper. This might seem like a lot, but once you start researching you will need to  narrow your topic to fill those 5 pages. With  a topic that is too broad, you could write an entire book with the amount of research you can find!

To begin, start with your broad topic and add extra elements to it. For example, the ‘Civil Rights Movement’ can be narrowed to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. To focus it even further you might look at the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s in Washington, D.C.

Picture demonstrating narrowing a topic

 

See how I’m adding these extra elements to focus my topic? First I add a time period and then I add a place. The extra elements are not limited to time frames and locations; sometimes they are specific people or themes.

Starting with a good topic will make researching a lot easier!  As always, if you need more help with your topic or research please contact the NOVA Online library at NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu.

Stay Healthy and Safe This Fall

3 pumpkins on fence

Fall is here! Now is a great time  to start or maintain healthy habits. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  1.  Be proactive about the flu. Here are some great tips about flu prevention.
  2. Prepare for cold weather.
  3. Have a happy and safe Halloween.
  4. Start a fitness routine.

For more tips on fall health and safety, visit the CDC website.

If you are interested in learning more about the Ebola virus, please visit NVCC’s library guide.

NOVA Online Textbook – free courses making headlines

Are you working on your fall schedule? Are you interested in taking a class that doesn’t require you to purchase any textbooks or course materials? An OER class might be right for you!

This past fall NOVA Online offered a series of 12 general education courses that do not require students to purchase textbooks or other course materials. These textbook-free classes used free open educational resources (OER).

Courses can be taken individually, or as a series to satisfy the requirements for the General Education Certificate. In lieu of traditional textbooks, all readings and materials used in the courses will be available to students free of charge online or through Blackboard – NOVA’s course management system. OER materials include teaching, learning, and research resources that are in the public domain or are released under a licensing agreement that permits their free use or re-purposing by others.

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Read more about how NOVA Online’s OER-Based General Education project will save NOVA students money in Community College Week.

For more information about NOVA Online’s OER courses, contact the NOVA Online Counselors at elicounselors@nvcc.edu.

Research Skills: A Blog Series from your NOVA Online Library staff

Citing Your Sources

citation neededReally, the hardest part of doing research is finding the best sources and completing your paper or assignment using those sources. Citing them should be the easy part. But students tend to get pretty stressed out when it comes to citations. No worries, though, we can help.

First, why is it important to cite? There are really 2 main reasons:

1) Readers of your paper or research should be able to find where you got your information, even if your information came from online videos, podcasts, or social media. If you use or refer to images, sound, or music, your readers should be able to find those sources. By citing your sources, you give your readers a chance to utilize those same resources out of interest, or even to check your facts.

All citation styles, e.g. MLA and APA, try to include all the information needed for someone to track down that source.

2) You need to give credit to the creators/authors of the information you use. This is key to academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism.

For information on formatting, in-text citations, and reference lists, take a look at the style guides below:

You can also see the following sites for more help:

Upcoming Citation Webinars (THIS WEEK!):

Go to the NOVA Online Webinars schedule to sign up for the following citation webinars:

Citation Basics–APA Style

Make sure you’re citing your work correctly!  This 30 minute webinar will go through the basics of the APA citation style. We will cover general formatting, in-text citations, and the reference list.

Tuesday, March 18, Noon – 12:30 pm

Thursday, March 20, 6:00 – 6:30 pm

Citation Basics–MLA Style

Make sure you’re citing your work correctly!  This 30 minute webinar will go through the basics of the MLA citation style. We will cover general formatting, in-text citations, and the reference list.

 Monday, March 17, 6:00 – 6:30 pm

Thursday, March 20, Noon – 12:30 pm

Research Skills: A Blog Series from your NOVA Online Library staff

Evaluating Websites

search1A couple of weeks ago, we talked about using Google for your research. Of course, NOVA Libraries has access to thousands of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles through the library databases. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not good and useful information out on the web as well.  You just need to be critical.

 So how can you decide if a website has good information that would be appropriate to use in your assignments? You’ve heard of the 5 W’s, right? Well, they can also be applied to evaluating information, on the web and elsewhere. 

 WHO – Who wrote or published the information? Is it someone you have heard of? Is it an organization that you are familiar with?

 WHAT – What are the author’s credentials? Are they clear about their experience in the subject and how they relates to the topic they are writing on?

WHEN – When was the information published? Is it the type of information that changes over time (Think: Medical Information)? Or is it the type of information that stays the same (Think: History)?

WHERE – Where did the author get their information? Are they properly citing their sources? Are they clear on where their facts, statistics, graphs, etc. are coming from?

 WHY – Why are they publishing this information? What is the author’s motivation? Are they showing a bias?

Take a look at the NOVA Libraries’ 5 W’s to Determine Good Information for more tips! And as always, if you’re not sure about a website, ask us! NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu

Research Skills: A Blog Series from your NOVA Online Library Staff

Finding Articles in Library Databases

Did you know that NOVA Libraries gives you access to thousands of journal, newspaper, and magazine articles that are housed in over 100 databases? The good news is it’s pretty likely that we have information on the subject you are researching. The bad news? I could be a little overwhelming.

databases1This short 5 minute video will introduce you to library databases and give you some search tips.

And, as always, if you need help finding information or using any library resources, we’re here to help. E-mail your NOVA Online Library staff at NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu.