Ask a Puget Sound Librarian: E-mail for reference assistance from a subject liaison librarian. Depending on your question, we might resolve it by email, or suggest setting up an in-person appointment, so that we can work in-depth together. Eli is your librarian...check out his contact information --->
Best for: Any question, but especially in-depth research questions.
Just drop by! There are librarians available on-call at Collins Library every weekday, typically from 9am-6pm. Check the library website to see who is available at which hours each week.
Best for: Getting quick help during the weekday.
Ask a Librarian 24/7 service: Anytime, anywhere! This instant messaging reference service lets you chat with a librarian no matter what time it is. Puget Sound librarians can email you to follow up if you leave your email address.
Best for: Questions that can't wait but come up when the library is closed; citation questions; tracking down specific books and articles.
The research process is just that: a process. A good researcher isn't someone that puts the right words in the search box the first time, it's someone who uses each search to improve the next one. By being aware that you'll circle back and perform tasks more than once, use more than one tool, and look at more resources than you actually use, you'll be better equipped to plan how long your research takes and pick the best sources.
As you work through your annotated bibliography and your review of literature, you will need to narrow your focus to figure out the specific issues and questions that you are interested in!
One techniques for getting started with research is to create a concept map to work through your ideas. Creating a concept map, with your broad topic in the center, can help you focus your topic and come up with keywords to use in your searches.
