The following seven steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information and documenting sources for a research paper.  Adapt it to fit your needs.

STEP 1.  IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC

State your topic as a question.  For example, if you are interested in finding out about women and their influence in government, you might pose the question, "What effect do women politicians have in local government?"  Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.

Look up your keywords in the indexes to subject encyclopedias.  Read articles in these encyclopedias to set the context for your research.  Note any relevant items in the bibliographies at the end of the encyclopedia articles.  Additional background information may be found in your lecture notes, textbooks, and course reserve readings.

The Wells Library Online Catalog includes books, journals, DVDs, and other materials that are part of Long Library's collection.

Use indexes and abstracts to find citations to articles.  The indexes and abstracts may be in print or online or both.  Choose the indexes and format best suited to your particular topic; ask at the reference desk if you need help figuring out which index and format will be best.

Use search engines and subject directories to locate materials on the Internet. 

Evaluate the authority and quality of your resources based on the author's credentials, the publisher and year of publication, edition, etc.  Look at the content as well, focusing on the intended audience, primary versus secondary sources, objective reasoning, and writing style.  If you have found too many or too few sources, you may need to narrow or broaden your topic.

Use style manuals for APA, Chicago, or MLA to format the citations in your bibliography. They will also contain information on how to cite properly an electronic or Internet resource.