Organizing Your Research
	Do You Need More Information?

As you implement your research strategy, you will be able to increase the number of useful resources you find if you:

note subject headings, descriptors, and other vocabulary terms you encounter, and use these in further searches. Subject headings and descriptors are explained in OWL 4, along with information about electronic search techniques.

note the names of experts or other key people that occur frequently in association with your subject, and look for books, articles, or Websites by the experts you identify

check the bibliographies, notes, or lists of suggested readings in sources you find to identify other sources on your topic, and then check the bibliographies, etc., of those sources, and so on. The bibliography of one good source can often open the door to all the information you need.

TIP: It is very important to keep track of the sources you consult as you work through your strategy. Write down the complete citations or URLs of all sources you consult and all promising sources you find. Write down which sources you found them in, too. You will need this information if you use interlibrary loan, and it will save time if you need to recheck a fact or other information later on.

When you use these techniques for information gathering, you will probably locate more information than you need for your project. Be sure to evaluate the material you find to determine what will be most useful to you. How to evaluate information sources is explained in OWL5.

Our library will have most of the information you need for research, especially in your first year or two of college. The information in the OWLS will help you find what you need. Please ask a librarian for help at any point. If our library doesn't have information you need

You can borrow books from other CSU libraries.

Use the CSU Catalog link on our homepage to search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword, then request the books you want.

Our interlibrary loan service can nearly always get books or articles you need, at no charge.

It usually takes about a week. You'll need to return the books, but the articles are yours to keep. This handout explains interlibrary loan in detail. If you have more questions about this service, please come to the Reference desk.