Step One: Start to formulate a research question or topic.
Aiming for clarity at the beginning of the project can help you get started right. It can be helpful to use one of the question frameworks detailed below.
Step Two: Do some background searching on the topic.
Taking a look in relevant resources to see what's already been written about your topic will help you understand how you can best contribute to the body of literature. It will also help you grasp the terminology around the topic, so that you'll be more prepared to do an effective literature search.
Step Three: Narrow down the question or topic if needed.
You may find that your original topic is too broad. After you have taken the time to evaluate what's already been written about your topic, you'll have a better understanding of what you're interested in.
Step Four: Meet with your librarian.
A meeting with your librarian can help you identify what resources to search, how best to search them, and how to evaluate, document, and organize your results.
Step Five: Create a search for your topic in an appropriate database.
After meeting with your librarian, you should have a good idea of what terms you might use and where you can search for your topic. Do a couple of searches to find the best results and mark the papers you want to keep by grabbing the permalink, citation, or by emailing it to yourself.
