Starting your Research
When you start researching for an assignment it can be difficult to know where to start. The Library provides access to useful subject specific resources, but one of the best places to start accessing high quality, relevant resources is Library Search. In this section, we'll look at resources and techniques to help you get started.
Where to search
1) Use the University of Sussex’s Library Search to start your research.
Library Search is the Library's online discovery tool, and a good place to start with any search. It searches and provides access to eBooks, journal articles, dissertations, newspaper articles, and other similar content.
We recommend using Library Search for your research because:
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You can access all the sources it searches for free through the university’s subscriptions.
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It searches a broad collection of resources across all subject areas, which have been selected by librarians and academic staff for teaching, reading lists and research. Because the collection has been created around Sussex research interests, the results will be more relevant to your studies.
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The sources it searches are ideal for academic study and have been peer-reviewed, ensuring they are accurate and of a high quality.
(The peer-review process involves experts evaluating a researcher's work to ensure its accuracy, quality, and originality before publication.)
2) Check your subject guide for a list of databases useful for your specific discipline.
3) Find a specific database using our A-Z database list.
Finding Introductory Material
Whilst journal articles will have a specific focus and assume some subject knowledge, books provide overviews and introductions to topics, making them the ideal place to start your research.
To search for general books on your topic, add some relevant keywords into library search, and use the ‘Item type’ filter on the left to limit your results to books and book chapters.
There are also specific types of books, which are aimed at readers who are new to a topic:
| Book Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Textbook | AKA Coursebooks, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject. |
| Handbook | Books offering an introduction to a particular field of knowledge, organized by topic. |
| Reference | Dictionaries and encyclopedias which define key concepts. |
Finding these books in library search:
The most efficient way to find these introductory texts is to use Library Search’s advanced search. This lets you build up a search with multiple lines.
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Enter keywords relating to your topic in the first search box.
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Select ‘Title and Chapters’ as the search field to see only results where these words appear in the title.
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Enter keywords relating to the type of text you’re looking for in the second search box. E.g. ‘encyclopaedia OR handbook OR textbook’
Make sure ‘AND’ is selected in the drop-down between the search bars. -
Run your search.
For example, if you're looking for an introduction to social media and marketing, try the following approach:
Set the first line to Title+Chapters and search for the keywords social media marketing. In the second line, joined by an AND, use the keyword handbook. You can also use the ‘Item type’ filter on the left, to limit your results to books and book chapters.
Example of layout in Library Search:
Note:
When you’re first starting your research, you probably won’t need to use advanced search for anything other than finding these types of introductory texts. We cover how to use advanced search for more in-depth research later in the ‘Building your search’ section of this guide.
Searching in Specific Journals
Searching within one relevant, high-quality journal is especially useful when you’re starting your research and you’re still deciding what to focus on.
Searching in broad multi-disciplinary databases (e.g. Sussex library search, Google Scholar, Scopus, etc.) when you have a more general topic can lead to an overwhelming number of results. Limiting your search to a high-quality, relevant journal will generate a smaller set of relevant results.
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Lookout for relevant journals that come up a lot in your reading list or in your searches.
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Try searching specifically within that journal.
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Search for the journal’s name in library search with ‘Journal titles’ selected in the drop-down, then click through to the journal’s home page.
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All journal home pages look a bit different, but you’ll have the option to either browse through the most recent issues, or search within the journal itself.
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You can browse through the more recent issues to see what researchers are currently debating/focusing on in relation to this topic.
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Check if there are any special issues published on your research topic. Special issues contain a whole selection of articles focused on a specific theme.
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Browsing is a good way to find creatively titled articles that you might miss with a traditional keyword search and discover new language and keywords to search for.
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Alternatively, you can do a keyword search within the journal. Simple searches work well here, as you’re already limiting your search to the contents of a relevant journal.