SOC 224: Going Nuclear: The Research Process

Creating a research map is a great way to start interacting with your topic of inquiry.   

1. Get a sheet of paper (at least 8.5" x 11") and a pen
2. Write your topic at the center of the sheet 
3. Around your topic, identify who interacts with (speaks on/about) this topic). Think about "who has something to say about this?" 
4. Around the layer of voices, list the type of sources that each group might create 

Creating the Research Map will help you paint the landscape of the information resources for your topic:  primary/secondary sources; contemporary/historical; US/international; thematic/subject specific, etc. Knowing the type of sources you may need will help you identify the most relevant search tools (databases). 

See example of a Research Map for history of Tokyo project. 

Starting up?  
Use multi-disciplinary such as the library search engine or Google Scholar. These search engines are broad in scope and enable you to cast a wide search net which helps you see how much information is available on your topic and how the topic is framed conceptually. 

Looking for scholarly (secondary) sources? 
In addition to using a multidisciplinary search engine like the library catalog or Google Scholar, use one of the library subject databases. 

Looking for primary sources? 
Use specialized databases such as newspaper databases, statistical databases, image databases, news transcripts databases. 
All available from the library's A-Z list of databases. 

Only a small portion of primary sources is available through library databases/search engines - these tend to be the 'published' primary sources such as newspapers. When searching for 'unpublished' primary sources, you will need to search the web and consider: 

• who would archive this type of source/materials?  
• would the collections be digitized? 
• how can you gain access (you'll need to reach out directly)