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Computer Science Research Guide: Home
This Research Guide is intended for those in the Bishop's University community who wish to find information resources related to Computer Science. This aid provides sources held at or accessible online from the Bishop's Library.
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Theses/Dissertations
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Evaluating Websites
Citation Styles
How to use Sofia
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Hours
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Getting Started with your Research
1. Preliminary Research
2. Identify Concepts & Keywords
3. Refine Your Topic
4. Identify Your Thesis or Research Question
5. Gather Information Sources
6. Evaluate Sources
Become familiar with your research topic.
Do background reading and research.
Encyclopedias & dictionaries
can be helpful at this stage.
Use the web (even Google & Wikipedia) to help you understand your topic or research area.
See what's out there in terms of information.
Take note of key
concepts and keywords
being used.
From your preliminary research, choose what concepts and keywords are appropriate for your research question or thesis
Select appropriate subject headings:
Use the Library of Congress Authorities website:
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html
Find controlled vocabulary
For online catalogues, such as
Sofia
, use Library of Congress subject headings
In periodical databases, look for “Thesaurus” “Subject Terms” or “Subjects” etc. to find terms
Narrow or broaden your search based on what’s out there.
Focus in on your specific subject area or research question.
Make sure this is really what you want to choose for your topic.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Topic
What interests you and what you already know. If you can choose a topic that you are interested in, it will make the research process easier.
What types of information are required? Books? Articles? Primary Sources?
Does Bishop’s Library have the materials necessary for your topic?
Will you have to use Interlibrary Loans? Interlibrary loans take time to be delivered to the library, so you will need to account for delivery times.
The currency of the topic.
Length of paper and required format.
Deadlines.
Make a decision
Put your subject or research area into the form of a research question or thesis to keep you focused
Be as specific as possible
Ask your professor for input on your thesis or research question if you need help with this step.
Use the online catalogue,
Sofia
, to gather books, articles, etc.
Use
Sofia
to find books at other institutions; order them through
Interlibrary loans
.
Use appropriate databases for electronic access to journal articles (Use
Databases by Subject
choose subject specific databases)
You Should Critically Evaluate Every Source You Use!
Learning how to determine the relevance and authority of a given resource is one of the core skills of the research process
Initial evaluation of the sources can be done using the information supplied in the online catalogue,
Sofia
The books can be further evaluated where they are shelved in the LLC
Final analysis requires a more in-depth evaluation of the chosen resources
For more information on evaluating sources,
click here
Need Help?
Reference librarians are available to help Bishop's students and faculty with their research!
Check the Library's
Research Assistance hours
and come by the
Library Service Desk
located on the main floor of the LLC.
During Research Assistance hours, you can also chat with us using the LibChat box on this page or on our
Library Home Page
!
Contact us:
E-mail
:
reference@ubishops.ca
Telephone
: (819) 822-9600 ext. 2608
Text
: (819) 201-0354
Quick Links
Bishop's Library Homepage
Sofia
A-Z Databases
E-Journals
Interlibrary Loans
Subject Research Guides
Citation Guides
Librarian
Kiersten Bradley
she/her
Email Me
Contact:
Library Learning Commons
kbradley@ubishops.ca
(819) 822-9600 ext. 2803
Subjects:
Computer Science
,
Sociology
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