Find Sources: General Search (Google)
Start with a general search to have an idea what's out there. Typically a quick Google search will let you know what's of immediate interest.
Find Sources: Tertiary Sources (Encyclopedias, Popular Works)
Browsing tertiary sources like Wikipedia and popular blogs helps you learn the terminology of the research topic, identify major researchers in the field, and even locate primary sources.
Find Sources: DiscoverUR, Databases
Use DiscoverUR and our Databases to find articles, books, and other primary or secondary sources.
Find Sources: Literature Review
Stand on the shoulders of giants by looking through the literature your sources cite. Often these will be immediately pertinent to your research topic.
Find Sources: Browse Journals
Identify journals that your authors have often published in. Browsing through these journals with a variety of keywords to discover new articles you may not have noticed otherwise.
Iterate on Topic
Consider what you've found and how it interacts with your research topic. Is your topic too broad? Too narrow? Did you find something else more interesting? Return back to Step 3 if so!
Write Paper
Get to writing! Try to put yourself in the proper headspace. Consider backtracking a bit to locate further sources if you get stuck. Remember to cite as you go!
Turn it In
Now that you're finished, turn in the paper, sit back and destress.