the intended user or users of an information source.
a widely or generally understood word or phrase. Typically not specific to an industry or group. May have been adopted by the general public from an industry or group through widespread usage.
a word or phrase that has a generally recognized or understood meaning within a specific industry, sometimes called jargon.
a general or popular interest periodical, this information source is typically written by various individuals, includes advertising, illustrations and short articles. While the author may reference a study or other information source within the text, the articles do not include lists of the authors sources for further reading. Sometimes called a popular or pulp magazine
Related terms include news magazine, zine and newsletter
a periodical with scholarly, academic articles that often contain original research. This resource type generally includes a bibliography or list of works cited.
an item that records information for preservation or communication to others. Can be primary, secondary or tertiary.
a comprehensive review of works published in a discipline, field of study or area of research. Can be in the form of an essay or resource list (sometimes called works cited.) In academic sources, this is often the first section of a longer work and the sources mentioned in this review are included in the list of works cited.
Related terms include: annotated bibliography, and systematic review
the date a source is made available to the general public. Often a search parameter or filter option in databases or online search tools. May also be called the release date (for motion pictures) or date of last update (for blogs and webpages.)
to identify where a piece of information or a source referenced, quoted or otherwise referred to was found by the creator.
the main concept or hypothesis being investigated.
A visual representation of the connections between the concepts or ideas in a research question, often used in brainstorming, idea generation or the development of a search strategy.
Sometimes also called a semantic map, a word map, or idea web.
What do I want to know?
What does the assignment require?
to make your question specific, without getting too specific.
phrasing it as a question using the five W's and an H. (Who, What, When, Where, Why, or How). This format can help the task seem more manageable; asking a question in conversation is something most of us have been doing for a long time.
For example, "How does the use of activity-based costing (ABC) influence strategic decision-making in manufacturing firms?"
This map is downloadable for you but there are lots of concept map styles online. If you don't like this one, find one that works for you.
For example:
If your research question is "How does the use of activity-based costing influence strategic decision making in manufacturing firms" the most important words in the question are "activity-based costing" and "strategic decision-making." Since their unique meaning is dependent on all of the words being present in that specific order, search them as a phrase.
Note: How phrase searching works may be different depending on the search tool.
Nearly all databases offer this option; you may have to look in various menus.
Use filter options to
limit the publication dates
specify a specific journal or magazine
specify or exclude a region of the world or country
specify or exclude certain types of sources
specify or exclude a language
For example, "strategic decision-making" is jargon for the common term planning.
The perfect article may not exist
Consider looking for articles that are more broad
AI Usage Disclosure: This content was written and edited by a human with assistance from AI tools.. For more information on the extent and nature of AI usage, please contact the author liza.boman@slcc.edu
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