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Getting Started with a Research Project

• Find a Topic
• Narrow or Broaden your Topic
• Library Research
• How to Write a Paper
• How to Prepare a Speech
• How to Create a Bibliography

Find a Topic

BMCC Speech & Term Paper Topics
http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/lib/studres/tpapertopics.html
Annotated links to Websites on current issues.

Narrow or Broaden your Topic

• Find too many books and articles?
  Narrow your topic!
• Can't find enough books or articles?
  Broaden your topic!

Let's say you want to give a speech on voodoo. You search the library catalog for books and library databases for articles and you find... a huge amount of resources. This means your topic is too broad and you need to narrow it down by choosing something more specific. If you don't find enough resources, your topic is too narrow - you need to broaden your topic by including more aspects.

Use an encyclopedia to find an overview of the subject's main issues. For example, the 1998 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica defines 'voodoo' as a religious folk cult of Haiti. The article continues with a discussion of the origins, beliefs, and rituals practiced in voodoo. That gives you 3 subject ideas you could develop for a speech or paper.

Websites:
CUNY Tutorial 2: Define Your Research Topic
http://libraries.cuny.edu/iltutorial/index.html02_define/M2.html
Quick tips on how to narrow or broaden a topic.

Module 1: Narrow or Broaden Your Topic as Needed
http://www.wlu.ca/wwwlib/infolit/tutorial/mod1/topic8.html

UCLA College Library: How to Narrow or Broaden Your Topic
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/topic/

Library Research

CUNY Tutorial 3: Locate and Retrieve Relevant Information
http://libraries.cuny.edu/iltutorial/index.html03_locate/M3.html
How to find information in print or electronic sources, the library catalog and indexes.

Guide to Library Research, Duke University Libraries
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/home.htm
On this page the research process is broken down into seven steps.

How to Write a Paper

Books:
Everhart, N. (1994). How to write a term paper. New York: F. Watts.
Call Number: LB 1047.3 .E94 1994

Lamm, K. (1998). 10,000 ideas for term papers, projects, reports and speeches. New York: ARCO.
Call Number: LB 1047.3 .L35 1998

Websites:
Gale - Free Resources - Term Paper
http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/term_paper/index.htm
How to choose a topic, craft a thesis, evaluate, find sources, take notes, organize the paper, prepare a list of used sources (bibliography) and draft and revise the paper.

Procedure for Writing a Term Paper
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/termpapr.html
This site covers: choosing a subject, finding sources, gathering notes, outlining the paper, writing a draft, and editing the paper.

Tips on Writing a College Essay and/or Term Paper
http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=8640
Site discusses the required elements of an essay.

How to Prepare a Speech

Gateway to Speech Resources
http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/lib/help/speech/speechtopics.html
Guide to the process of creating a speech and resources in the BMCC Library.

How to Create a Bibliography

Citing Sources: APA
http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/lib/help/citing/citingapa.html
How to create a bibliography in the APA style.

Citing Sources: MLA
http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/lib/help/citing/citingmla.html
How to create a bibliography in the MLA style.