Guide to Science Research 

Sometimes picking a topic is the most challenging part of an assignment!  Ideas can come from many places:

• Popular Journals (Scientific American, Discover)
• Webpages/Blogs/Wikipedia
• Class readings (ideas you've underlined, had further questions about)
• Encyclopedia entries

1) Identify a topic that interests you and develop an idea (thesis) statement

2) Find some background information on that topic

Consult encyclopedias and other reference material to help you isolate key words

3) Find sources to support your ideas

4) Evaluate these sources to determine scholarliness, relevancy, timeliness, etc. 

5) Write a report/paper on your findings

6) Cite any references you use

Citation styles: APA, MLA,  ACS(Chemistry), GSA(Geology), 

What is academic integrity?

Once you have a topic or some defined ideas, it's time to develop  keywords that will help you locate information.  For example, if you are interested in alternative fuels you might try a variety of search terms:

• ethanol as fuel
• biodiesel fuels
• renewable energy resources
• alternative fuels. 

The College of Wooster subscribes to many databases, both general and discipline-specific.  If you are starting the research process, don't know where to begin, or have a interdiscplinary topic, try these general databases first: