Architecture

The Architecture Library houses valuable resources to enhance your research and study of Architecture. Below is a quick guide to help you get started. 

How to Start

You can explore your topic and develop a strategy for finding information. What are the most important aspects? These ideas become your 'keywords' for searching. For researching an architect, the architect's name is your keyword. For exploring a style or movement, that name would be the keyword. It is essential to start broadly and then narrow your search process. 

Creating a chart that describes all aspects of what you are looking for is helpful.

Once you have your keywords follow these steps:

1. Search the Auburn University Library Catalog and/or WorldCat for books
2. Look for articles on your topic
3. Look for images
4. Cite your sources

Research methods generally follow this path but the order of steps is flexible:

• Choose a topic - browse reference books, databases, circulating book indexes, journals, association websites, etc.
• Make a list of subject terms related to your topic for literature searching. Look at thesauri in databases.
• Write an outline of your paper
• Decide what type of information you will need - supporting, empirical, primary, etc.
• Consider the format of the information that you will use - print, electronic, video, etc.
• Conduct a literature search to determine if your topic is feasible to research
• Organize your information
• Evaluate the materials that you found - are they relevant, credible, reliable and verifiable?
• Write the text of your paper
• Cite your resources
• Check, check and recheck your writing and citations

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSR_methodology.png

Identify Keywords

To identify keywords, first start by writing out your research statement or question. Then follow these steps:

1. Start by writing your research question, or thesis statement.
2. Underline or circle the two or three most important terms that represent your topic. 
   • Example: Are social media users concerned about their personal privacy? 
3. Eliminate pronouns, and consider verbs. If verbs add context to your other keywords, you can include verbs as keywords. 
   • NOTE: You can always add in search terms later, so try starting with fewer terms. 
4. Use your initial keywords to think of synonyms. You can use synonyms as additional search terms.
   • Example synonyms: concern, worry

Searching with keywords

Example search: ("Social Media" OR "social network") AND (privacy OR "personal privacy") AND (concern OR worry)

· As you search you may find more -or better- keywords & synonyms to use, or different spellings... play around with keywords and different combinations to see what is most useful

· Use AND to link different concepts and keywords together

· Use OR to group synonyms, or similar concepts together in parentheses

· Use quotation marks to search for specific phrases, or key words with two or more words

Keyword Tips:

• Experiment:
  • Try different search terms
  • Go into Advanced Search to search by topic, such as "nuclear power," then create another subject box to add a second term of "history" or other terms that make sense for your interest.
  • Most databases will allow you to check various boxes to manipulate your search terms (dates of publication, types of sources, whether or not there are illustrations, etc.).
• Identify Alternative Terms:
  • Try popular terms such as "fracking"
  • See if the catalog leads you to a formal term, such as "hydraulic fracturing."
  • If nothing comes up for your term, search a basic database such as Academic Search Complete or look around in Google or even Wikipedia to see if you can find some alternative terms to use.
• Browse by Subject: 
  • Perform an initial search in CatSearch. From the results page, explore subject categories on the right

Boolean operators are words you use to link your search terms together when searching for resources. 

Use them to increase or decrease the number of search results to find what you need

Unlike Google and other web searches, databases work best when you enter keywords instead of full phrases or questions.

• Keywords represent the major concepts of your topic
• Learn new vocabulary or keywords from your initial search results
• Try variations of a keyword, or synonyms.
• When you find a worthy source, get additional keywords from the title, abstract, and subject headings.

Identifying main concepts within your research question/topic.

Research Question: How does lack of access to food effect child development?

Main Concepts: lack of access to food, child development (words like how, does, and, to, etc. are not important)

There are a few types of keywords that you can work with, depending on your topic.

• Narrow - can you use a more focused word or idea? (ex. brain development, physical health)
• Broad - what is the big picture idea behind your topic? (ex. Wellness, Health)
• Related - are there concepts that closely relate to your topic? (ex. hunger, nutrition)
• Similar - are there synonyms for your topic/concepts? (ex. hunger, food insecurity, food security, food desert)