This page supplements material from my book 7 Steps to Better Writing. It provides videos that amplify the chapter “Step 2 – Collect Information.”
How to Research
In the following video, chemistry professor Peter Carr explains how to efficiently read technical papers. This technique also applies to reading other research material.
In the following video, Patrick Bet-David discusses research in the context of business.
In the next video, Cinzia Dubois discusses academic research.
Online Research
The following video discusses how to find scholarly articles and books on the web. Especially useful are the tips how to access academic and technical journals if you are not a university faculty member or student.
As discussed in the video above, here are some useful online resources:
- Google Scholar
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- US National Library of Medicine PubMed Central (PMC)
- US State Library Resource Guide (by Purdue University)
- WorldCat
The following short video shows how to use Boolean operators, quotation marks, and the asterisk symbol when searching the internet.
The following video (starting at time spot 1:05 m:s) provides 15 advanced ways to use Google search.
Online Research – Market Research
The internet provides a huge amount of information on market research. Here is a short video.
Online Research – US Government Agencies
The following two videos discusses how to find US government documents online.
As discussed, begin researching US government documents by using either govinfo or the Catalog of Government Publications (CGP).
The first half of the following 1-hour video (starting at 1:36) provides more information on researching US government documents. The second half discusses records of the State of Indiana.
Online Research – US National Archives
Here is a 1-hour introduction to using the online sources at the US National Archives. The presentation starts at 6:00.
The following short video shows how to download records from the US National Archive website.
Online Research – UK National Archives
The following 51-minute video shows how to access documents online at the United Kingdom National Archives. The presentation starts at 2:30.
If you know of videos or other good summaries that show how to use the national archives for other countries, please contact me through this website so I can add them to this page.
Online Research – US Library of Congress
The following 1-hour video will get you started using the Library of Congress (LOC) website. The LOC has a huge amount of information, but finding it can be difficult. Peter Armenti, a LOC librarian, will help you overcome most of the obstacles.
Online Research – Genealogy
Here are links to the most popular sites for genealogy research:
Reading
Since research requires much reading, faster reading can accelerate your research. The following video is a good place to start if you want to read faster with high comprehension.
Conclusion
These videos are a small sample of the many resources for gathering information online.