2. Focus Your Topic
Using the example below:
1. Identify the main topics/ideas
2. Brainstorm additional terms/concepts (min. 10)
3. Narrow or broaden one concept
4. Rewrite the question
“Does violence in mass media influence the
behavior of children?”
3. The search strategy
1. Top of page – write your reworded question
2. Choose two databases to search
Why did you select those two? Which worked better for you?
What terms did you use for your search?
Which of the four rules did you use?
Write down the journal title of one article that you
feel is relevant to your reworded question. (UofC
must have electronic access to this article).
4. Peer-reviewed definition
An article is "peer-reviewed" when it published in a "peer-
reviewed" scholarly or scientific journal. Before publication,
the article is reviewed and recognized by the author's "peers",
i.e. other academic scholars/ experts in the field.
A process through which a research paper or other piece of
writing is critically reviewed prior to publication, by
individuals with in-depth knowledge of the author's area of
research or investigation, to ensure that the work under
review is accurate, reliable, well-written, and worth of
publication; the process is generally guided by an editor who
makes the final decision.
5. Scholarly, Trade or Popular?
1. Lipman, Zada. 2002. "A dirty dilemma: the
hazardous waste trade." Harvard International
Review, 23 (4) : 67-71.
2. Frey, William H. 1996. "Immigration, domestic
migration, and demographic Balkanization in
America: new evidence for the 1990s." Population
and Development Review. 22 (4) : 741-763.
3. Frey, William H. 1998. "The diversity myth."
American Demographics. 20 (6): 38-43.
