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PEAC 071B: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle (SC)

Peace Studies / Sociology / Political Science 71B: Lee Smithey - Fall 2024

Get Organized: Creating Your Research Library

photograph of bookshelves with books organized in a rainbow of colorsOrganize your research materials
 

  • Annotate sources as you find them

  • Be consistent: save everything in a predictable way

 

Some useful tools:
 

  • Zotero - create a personal research library, attach notes, format citations, cite sources in Google Docs (some set up required)

  • ZoteroBib - quickly create a list of formatted citations

  • Coggle - create a topic map for your research + keep track of what you find

TriCo Libraries Guide to American Sociological Association Style (Citing Sources)
 

  • You can use ZoteroBib to generate citations in ASA Style. (Select "9,300+ styles available..." to use ASA.)

Make sense of your research process: Search Logs

Research is a larger process of inquiry. Searching is how you find partial answers.

Keeping track of your searches:
- help you make sense of your research process
- saves time by avoiding duplicated effort

Key elements of a search log:

- Write down your question(s) and interest(s)
- Where you searched (e.g. JSTOR, Tripod) and when
- What you did (which keywords? advanced search?)
- How well did it go?  What did you gain?  What's next?

Find Citing Articles/Books -- Google Scholar