Research Guides: Social Work: Research Training Resources

Getting Started

These videos and tutorials provide guidance wherever you might be in your research process.

The videos in this box step you through Syracuse University Libraries' resources. In the additional boxes below you will find generalized "how to" videos that demonstrate process rather than "how to" at a specific library.

For anyone conducting a literature review, here are a couple of resources to help get you started.

Literature Review: an Overview for Graduate Students (9 min) From the North Carolina State University an audio tutorial on conducting a literature review.
Literature Reviews From the Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Identify and Develop Research Questions or Focus

Identify & Develop your research question or focus

Pre-search: How do I decide on what I want to research? (Video approx. 2 minutes) Explains the beginning stages of the research process which is more about raising questions that are interesting to you than answering a specific research question. It provides quick guidance on the process of discovering something that interests you.
Background Research Tips (Tutorial approx. 10 min) takes you step-by-step through the initial phases of the research process once you have an idea about what you want to research. • Differentiate between background research and in-depth research. • Locate useful sources for conducting background research. • Utilize background research to help you refine your paper topic.
Framing a problem (Video, approx. 3 min)
Developing a Research Focus (Tutorial, approx. 25 min)
Narrowing a Topic (Video approx. 3 min)
Creating a Research Plan (video, approx 2 min)

Develop Your Search Strategy

Developing Your Search Strategy

Searching as Exploration (2 min) Searching for evidence can take different processes. Expect that some research questions require utilizing different information formats and complex search strategiesx
Tutorial: Choosing & Using Keywords
Choosing a Database (approx. 3 min)
Refining & Managing Search Results (4 min)
Types of Sources (video 4min)

Evaluating Information

Reading Scholarly Materials

How to Read Scholarly Materials

Worksheets and Logs

These research logs and worksheets are here for class research sessions, although you are welcome to use any one of them to help guide your personal research process.

Research Workflow Worksheet
Research Workflow Worksheet - Case Study
Advanced Research Workflow Worksheet
Advanced Research Workflow Worksheet - PICO
Mini Research Log This is a basic log useful for beginners. For more advanced searchers, try creating an excel spreadsheet or workbook.