ENGL 1101: Guzman: Getting Started

You've probably done background research in the past, such as searching Wikipedia for definitions, searching Reddit for more information about a breaking event, searching NYT's Wirecutter or Consumer Reports for product reviews.  This is all information which gives you enough information to search better and more precisely for what you want.

You can do the same thing for your topic using UGA Libraries resources.  We have tens of thousands of encyclopedias.  These encyclopedias can help you identify the best language to use when searching for something, and they will often link to seminal research on a topic (normally the first scholarly research that has been done).  Use the link above to search our book holdings.

Often times AI can assist you in thinking of vocabulary, developing a topic, or writing a thesis statement.  AI is not meant to help you find and understand research articles.  It is not a discovery resource.  Often materials linked within AI are old, inaccurate, or biased, so be careful!  

Source:  Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity Are Promoting Scientific Racism in Search Results

Richard Lynn Wikipedia page

UGA librarians help students with questions like this every day. We've constructed this notebook to help you create a personal research map, keeping track of where you've been and where you need to go.

This is not a sequential notebook. There's not step 1, step 2, step 3 in research. We've constructed this notebook to help you create a personal research map, keeping track of where you've been and where you need to go.

As for that last question, no, you're not supposed to know this stuff already! The UGA Libraries system is the largest library in the state of Georgia, and it's one of the largest research libraries in the country. We offer many resources and opportunities to study and learn that you may not know or even have thought of. 

You can find a copy of this journal at: 

t.ly/uGsRK

First Year Writing Tutorial (libwizard.com)