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Revising and/or Refining Research Question
To determine if your research question should be revised or refined, ask yourself if it is:
- focused on a single problem or issue?
- clear enough to be easily understood without needing any additional explanation?
- concise or expressed in the fewest possible words?
- researchable in that a suitable amount of research is available, such as academic books and refereed journals?
- answerable within the timeframe specified in the assignment?
- specific enough to be answered thoroughly?
- complex enough that it cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no," but rather requires an analysis and synthesis of ideas?
If you answered "yes" to all of the above, think about what resources should be consulted as you seek answers to your questions. Be sure to identify a variety of perspectives and responses to your questions.
Finding Articles
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MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
A definitive index for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film.
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Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Covers a broad spectrum of the arts & entertainment industry including dance, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, circus performance, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic, performance art, film, television, and more through abstracts, indexing, and selective full-text.
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AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window
Containing bibliographic records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library, AGRICOLA provides millions of citations relating to the field of agriculture.
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Biological Science Database This link opens in a new window
Provides citations and abstracts to articles and other materials covering all areas of biological sciences, including biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology and ecology, and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science.
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GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE offers information covering the human impact to the environment with a collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles.
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Medline This link opens in a new window
Provides citations and abstracts to articles covering all medical topics, including research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, and health care services.
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ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Covers a broad range of disciplines such as agriculture, biology & genetics, arts & humanities, biochemistry, business, chemical engineering, chemistry, computer science, earth & planetary sciences, economics, environmental science, mathematics, medicine & dentistry, physics & astronomy, social sciences, and veterinary science & medicine.
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Criminal Justice Database This link opens in a new window
Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full text to articles about all aspects of criminal justice, "including corrections administration, law enforcement, social work, industrial security, drug rehabilitation, and criminal and family law."
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Education Source This link opens in a new window
Provides the largest and most complete collection of full text journals in education research and is designed to meet the needs of education students, professionals and policy makers.
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APA PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Provides citations and abstracts to articles and books about psychology and "disciplines related to psychology such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work."
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Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Provides citations and abstracts to articles about sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
Google Search
If you are using Google Scholar off campus, change your settings to link to our library holdings.
8. You may be asked to enter your StarID username and password to access the article
- Click here to access Google Scholar's settings
- Select Library Links to the left
- Search for Minnesota State University Mankato
- Check all options for Minnesota State University Mankato
- Press the Save button
- Conduct your search in Google Scholar
- If you cannot access the articles by clicking on the title, click the "View It @ My Library" or the double arrow icon and the "Get it @ MNSU" links.