The research process

1. Get background information from handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries

• examples: 

2. Once your topic is narrowly defined, select databases to find specific articles that have been published in journals

• examples: 

3. Look for films and images as non-literary forms of representation 
4. Find books on your topic to gain greater depth and understanding

• examples:  Library research

5. Write down or store all the references you have consulted to include them in the bibliography of your research paper

• examples: Mendeley, 

Search tips

1. Begin by defining exactly what you are searching for

• Select the keywords/synonyms/antonyms in your topic
• Be specific when determining keywords/synonyms/antonyms and terms to search

2. Use the advanced interface of electronic databases and Internet search engines to help narrow your search

• Limit results in electronic databases to full-text or peer reviewed journals only

3. Use Boolean Operators to connect search terms by understanding how search engines operate

• Google search secrets [electronic resource] / Christa Burns and Michael P. Sauers

4. Take notes during your research to keep track of where you have been, keywords searched, what worked and what didn't, etc.

Sources​ of information

Publication Cycle: to find primary and secondary sources of information, use tertiary sources of information: dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks. When a researcher publishes material, they follow the cycle clockwise. To find primary and secondary sources, follow the cycle anti clockwise.

Subject headings

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) use controlled vocabulary to access and express the subject content of documents. Human Computer Interaction as a discipline has been divided into the following subjects or research areas. ​This is a searchable index. Click on a link below to discover the Library's holdings in this area:

• Add keywords
• Use the filters on the left of the resulting screen
• Typical filters are Available Online and Peer Reviewed Journals

1. Artificial intelligence
2. Computer communication networks
3. Computer graphics
4. Computer science
5. Computer science -- Information systems
6. Computer vision
7. Computers and education
8. Computers and society
9. Data mining
10. Data mining and knowledge discovery
11. Database management
12. Human computer interaction
13. Image processing and computer vision
14. Information storage and retrieval
15. Information systems applications
16. Management of computing and information systems
17. Multimedia information systems
18. Pattern recognition
19. Software engineering
20. User interfaces
21. User interfaces and human computer interaction