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Figuring out which subject(s) relate to the topic of your paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample Research Question:

How would stricter gun control laws affect the murder rate in the United States?

We do not have a database specifically on gun control, so you need to think about where information about this topic might be.

1. What are the different aspects of the topic, or approaches that you might take?

  • crime rates
  • legal aspects
  • politics
  • causes of crime
  • international comparisons
  • public opinion

2. Which academic disciplines would these topics fall under?

  • criminal justice
  • law
  • political science
  • sociology
  • public policy

3. What other kinds of information could you use, aside from articles?

  • statistics
  • government publications
  • newspapers

4. Which menus would these disciplines and types of information be under in GALILEO?

Social Sciences menu:

  • Law & Criminology
  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • Sociology

News/Facts & Reference menu:

  • News
  • Census & Government Publications

Sometimes, it's hard to know which menu a subject is under. For example, is History under Arts & Humanities, or Social Sciences? Roll the cursor over the tabs in GALILEO to see which subjects each menu includes.