不論你現在要寫專題、小論文還是其他作業，蒐集資料是必經的一個過程。圖書館的研究指引會協助你。你會學到如何查找資源、需要什麼樣的資料、在哪裡找資料以及如何評估資料。
KCISLK Library’s research guide to helping you get started on your research assignment. Starting with developing research questions and ending with using sources in your writing. You will learn how to figure out what kind of sources to look for, where to find them, and how to evaluate them.
萬事起頭難，每個研究最難的就是決定研究主題。一旦有了頭緒，就可以朝著這個方向邁進。要定義研究問題，可以先從所有可能的主題(或是被指派的主題)開始，再逐漸縮小範圍，直到你能準確地知道自己想要找到什麼問題的解答。
Defining your research question is a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your assigned topic) and narrow down until you’ve focused your interest enough to be able to state precisely what you want to find out, instead of only what you want to “write about.”
source：Ohio State University
小活動：想想看 Activity : Which topic is narrower?
1. 對於「法律」這個主題，哪個主題範圍比較聚焦？ Which topic scope is more focused for the theme of 'law'?
(A) 立法院 (B) 法律扶助協會 (C) 司法院釋字第七四八號解釋施行法立法歷程 (D) 智慧財產權
(A) Legislative Yuan (B) Legal Aid Foundation (C) Act for Implementation of J.Y. Interpretation No. 748 (D) Intellectual property rights
C
2. 對於「火山」這個主題，哪些主題範圍比較聚焦？(複選) Which topic scope is more focused for the theme of 'volcano'? (multiple choice questions)
(A) 世界上的火山 (B) 大屯火山群火山噴氣來源之探討 (C) 大臺北火山防災策略擬定 (D) 火山爆發
(A) Volcanoes in the world (B) The volcanic gas sources of Tatun volcano Group (C) A Study on Volcano Emergency Management Strategy of Taipei Metropolitan (D) Volcanic eruptions
B、C
3. 對於「宮崎駿」這個主題，哪些主題範圍比較聚焦？(複選) Which topic scope is more focused for the theme of 'Miyazaki Hayao'? (multiple choice questions)
(A) 宮崎駿與其他人的關係 (B) 宮崎駿和吉卜力 (C) 動畫主題曲 (D) 宮崎駿動畫中的女英雄旅程
(A) Hayao Miyazaki's relationship with other people (B) Hayao Miyazaki and Ghibli (C) Animation theme songs (D) The heroine's journey in Hayao Miyazaki's animations
A、B、D
運用5W1H縮小主題範圍 Use the 5 Ws to help narrow your topic
假設你想討論「食安」議題，但這個範圍太廣了，可以藉由以下問題來縮小範圍：
What 有哪些食物產生安全問題? 造成什麼影響?
Why 為什麼會產生食安問題?
Where 什麼地方容易座落不肖工廠?
When 何時開始爆發食安問題?
Who 哪些人需要為了食安問題負責? 有哪些人在此事件中受到傷害?
How 如何解決食安問題?
Your assignment is to write on the topic of food safety, but that’s still too broad. You can narrow the scope by asking the following questions:
What foods have safety issues? What are the consequences?
Why do food safety problems arise?
Where are unethical factories likely to be located?
When did the food safety outbreak begin?
Who is responsible for food safety issues? Who was harmed in this incident?
How to solve food safety problems?
運用心智圖縮小主題範圍 Using mind maps to narrow your topic
一般問題？研究問題？ Regular vs. Research Questions
一般問題是我們日常生活中比較常碰到問題，可以使用Google或是百科全書快速找到答案。
研究問題比起一般問題，更常用「如何」或「為什麼」開頭，沒辦法快速找到答案，除了批判性思考外，也需要更多的資訊來回答。
Regular questions are problems we encounter more often in our daily lives. You can use Google or encyclopedias to quickly find answers.
Research questions are more often started with "how" or "why" than regular questions. It is difficult to find the answer quickly. In addition to critical thinking, more information is required to answer.
1. 哪一個是一般問題？Which one is a regular question ?
(A) 臺灣有多少兒童過敏？ How many children in Taiwan have allergies?
(B) 出生國家如何影響孩子氣喘的機會？ How does country of birth affect a child’s chances of developing asthma?
A
2. 哪一個是研究問題？Which one is a research question ?
(A) 什麼是Covid-19？ What is Covid-19?
(B) 如何改善是否宣布疫情的決策？ How could decision-making about whether to declare a pandemic be improved?
B
當你在尋找研究主題並想辦法縮小範圍時，可以試著先廣泛的閱讀。在閱讀的過程中會幫助你了解此領域的專家使用了哪些關鍵字或術語，將這些關鍵字記錄下來，能減少之後找資料所花費的時間。這時候的閱讀可能會進一步縮小研究範圍，讓你更能聚焦主題內容。
例如你想了解肺部腫瘤對人體帶來的風險，開始進行背景知識閱讀。從閱讀過程中發現，該領域的專家學者通常使用lung tumor、lung neoplasm，而不是lung cancer 作為關鍵字。如果你單純使用lung cancer 作為關鍵字來查找資料，可能會錯過許多有用的資料來源。而且，用這些專家學者使用的關鍵字去查詢，表示查到的資料來源可信度會比較高，而不是一般新聞或商業、農場網站資訊。
哪些資源適合做為背景知識閱讀呢？ 像是百科全書、字典、維基百科。
許多人遇到不了解的問題時，第一個反應就是問Google。維基百科通常都會出現在查詢結果中，但不建議依賴維基百科，因為它採協同合作，人人都可自由編輯，很難驗證編寫的作者是否對此主題有相當的專業或知識。不過，想要初步了解該主題或是每個條目底下的外部連結、參考文獻與延伸閱讀，可以作為資料查詢的參考。
圖書館訂購的Britannica School，可以輸入關鍵字(黃框)查詢想了解的主題，除了提供與該主題相關(紅框)的文章、影片與圖檔。亦有提供翻譯跟朗讀的功能(藍框)，若想將文章儲存或是列印、email也可以。點選文章中的關鍵字可以連結到更多資訊。
It's wise to do some more reading about that narrower topic once you have it. For one reason, you probably don't know much about it yet. For another, such reading will help you learn the terms used by professionals and scholars who have studied your narrower topic. Those terms are certain to be helpful when you're looking for sources later, so jot them down or otherwise remember them.
For instance, if you were going to do research about the risks posed by lung cancer, this background reading would teach you that professionals and scholars often refer to the virus itself as lung tumor or lung neoplasm. If you didn't learn and use that in your eventual search for sources, you would miss the kinds of sources you'll need for your assignment—sources written by people in a position to know about lung cancer, unlike the general public.
What resources are suitable for background reading? Like encyclopedias, dictionaries, Wikipedia.
When people encounter a problem they don't understand, their first reaction is to ask Google. Wikipedia usually appears in query results, but it is not recommended to rely on Wikipedia because it is collaborative, and everyone can edit it freely. It is difficult to verify whether the author has considerable expertise or knowledge on the subject. However, if you want to have a preliminary understanding of the topic or access external links, references, and further reading under each entry, you can use it as a reference for data queries.
Britannica School, subscribed to by the library, you can enter keywords (in the yellow box) to search for the topic you want to know about. In addition to providing articles, videos, and pictures related to the topic (in the red box), it also offers translation and reading functions (in the blue box). If you want to save, print, or email the article, you can do so. Click on the keywords in the article to gain more information.
發展研究問題的步驟如以下：
步驟1：選擇主題。
例如：萊特兄弟
步驟2：寫出與第一個主題相關的更小的主題，列出相關/潛在的問題，挑一個你最有興趣的問題。
例如：萊特兄弟如何成功的製作出第一架飛機→萊特兄弟在哪工作→什麼原因激勵萊特兄弟製作飛機→他們花了多久的時間→遇到哪些問題→有人幫助他們嗎
步驟3：使用參考書或百科全書來開始閱讀背景資料、試著在圖書館的資料庫查關鍵字 。
例如：
1.閱讀維基百科、百科全書對於萊特兄弟的介紹，獲得基本認識與蒐集關鍵字。
2.以關鍵字「萊特兄弟」「第一架飛機」「協助」組合查詢，從查詢結果獲得其他關鍵字。
步驟4：如果發現查到的資料太少或太多，就重新調整研究主題
例如：只以「萊特兄弟」進行搜尋發現資料太多，可加上其他關鍵字或是使用布林邏輯等檢索技巧，查到的資料會更精確。
步驟5：更改您感興趣的問題，使其更加集中和具體。
例如：家人、員工、志工是怎麼幫助萊特兄弟成功製作出第一架飛機？
Steps for Developing a Research Question
Step 1: Pick a topic.
Step 2: Write a narrower topic that is related to the first./List some potential questions and pick the question that you are most interested in.
Step 3: Use a reference book or encyclopedia to start reading background information, and try keyword searches in library databases.
Step 4: If the information is too little or too much, adjust the research topic accordingly.
Step 5: Change the question you're interested in so that it is more focused and specific.
