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PHYD01/PHYD72

Resources for UTSC undergraduate students taking one of the directed reading or directed research courses in physics/astrophysics.

The Research Process

Once you've selected your topic, your online search of the research literature can begin! 

Select the "Next" link at the bottom right to start navigating through the research process or jump ahead to any section using the links on the left side of the page.

Before You Begin Your Research:

  • Do some background reading so you understand your topic (sometimes your supervisor may directly assign readings to you)
  • Don't quote from Wikipedia, but it is actually a good place to begin your research. Entries in Wikipedia frequently contain links to useful resources that are often considered academic.

Steps to Successful Searching

  1. Brainstorm keywords that represent aspects of your topic. 
  2. Select appropriate places to search for your research topic (example: library catalogue, databases, websites).
  3. Build and refine your search using search terms and boolean logic. 
  4. Review your results. 
  5. Get the full-text of relevant articles.
  6. Evaluate the quality of your sources.

Note: The steps above are often iterative.