Getting Started with Inquiry

I've spent a couple hours today doing a literature search about Organic Radical Batteries, which I am currently researching under a professor in Chemical Engineering. I realized that I do have some good research skills, but I am still far from being an excellent researcher. Since I am in the Inquiry Content Group, I want to post a couple of the helpful things for doing research in the sciences.

I really like the Elsevier search engine ScienceDirect accessible through the HBLL Database Search. However, this only does a search of articles published through Elsevier. Also, a great tool I've found is called RefWorks. This is basically like a library shelf for journal articles. The nice thing is that you can export citations directly into RefWorks from ScienceDirect, and you can then organize all your references into folders. You can log in using your BYU NetID and password. This is great since you already have a bibliography when you're done. I learned to use this in my first-year writing class, so it is probably already part of the  curriculum. (The picture came from the slideshow linked below by Jessamyn West.)

I also found if you log into your account on the HBLL website, you can create Database Search Sets. Once your set is created, you can do a search of only those selected databases as many times as you want. This is a helpful tool that I just discovered, and will use in the future.

I am still trying to wrap my head around what exactly what our project will include. I learned from Gideon Burton's post that Library Research 2.0 is conducting research by looking at other people's inquiry processes, utilizing social networking tools to do so. It includes using free tools such as RSS feeds, citation tools, social bookmarking, and Google Docs. Lynsie Hammond posted a list of  research tips from First Year Writing Professors.

There have been some things already put together about Library Research 2.0, like the Slideshare and Webcast, "Libraries meet research 2.0" by Guus van den Brekel. Jessamyn West created a slideshow called "Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0 and why it's no big deal, seriously."

I think one challenge we have is trying to make our project specific enough to BYU students so it can be incorporated into the BYU Writing and Research Center, and yet broad enough that it can be used by other students and possibly universities. Maybe we'll just want to make it generic enough that it applies to everyone. Still, I think this would cut out some cool tools like RefWorks, which require the school to have a subscription to. Should we keep it general? Ideas on this, anyone?