Answered Questions

Hello!

The first thing you'll want to do to write a great paper is to narrow your topic. For example, you can write a whole book on the impact of cell phones, and a whole, different book on the impact of texting. Which are you more passionate about, cell phones or texting? Next, ask yourself the question "...the impact of cell phones on what?" or "...the impact of texting on what?" Cell phones impact almost everything we do, from business to child rearing to gaming (Pokemon Go!). On a bit more limited basis, much the same thing could be said for texting. Any idea from the impact of cell phones on sub-Saharan Africa to the impact of texting on distracted driving could be a potential topic (a lot of students have been successful with the topic texting and distracted driving). Many effective papers arise from your passion, but it's equally valid to be pragmatic and discover whether enough information is available to write the paper before you commit to the topic.

Once you have a focused topic, I suggest you go the the All Purpose LibGuide to begin your research. Click on the gold Books tab and scroll down to the Brenau Discovery Search. Although it's on the Books tab, the Discovery Search will take you to articles as well as books!

Turn your topic into search terms by linking important words with AND. The AND is really valuable for returning a good set of results.

• For example, you could search sub-Saharan Africa AND cell phones AND impact.
• Another successful search would be texting AND distracted driving.
• You could also use texting AND distracted driving AND impact.

There is a toolbar on the left side of the screen to limit your search to full text or peer reviewed articles or or by date. If the Discovery Search doesn't give you enough information, click the Articles tab on the All Purpose LibGuide and search Academic Search Complete or Research Library.

Is this the assignment that requires a credible website? If so, Google the topic and look for sources such as the Pew Research Center, university sites (.edu) such as Tufts, Durham University, Texas A & M, or Alabama, and government sites (.gov) such as CDC and the National Safety Council.

If you settle on a narrowed topic and can't find what you need, reply by clicking the link below and give me your specific topic.

Thanks for Asking a Librarian!