Start with general topics that are of interest to you and that you'd like to explore and learn more about
Do some preliminary research about your general topic(s) - searching for reference sources, books and articles that are relevant to your topic(s) and see what have already been done. What questions occurred to you after digesting what you found
Refine keywords
Consider your audience
Start asking questions and use what you have read to help you narrow down your focus on the topic - start with open-ended "how" and "why" about your topic
Evaluate your questions to determine whether they would be effective research questions (talk with your professor or a librarian for additional feedback)
Begin your research
Use RefWorks to keep track of citations as you conduct research
Evaluating resources (scholarly vs. non-scholarly, what is peer-reviewed, a 5-minute video)
