1. Research as a linguistic problem.
    Sometimes the starting keyword(s) is/are [or seem] clear (as with Dr. Simurda's bacteria), but sometimes there's an intermediate step of figuring out which words to start with (as with all of Dr. Knox's topics). And sometimes it's necessary to step back --to discover and then search a more general term. In any case, reading gives you more terms to integrate into your understanding of the subject.

    We need to spend some time talking about general strategies, and might as well start with books. Here are some Annie search hints.

  2. Creative use of library resources: finding what we have, and using it once it's found. The basics of the use of Annie aren't very difficult, but one needs some strategies for dealing with "too many" and "too few" results from an Annie search. Some basic familiarity with reference sources is also called for.

  3. The periodical literature is accessed mostly with the aid of various sorts of indexes, most of which are now electronic. We'll deal with an array of databases and look at the current frontiers.

    Find one, then find more using the information in the one
    (bibliographies, authors, terminology to add to 'cloud'); the one is, after all, part of an ongoing conversation. You're trying to pick up enough to join that conversation.

  4. The Web is another sort of resource, largely lacking both the organization and the peer validation of the research literature, but offering the careful user some remarkable opportunities.