Environmental Sciences: Start Here

Welcome! This guide will help you get started understanding the research process, and should be your go-to guide for environmental research throughout your time here at Miami.

This guide is meant to be self-directed, but don't hesitate to reach out to your subject librarian at any point if and when you have questions.

The research process can be complex, but can be loosely broken down into a series of steps. These steps in the process are iterative, meaning they may be repeated, often at least a few times, throughout the course of your research.

This guide is organized to show the research process as a linear series of steps for ease of reading, but keep in mind that you may have to revisit some steps before you finish your research or assignment.

Step 1: Your Question

The first step is to identify your research question. This includes learning how to identify and combine good keywords.

Step 2: Finding Sources

The next step is to find sources. This includes understanding different source types and how they fit (or don't!) your research need, as well as searching for and finding full-text.

Step 3: Read and Evaluate

The third step is to read and evaluate your sources for their usefulness in the context of your research. This includes evaluating a source's credibility.

Step 4: Organize, Write, and Cite

The last step is to organize your sources so you can write your paper and accurately cite the information you need.

If you want to jump straight into searching for literature, the subject databases below provide the broadest coverage for environmental research here at Miami.