PPR Research Workshop

1)  Divide into pairs or trios, and open a browser window.  Then decide whether your "product" could be researched using scholarly databases and search engines.  If it is made by a major business, is covered in the "trade press" (magazines written specifically for manufacturers and sellers), or is part of an industry studied by economists, consider at least trying a search using EbscoHost ("Academic Search Premier") to target its Business Source Premier, Communications and Mass Media Complete, and EconLit databases.

2)  Use the database's "Subject" line to refine the keyword terms you use in this search and others.  Experiment with near synonyms.

3)  Be sure to save your results, preferably exporting them to an email to yourself to save time when you want to access them again.  Print out results that appear to be obviously useful.  Working from the screen will produce errors, and will tempt you to copy-and-paste plagiarize.

4)  Then try to search for expert sources using an online commercial search engine such as Google or Bing.