It has come to my attention recently that my researching skills are lacking, so I figured, who better to ask than people who research for a living. If this is the wrong place for this question, please let me know and I'll repost.
I'm studying for a degree in education, not history, but for the past several papers I've written, the research element has been the area where I struggle. I've never had any courses, or teachers/professors discuss proper ways of researching aside from don't use Wikipedia, etc. When I'm researching now I always use data basis, and only search for peer reviewed material, and only use sources where I have access to the entire work, not just the abstract.
Any advise or tips that you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!
Your single greatest resource available FOR FREE: Librarians. Most libraries, public and in education institutions, have librarians who can help you find the best sources, and can show you ways to locate this material.
Databases like JSTOR and ProQuest will be (virtually) useless to you unless you learn from an experienced researcher HOW to navigate them. I got my PhD in a major university, and considered myself fairly adept at searching. But hands down, every single time I asked a librarian for help, I found a wealth of information and sources that I never would have been able to find otherwise.
I take it that you are in college? If so, what data bases do you have access too? Do you have access to JSTOR and ProQuest? Also, what type of classes are these papers for? Can you provide an example (a paragraph should do) on how you have used your sources in the past?
1). Find two or three good books about the aspect of the war you're looking for.
2). Look in the footnotes of the books. If you need to find primary documents or something, look up the ones you find. If it's about the Vietnam war, you can probably find some gov't docs. If you don't need primary sources, look at the footnotes for articles that might be useful. Just searching on JSTOR is a scattergun approach. Why use that when you can just use other people's work to your advantage. This is how I found my own dissertation topic.
I take it you are already making research notes? Writing down what you find important in a text and the document's info, to quote it easily when needed?
Your school's library probably has research librarians--find the one for your discipline, and they can show you the best resources for your topics.