Topic outline

  • Finding your research topic & background literature

    • Students doing a literature search

      The tutorial videos in this section provide you with tips on how to systematically select a suitable thesis topic and on how to start working with the relevant literature. At the very moment when you start thinking about potential research topics, it is advisable to start immersing yourself in the scientific literature available on the topics. The easiest way is to utilize the largest scientific reference databases, either Scopus or Web of Science, for this research profiling purpose. You will get to know in just a couple of minutes who are most prolific authors in a specific area, in which journals they publish their research, what are the most cited publications in the area, what are the most used keywords besides your search word(s), how has the research evolved over time, et cetera. Simultaneously, you may already find links to selected articles that you should save for reading, and the second video advises you further how to search specific journal articles. The fourth video gives you practical hints how to read scientific articles, which may at first feel like a difficult task. Be sure to listen to the hints how to approach them efficiently! In this section, you will find also hints how to easily manage the meta data of the articles that you download in the search process. You will need this meta data when you cite the articles in the text (writing-and-citing) and when composing the reference list for your research plan and your thesis. The last video shows you details how you should refer to scientific articles in the text.

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    • Some useful tips on how to select a suitable thesis topic (9 minute video)


    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How to quickly find out the big picture of a research topic using the Scopus reference database? (17 minute video)  Note that the URL for the Learning centre's website has changed to https://www.aalto.fi/en/learning-centre, and the Resource guides block can be found by scrolling down that page (or directly via https://libguides.aalto.fi/en).

    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How to quickly find out the big picture of a research topic using the Web of Science reference database? (14 minute video, alternative to the above video with the Scopus database) 



    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How to search specific research articles in science databases? (5 minute video)
      Note that the URL for the Learning centre's website has changed to https://www.aalto.fi/en/learning-centre, and the Resource guides block can be found by scrolling down that page (or directly via https://libguides.aalto.fi/en). Aalto-Finna journal search is now replaced by Aalto-Primo journal search with similar functionality. The SFX feature for full-texts is now renamed to Viewit@Aalto.

    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How to read scientific articles efficiently? (18 minute video)

    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How to use Mendeley reference manager to manage your references and easily write-and-cite? (9,5 minute video)

    • Students must
      Mark as done
      How should you refer to your references in the text? (9,5 minute video)


      For additional information, see the Citation Guide at libguides pages or the detailed Citation and Referencing guide used at Aalto BScBa program.

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Students' expectations and experiences
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Composing a research plan