For your English 1320 class, you will have to complete some kind of project that will test your library research skills.

You may already be a library whiz, or you may never have done library research before—either way, there are certain rules, strategies, and tips that you should know before you start your research. This tutorial will give you the rundown on library research, from topic to works cited page.

You don't have to do the whole tutorial at once, but you will need to do it in order. Watch the video to the right for more information about how to get around.

But before you start, take this assessment so you'll know where to focus:

Find out what you already know about library research!

Home

1. Choosing Keywords

• The Big Idea: How should I choose keywords for my search?
• I don't understand my topic... Help!
• What is mind mapping?
• Where can I make a mind map?
• Other Frequently Asked Questions
• Test Yourself
• Useful Links

2. Finding Resources

• The Big Idea: Where should I search and what will I find there?
• Where can I find digital materials?
• Which databases should I use?
• Where can I find the journal I need?
• What if I can't find full text of the article?
• How does InterLibrary Loan work?
• Where can I find print materials?
• How do I search the library catalog?
• Where in the library is my book?
• Other Frequently Asked Questions
• Test Yourself
• Useful Links

3. Search Strategies

• The Big Idea: How do I narrow down my search results?
• Boolean Operators in Action: AND, OR, and NOT
• What other search strategies are there?
• Other Frequently Asked Questions
• Test Yourself
• Useful Links

4. Evaluating Resources

• The Big Idea: I'm supposed to find scholarly articles—what are they?
• What is peer review?
• Where can I find peer-reviewed journals?
• Can I use websites in my research?
• How do I evaluate websites?
• Other Frequently Asked Questions
• Test Yourself
• Useful Links

5. Citing Sources

• The Big Idea: How should I cite my sources?
• Are we talking about the same thing?
• Where can I find the MLA style guide?
• What do the parts of a works cited entry mean?
• Why should I use a citation manager?
• Who can help me with my works cited list?
• Other Frequently Asked Questions
• Test Yourself
• Useful Links

Wrap-Up

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.