Skip to Main Content

Research: Home

How To Do Library Research

Welcome

Welcome to the How To Do Library Research Guide! Use the menu on the left in the Research Links Box, to get research advice that will help you successfully navigate the Libraries collections.

If at any point you need help, you can Ask a Librarian.

Getting Started

Depending on your topic and type of assignment, the resources you'll need for your research may include books from academic publishers, articles from scholarly journals, data and statistics, primary sources, articles from trade journals and popular publications, images, music, videos, and more. All of these types of sources can be found in the Library and on the Libraries website.

When getting started on a research assignment, the first thing you'll need to do is make sure you understand the scope of the project and your instructor's expectations. In addition to carefully reading any assignment prompts, directions, rubrics, etc. that your instructor has provided, you may also want to consult the research advise in the Research Links Box to the left.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the particulars of your assignment, you'll need to start thinking about a topic. If you're choosing your own topic, the next section of this guide, Selecting a Topic has useful advice on that. If your topic has been decided for you, you can jump ahead to Search Strategies.