Research- Getting Started @ SWEM

• Starting Your Research
• How To Find
• What to do When
• Evaluate Resources
• Cite Your Sources
• Help Yourself
• Fill in the Gaps

Starting your Research

• Selecting your topic
• Finding background information
• Finding facts
• Help in writing a paper
• Information Cycle: a look at how time impacts where you will find information.
• Assignment Calculator: figure out your project timeline
• Get a FAST START with these resources.

How to Find

• Articles in journals
• Online Journals
• Indexes and databases - What do they do?
• What about Google?
• Journal locations at Swem
• Which database covers a journal
• Books in the library
• Books not listed in the catalog
• Book locations and how to borrow them
• Call numbers
• Government Information
• Primary Sources: On the Web
• Reserve Materials

What to do When

• You need more articles or older articles
• You need a journal not listed in the catalog
• You're looking for an article from a specific journal
• You only have a journal abbreviation
• You need a book that is checked out or missing
• You can't find enough books on your topic
• You need a book that we don't have

Evaluate Resources

• Understanding the differences between scholarly, popular, and trade publications.
• Website Evaluation Rubric (in .pdf format)
• Evaluating web resources

Cite Your Sources

• How to Avoid Plagiarizing
• RefWorks
• Guide to Citation Style Guides
• Citing Electronic Documentation
• APA style | MLA style | Chicago style
• Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Citation Generators (Be sure to compare to the style manual)
• Landmarks Citation Machine
• NCSU Citation Builder

Help Yourself

• Virtual Tour of Swem
• Tips on where to start in various subjects > Use Subject Guides
• Websites: selected sites for a variety of subjects
• Ask Us!

Fill in the Gaps

• TILT: three modules focusing on selecting information sources, searching, and evaluating
• Tutorial for Info Power: check out the quiz, login as a guest
• How to do Research