Alumni Library

Even in the age of easy to use search engines and convenient access to online information, it pays to know how to conduct research in a methodical way. Here’s some help getting started:

• Choosing a Topic
• Laying Your Research Foundation
• Multiple Viewpoints

• Tracking Down a Citation
• Primary Sources
• Ask a Librarian

By citing your sources, you’re showing your reader where you got your information. It is important to distinguish the sources of information that you use from your own ideas, interpretations, and conclusions. Failure to cite your sources is plagiarism.

• Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism

Writing well is a skill that you develop over time. Here are some resources to help:

• Writing in College: A Short Guide to College Writing
• Formatting Your Paper: MLA Style
• Formatting Your Paper: APA Style

Turn your browser into a research tool:

Zotero

For a quick and reliable tool that helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software, try ZoteroBib.

For a more robust solution perfect for extensive research (such as a thesis), you want Zotero, which will help you collect citations directly from your browser as you search, organize your research, cite sources using an extension for MS Word, and generate a bibliography with one click.

• Get Zotero

Library Extension

Install this free extension for Chrome (Firefox coming soon) that automatically shows you whether the library has a book when you search sites like Amazon — that way you never buy a book the library owns!

• Get Library Extension