A Few Research Tips for your Final Papers

Learn how to identify good websites:  If you are relying on and citing articles from about.com, FoxNews.com, MSNBC.com , Wikipedia, or similar websites, hit the brakes.  If the author or sponsoring organization isn't an unbiased, credentialed or recognized authority on the subject, then you probably shouldn't waste your time.

There are thousands of great websites which provide access to resources for college-level research.  Here are just a few:

• PubMed: a database of scholarly medical articles from the National Library of Medicine, 
• US Census Bureau: statistics on US population
• Library of Congress Digital Collections: amazing primary sources like interviews with veterans and digitized historic newspapers 
• TheConversation.com: academics writing about current issues related to their research. 

Don't stop with websites: You can save yourself a lot of time by using library databases to complete your.research, so take advantage of them!  The databases provide access to published resources including scholarly articles and books, as well as advanced search features which make sorting and filtering your results a breeze.  One bonus feature of databases is that they often provide pre-formatted citations which you can use in your reference list (always double-check it for accuracy).

Know when and how to cite: Don't forget that in addition to the list of references at the end of your paper, you also need to include citations in the text of your paper whenever you use someone else's words or ideas (even if you are paraphrasing or summarizing in your own words); these citations may be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or parenthetical references, depending on the publication style you are using.

If you need help evaluating or citing sources, selecting a database, or using any library tools or resources, stop by the reference desk or talk to a librarian.

*This information also appeared in today's Learning Commons Newsletter, LC News which was emailed to all students, faculty, and staff.

Citing a Tweet

Although it may seem a bit silly at first glance, there may come a time when you need to cite a tweet from Twitter in a formal way for a paper or project. For example, if doing a paper on the Arab Spring, it would be hard to avoid at least some mention of the role of social media as events precipitated there, and you might decide that you want to use some of those tweets as a form of primary source material. Well, fret no more about the format for such a citation, as the Modern Language Association (MLA) has posted their guidelines for such a event. And remember, if you're ever not sure as to how to go about citing something that you're using, you can always swing by the reference desk (which is different than the circulation desk, btw), and we're happy to try and help you out!

-Katelyn, Head of Reference