The primary role of academic librarians is to assist students with successfully completing their research assignments and to build a library collection that supports those assignments.
The librarians who work at the Reference Desk can assist students with:
Contact a librarian:
The quality of results is directly related to the quality of the search.
Most search tools work the same way, including Internet search engines.
Following these basic principles should produce better results.
Remember:
The better the search = better results = a better product = a better grade
Anyone can go to the Internet, type in some words, search, and find some information.
Any information source that has been through the publishing process has already been evaluated by scholars or editors for accuracy.
Students should concentrate on finding reliable sources of information, which may include sources that have been published and/or documents on the Internet.
Because it is a self-publishing medium, all information found on the Internet must be evaluated for currency, reliability, accuracy, authorship, and purpose. This evaluation takes time.
Reference sources (encyclopedias and dictionaries) are particularly valuable for getting started with your research. They can help you:
Search the catalog under the Find Books tab above using the word "encyclopedias" along with a topic (psychology encyclopedias) to find an encyclopedia that might have an article on your topic.
If you aren't sure where to start your research, Ask a Librarian!
Find more information on evaluating sources under the Citing Sources tab above.
The library collects a variety of sources to support the classes taught at the college:
In the electronic world in which we live, information comes in many formats:
Some previously published information is freely available on the Internet, but much of it is not.
Because the Internet is a self-publishing medium, all information found on the Internet must be evaluated.
The format of the item does not determine its relevance or usefulness--the content is what is important.
The same book may be available
Just because an article is easily available electronically, does not mean that its the best source for a particular information need.
All information identifed after searching any source must be evaluated first for relevance to the research topic.