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Guide for Grad Students: Research

Welcome

General Library Searching

  • Summon - Summon is a one-stop shop for library research. Use the search bar on the library's homepage to search for books, articles, reference resources, and more. 

Finding Books

  • Library Catalog - A more current look at the library's holdings, the catalog searches physical materials in the library and some ebooks. Experienced researchers sometimes prefer the more advanced search options available in the library catalog. 
  • Ebooks - There are several ways to find ebooks, as many are part of separate collections. Use these resources to search for ebooks only. You can also search several ebook collections at once by using the Summon eBook Search box found at this link.
  • Find Book, Article, and More - Visit our library resources portal to access all the different ways of finding materials.

Finding Articles and Other Materials

  • Databases by Subject and Databases by Name - Databases offer a more targeted way of searching for research articles. While you can find articles in Summon, choosing a relevant database instead will help eliminate irrelevant and unproductive searching. Additionally, many reference and multimedia databases contain materials that will not be found in a Summon search.
  • Find E-Reference Materials - These resources not only include dictionaries and encyclopedias, but subject-specific statistics and data as well. Navigation is a bit clunky, but just choose a relevant subject area from the top, and you will see a list of recommended references resources.
  • Find Multimedia - These databases contain streaming video, music, and images for a variety of subjects and disciplines. 

Additional research help

  • Research Management How to... guides - With titles such as "How to... find ideas for your research," "How to... use Twitter for academic research," "How to... write a grant application," and "How to... collaborate effectively," these guides cover a wide range of advanced research topics. Follow the link above and click on "Research management."
  • Appointment Form - Schedule an appointment with a librarian for individualized assistance with your research. This is the best way to get reference assistance outside our regular reference hours. (Find our reference hours and related information here.)
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