Library Research FAQ

Mackenzie Brooks

Assistant Professor & Digital Humanities Librarian

English Department Liaison
brooksm@wlu.edu // Leyburn 218

Agenda:

Answers to your frequently asked questions, including:

  • What is the academic library?
  • Where do I start?
  • How do I know what keywords to use?
  • How do I go further?
  • What makes a good source?
  • How do I organize my research?
  • What if I need more help?

 

Q: What is an academic library?

Q: What is an academic library?

Q: What is an academic library?

A: collections

  • $1.2 million collection budget per year
  • Books, journals, newspapers, databases, DVDs, streaming video, images, rare books, archival records, case studies, data, primary sources, conference proceedings and more 

Q: What is an academic library?

A: people


     

Start your research on the library website to obtain access to our subscriptions when off campus.

Q: Where do I start?

Q: Where do I start?

A:

Q: Where do I start?

A: Search Everything

  • 587 million results including
    • 5.5 million books/ebooks
    • 104 million journal articles
    • 349 million newspaper articles
  • peer reviewed content
  • interdisciplinary

Q: How do I know what keywords to use?

Q: How do I know what keywords to use?

A: Brainstorm

  • What is your thesis statement?

  • What are the nouns?

  • What are synonyms for those nouns?

  • How does your discipline talk about the topic?

Once you find a source you like, check out the keywords in the abstract for other ways to describe your topic.

matters.

Q: How do I go further?

Q: How do I go further?

A: Try some other databases.

  • A-Z Databases on library website
  • Google Scholar
  • Worldcat.org
  • Wikipedia
  • Browse the stacks!

Interlibrary loan = we borrow resources from other libraries for you

Q: What makes a good resource?

Q: What makes a good resource?

A: Many things!

  • Relevancy
  • Reliability
  • Audience
  • Authority
  • Currency
  • Purpose

Q: How do I organize my research?

Q: How do I organize my research?

A: a citation manager like

  • Zotero
  • Mendeley
  • Endnote
  • Papers

Zotero installation guide at

http://library.wlu.edu

Q: What if I need more help?

Q: What if I need more help?

A: Get in touch!

  • Email me at brooksm@wlu.edu
  • Stop by Leyburn 218
  • Research help desk
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