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How to Do Library & Internet Research

The following step-by-step tutorial is designed to instruct students on the process of locating information to support course assignments. The links below allow direct navigation to specific steps.

Jump to: Determine information need & search strategy | Find information resources | Critically evaluate information | Use information | Cite sources | More help

Step 1: Determine information need and search strategy

• What are the best resources to answer a particular research question?
  • What are the characteristics of magazines, newspapers or scholarly journals ?
  • What are considered primary sources?
• Identify keywords and terms and develop a search strategy
  • Developing a search strategy
  • Tips for keyword and subject searching
  • Use Boolean searching and truncation in a database search to focus results.

Step 2: Find Information by type of resource

• Books: How to use the Library Catalog
  • Where are the books shelved in the Library?
  • How do you borrow a book?
• Articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers
  • Search keywords using subject-specific databases linked from Find Articles and Research Data
  • How to locate articles online or in the Library
• Reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.
• Web sites on specific topics
  • Browse Web sites identified by librarians in Research Guides on Information Source pages for specific subjects (see Find Articles & Research Data).
  • Search keywords in an Internet search engine
• Statistics on specific topics

  Get help Finding statistics

• What if the Oviatt Library does not have the resources you need?
  • Ask the Library to get the book or article you need via Interlibrary loan
  • Check the catalogs of other libraries if you need something immediately

Step 3: Critically Evaluate Information

See Evaluating Print and Internet Resources

Step 4: Use Information

• The Research Process -- From Idea to Finished Product
• Creating an Annotated Bibliography
• Where are the open computer labs for word processing, etc.?
• Where do students get help using computer programs such as WebCT, Microsoft Word, etc.?

Step 5: Cite sources

• Citing Your Sources
• Why Cite? Avoiding Plagiarism

Step 6: Where to get more help

• Ask a CSUN librarian for help in-person, via online chat, email, or by phone.
• Library Classes
• How to access Library databases from home, etc.
• Information competence vocabulary
• Online Help with Electronic databases