A research project is a stressful endeavor. It often involves long sleepless nights searching for articles that are not only credible, but are also easily accessible and applicable to your research. Students can especially have difficulty if this is the first time that they have needed to write a formal research project. While this challenge is a common occurrence, having the correct resources and knowing how to use them can make the process less intimidating.
This semester, the librarians of the James White Library have been volunteering their time every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. to help students become more effective researchers through a series of library workshops. They cover a variety of topics, such as developing effective research strategies, evaluating the credibility of sources, learning how to avoid plagiarism and helping students make more use of the resources that the library offers.
Joshua Li (senior, public health, liberal arts) commented, “Since I’ve never been to the library before, it was a good workshop that helped me to understand how the resources are organized and how to find content that is appropriate for my research.”
One resource that can be particularly helpful is interlibrary loans, meaning that the library can help students to obtain almost any article or book that they can find by working with other libraries to provide access. They also provide several databases in a range of subjects from education to nursing that can provide students with access to a wide range of credible articles within their disciplines.
Janice Pakkianathan (senior, public health, biology) shared, “This seminar was very helpful for me, especially as the due date for my thesis approaches. While I knew how to use some of the resources provided, I didn’t know about the interlibrary loan. This resource is especially helpful because sometimes I cannot seem to access the articles that apply the most to my research.”
The small class sizes offer a more one-on-one approach and students are able to take advantage of the knowledge of the librarians to apply to their specific projects. Even if it is not part of the topic that is covered that day, the librarians can help you with whatever research issue you are facing. Many students expressed that the workshops have been very beneficial to their research, helping them to quickly find the correct resources.
Kimberly Sampson (graduate student, K-12 educational leadership) said, “When I saw the advertisement for the series on research, I thought that it would be beneficial especially as I am working on my PhD proposal. So far, the classes have been very small and the presentations have been beneficial.”
Some additional topics that will be covered this semester are finding books, ebooks, and articles using the library’s online catalog, using databases to find relevant and scholarly articles, and determining reliable sources using the internet. To learn more information about the library’s resources, visit the James White Library website or contact Dr. Silas Marques, professor of library science, at silas@andrews.edu.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.