Skip to Main Content

Intro to Library Research

This guide is a starting point for doing research at Wardman Library, finding and evaluating scholarly resources, and getting additional writing help.

Recommended Resources

Need help choosing a topic? Explore these resources:

Understand Your Assignment

Before beginning your research, make sure that you READ AND REREAD your assignment.

Ask yourself:

  • When is the due date?
  • What is the scope of the research?
  • What should and should not be included?
  • How long should the paper/project be?
  • What formatting style (MLA, APA, etc.) is required?
  • How many sources/citations do you need?
  • Should the sources all be peer-reviewed/scholarly?
  • Do you need to include other types of sources (books, newspaper articles, etc.)?
  • How current should your sources be? 
  • What additional parameters are given?

When in doubt, ask your professor.