Library Research (LIBR 100)

Information Research (LIBR 100) is a one-credit course for students who are interested in improving their research skills. This is a great course for a student who is just beginning their college career or someone preparing for a thesis or capstone, but it is also helpful for graduating seniors, who will continue to have research needs outside of school.  While approaches vary by section (see below for more details), all sections concentrate on the process of research: not only what we do when we research but, perhaps more importantly, why we do it.

Topics covered:

1. Asking a manageable, relevant research question
2. Choosing relevant resource types to answer that question, whether open web sources or information from subscription (library) databases
3. Developing effective search strategies and revising as needed
4. Evaluating information sources 
5. Looking at a range of source types (reference, news, grey literature, open access materials) in addition to traditional scholarly books and journal articles

Course offerings for spring 2025

*Contact instructor(s) for more details.