LibGuides: Student Learning Success Toolbox: Research Success

How do I Find Help with My Research?

ACC Library Services subscribes to a large collection of online resources. Students have full access to thousands of e-books, articles, and films.

Not sure how to get started? Chat with an expert librarian 24/7
Want a quick lesson on using library resources? Explore the Research Help tutorials
Need to find an article, ebook, or streaming movie? Use the Discovery tool or the A-Z Databases
Need help on citing your sources? Use the citing sources help page

The Peer-Review Process I am supposed to only use peer-reviewed or scholarly journals for my research paper- what are they and how do I find them?

What do I need to know about college research projects?

Most of the library collection is online - access with your ACCeID
Online library resources are available 24/7 from any device, including your phone.
It is not remedial to request help from a librarian- it is an important part of the research process.
Your professors also get librarians to help them with research!

The Information Cycle
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Do you need to find scholarly sources to use for your paper, but they are not yet available on your very recent topic? Here are some strategies on how to locate information:

Choose events that have been going on for at least several months, events from the past, or events that can be placed in historical perspective.
Find scholarly articles about a similar event that happened in the past and then compare the two events as much as possible.
e.g., another earthquake, hurricane, political unrest, nuclear disaster that happened in the past which you can use to relate to the current event
Find scholarly sources about themes relating to your topic.
e.g., environmental impact of nuclear disaster, social and economic impact of political unrest, political aspects of nuclear disasters, etc.

The Anatomy of a Research Article

Assignment Calculators

Get assignments done using your calendar to plan ahead:

Assignment Calculator for Paper due
From University of British Columbia for assignments where you have to write a paper.

Research Guides

Research Guides

Using the Library Discovery search tool

Discovery Interface

Created by Vija G. Mendelson

Top 5 Differences Between High School and College Libraries:

1. You can’t see most of our books, videos or journals when you walk into the library. The ACC Library web site has thousands of ebooks, articles, films, and more available 24/7 from any device.

2. Save time by asking a librarian for help when you begin a research assignment- and most of your professors also start their research projects at the reference desk.

3. College library web sites have tutorials to help you with assignments, research and plagiarism from home.

4. Colleges can borrow materials from other colleges/universities for – so you have access to other libraries while you are a college student.

5. Since you have access to so much - you need to plan ahead to complete research assignments. Most students begin their research at least 3 weeks before their paper is due. That gives you time to get everything you need to make a good grade on your paper.