Media & Library Services

The below tips and resources are designed to help guide you through the steps of the research process. The information found below will assist you in gathering, organizing and presenting your information. Click the links to view. Good luck on your research project! 

1. Research Tips from College Students - Take It From Us! - Videos developed by college students to help you do a successful research project from Kent State.
2. Evaluation Checklist for Research Projects - A list that will help you organize your project and also make sure your have completed all the steps to make yours an 'A' effort.
3. What is the Next Step after Choosing my Topic? - Make your research run more smoothly by using tips from this page including brainstorming key words, finding background information, using sources more effectively, refining your topic, using boolean search terms, and broadening or narrowing your search.  
4. Selecting Resources - Information Timeline - Considering your topic, will you need recent information, or will older information work?  Here is a timeline to help you determine which sources will work best for your topic.
5. Print Source Evaluation Sheet - Not every author knows what s/he is talking about.  There are always people who simply want to make a profit.  Here is a easy way to help you decide if a source is valid and worth your time.
6. Website Evaluation Sheet - Anyone anywhere can post something to the web.  However, not everyone knows what they are talking about or necessarily knows how to clearly convey a message.  Of course there are always people who simply want to make a profit.  Here's an easy way to decide if a website is valid and worth your time.
7. Am I Plagiarising? - A general quide to understanding written plagiarism.
8. Purdue OWL Guide to Citing Sources - Use this as a basic guide to create your 'Works Cited' page or use an online citation tool of your choice such as EasyBib or NoodleTools.
9. EasyBibEDU - One stop shopping for all your citation needs! 
10. Overview of MLA8 - Citation rules have change.  Here is a summary of the latest rulebook.
11. Sample Works Cited Page - An example of what your correctly formatted 'Works Cited' page should look like from Purdue OWL
12. Parenthetical/In-text Citations - Instructions for correctly constructing parenthetical/in-text citations from Purdue OWL.
13. Research HOW TO VIDEOS from EasyBib - Thirty-three quick little videos that cover almost any aspect of conducting research you could ask about. Have a question?  Here is a great place to find an easy-to-follow answer.

Winningham, Marley J., (2009), "Location and Access:   Evaluate Sources Early and Often."  Big 6 Newsletter, 10.1.1.  www.big6.com

Eisenberg, Michael B. and Robert E. Berkowitz. Teaching Information & Technology Skills: The Big6 in Secondary Schools. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc. 1990, 186-187.

Sample Works Cited page example adapted from Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003 (312).  

How to Recognize Plagiarism, Indiana University Bloomington's School of Education, 2005. Web. <https://www.indiana.edu-istd/overview.html>.

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• We will all maintain an atmosphere of quiet respect for other learners.
• We will respectfully follow instructions given by any adult staff member.

Building Library Guidelines

• We will abide by the Technology Use Agreement we sign each year at registration.
• We will pay for or replace lost or damaged books, textbooks and equipment entrusted to our care.
• We will return our books (3 weeks) and equipment (time varies) in on time so others may use them.
• We will keep our beverages covered. 
• We will keep food out of the library.
• No matter the activity, we will clean up after ourselves and straighten up the area we were using (including returning chairs to empty spots).