Research Basics - Research Basics & Library Tutorials - Morris Library Research Guides at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Welcome to the Research Help Guide

Before you get started on your assignment, consider the following questions.

What is my type of assignment (Presentation, Research Paper, Opinion Paper, Group Project)?
Did my professor give instructions?
Do I have a required number of sources that I have to use?
Did my professor tell me what types of sources are required - newspaper articles, books, scholarly articles, primary sources?
Did your professor suggest a specific database or resource that I have to search?

The Help Files:

Morris Library Virtual Tour
This link takes you to a virtual tour of Morris Library.
Scholarly Discourse Video Tutorial
This video tutorial discusses topics related to scholarly discourse in an academic setting such as SIU.
Scholarly vs. Popular Sources Guide & Evaluating Sources Video Tutorial
This guide will help you to understand the difference between scholarly and popular periodicals. Includes a video tutorial entitled Popular vs. Scholarly Sources.
Library Databases Video Tutorial
This video tutorial provides an overview of Morris Library's databases.
Research with the Web Guide & Video Tutorial
This guide provides criteria for evaluating the usefulness of a website for your research, as well as a video tutorial on evaluating all types of sources.
Avoiding and Detecting Plagiarism Guide & Video Tutorial
This guide gives examples of what constitutes plagiarism and how to recognize and avoid it. Also links to tutorials to help you better understand plagiarism, including an interactive video tutorial from Morris Library.
I-Share@Morris Video Tutorial
This video tutorial shows you how to set-up an account and request items through I-Share.
Searching Course Reserves for Textbooks
This video tutorial shows you search course reserves for items for your course.
Reading Call Numbers Guide
This guide explains the difference between the two call number systems that Morris Library uses - LC and Dewey.
Primary and Secondary Sources Guide
This guide will help you to recognize the difference between primary and secondary source materials and help you find primary sources for your research.