Research is a very important part of any college degree. It is also a very important part of most careers that begin here at Ivy Tech. In order to be successful with doing research it is important to understand the basic ways to undertake research and all of the resources that are available both in the library and online to help with this research.
This guide will provide you with the necessary resources to understand how to go about research and to obtain additional resources to help support your research and writing.
Credo Instruct - Tutorial - Ivy Tech Library Information Literacy tutorials made up of a pre and post test and six modules with quizzes. The topics range from basic research skills, selecting and evaluating resources, and citation skills. This resource will replace IvyTILT.
All About APA (American Psychological Association)
All About MLA (Modern Language Association)
OWL - Purdue University Online Writing Lab is one of the best web sites for help in research and writing.
NoodleTools - NoodleTools is an online research management platform that promotes critical thinking and authentic research. Students stay organized as they evaluate information, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write. Quickly and easily generate accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago citations!
The terms primary (first hand) and secondary (second hand) refer to the degree to which the author of the material experienced the event being described.
Primary sources are materials written by someone who personally experienced or witnessed the event being described. These original documents are not about another document or account, nor are they an interpretation of another source.
Secondary sources are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. They are not direct evidence, but commentary and discussion of evidence. Secondary source materials interpret and draw conclusions about the events reported in primary sources.
Many instructors at the college level require that you use scholarly articles as sources when writing a research paper. Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields. They are excellent sources for finding out what has been studied or researched on a topic as well as to find bibliographies that point to other relevant sources of information.
Your instructor may tell you to only use “scholarly” sources for a project. They may also call them “academic,” “peer-reviewed,” “professional journals.”
How can you determine if your article is scholarly and/or peer reviewed?
Many databases allow you to limit your search to academic, scholarly, or peer reviewed journals (terminology varies between databases). Although limiting provides a preliminary filter, not all articles within a scholarly journal are scholarly.
We can help you find a scholarly article or determine whether an article you have is scholarly. Get help in person at the Circulation Desk, click on “Ask a Librarian” under the HELP section on the Ivy Tech library homepage, or email Anderson-Library@ivytech.edu.
Peer reviewed journals require that articles are read and evaluated by experts in the field before they are accepted for publication. Although most scholarly articles are peer reviewed, some are not. Generally, instructors are happy with either peer reviewed or scholarly articles, but if your article MUST be peer-reviewed, you will need to click on “Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals” before searching within Discover!.
