How to do Research - Indianapolis

As a researcher, you may need to return to a source in the future--sometimes weeks or months after you originally located it. If you don't save the article, you are at risk of not being able to:

• Re-read the source for understanding
• Locate additional quotations to use or paraphrase in your writing
• Generate a citation for your Reference or Works Cited page

Ivy Tech Library databases include built-in tools that allow you to save articles and other resources within the databases. These tools can be located in different places depending on the database, but look for buttons that say "Cite," "Download," "Email," "Export," "Link," "Save," or "Share." Utilizing these tools helps ensure you have easy access to the resource in the future--either via a downloaded file or a clickable link. 

See how to save resources from the Ivy Tech library databases by watching the video tutorial on the left. 

Because there is a ton of information on the internet and it changes rapidly, it's vital to save any sources that you locate online. Depending on how you like to organize your research, consider:

• Documenting the website in a citation management tool like Noodletools
• Emailing the website(s) to yourself
• Compiling the website URL(s) into a Word or Google document 
• Printing the source(s)