You may be asking yourself what all this has to do with the library. Why do the librarians care? Librarians are passionate about information literacy, which at the most basic means using the most relevant, reliable information out there in the most efficient way possible. Because librarians know how difficult finding good information can be in a world with so many amazing research options, librarians try to provide paths to good information for their users (that's you!). One of the ways we do this is by collecting physical and electronic resources in a single place (the library) and making them available to people. While the electronic resources aren't literally located in the library, they are available through the library's discovery service (found on our main web page), which is pretty much the same thing.
Resources available through the library are more focused than a Google search. Resources are not chosen willy-nilly, but with a specific purpose. In an academic library, resources typically have some sort of research value for the student and faculty population. Databases with access to peer-reviewed resources are prioritized. The academic library's collection will reflect the disciplines taught at the university. But this doesn't mean that academic library resources are all boring or scholarly. Because librarians understand that context is often important in how people choose what they need for research, resources are chosen from all manner of popular publishers as well. In this case the librarian is a bit of a curator for their library, and they understand that research can take you in directions that not everyone might expect.
Time management in research is necessary. The more complex the assignment the more important completing it in a timely, efficient manner becomes. As a student, your coursework is important; so is your free time. Creating good time management skills early on will not only make your coursework easier and better, but will also allow you to enjoy the free time that reinvigorates you.
Now that you have learned some tips for evaluating resources, consider making more use of your library.
Use your time wisely. You've learned that resources on the web can be more difficult to find information about. You've also learned how library resources are curated and provide you with information you can use to evaluate them up front. One of the big questions you should ask yourself as you move forward is: When you know that reliable resources exist (in the library!), why waste your time trying to figure out if something on the web is credible? Remember context: a web resource may be completely appropriate for your project. But if credible, academic sources are what your professor is looking for (and they are), the library is the easiest place to go to find these quickly. And in the end, this saves you a lot of time.
Less time researching means more time working on the quality of your paper and getting your citations correct (and eating cake with your friends; cake is important too).
Don’t forget to save and cite!
As you find resources that are useful, bookmark, save, print, and check them out of the library. It’s frustrating to realize that you’ve lost your perfect resource because you neglected to keep notes or secure it for later. Remember to write down, send, or save the information you’ll need to cite these resources. This is a good time to start working on your references page. Reference entries on a Works Cited page contain all the information you’ll need to find the exact same resource again. So, if you start citing and creating reference entries from the beginning, you’ll always be able to retrace your steps and find a resource that’s wandered away from you.
There are many reference management programs that work well, But be careful! These programs DO make mistakes sometimes, so you’ll need to double-check the citations before turning in your final draft.
For more information about citations see our library guides on citation management programs and citation styles.