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- ‘Research Basics’ TutorialThis online tutorial — a series of videos and quick quizzes — gives you the tools you need to begin searching for scholarly sources.
What's in the Research Basics Course
Information skills ― critical thinking and problem-solving ― are essential to success in the workplace and in everyday life. Decisions ranging from purchases to healthcare rely on sound information literacy skills. Being conscious of the variety of information available and basing your decisions on sound evaluation and reasoning will significantly impact your life.
You can use the JSTOR Research Basics course to identify the steps in the research process:
- Choose a research topic, identify keywords, create a thesis statement;
- Learn about types of resources and how to read scholarly material;
- Determine the best database and effectively use search techniques;
- Evaluate sources to determine their purpose, validity, and accuracy;
- Present research and data with appropriate citations to avoid plagiarism.
How to Use the Online Tutorial
Topics have been divided among three modules; each includes videos, tutorials, and quizzes.
- You can read and watch each module in order;
- Or jump to the one that meets your immediate needs, like this module on Effective Searching, or this one on gauging scholarly credibility;
- Or watch a single short video, like this one about tracking your sources for citation.