Introduction to Research Projects
The Assignment
What's on this page?
- Learn how making sure you understand your assignment can make it easier.
- Learn how to find sources for your assignment.
- Get help finding a topic.
- Assemble a bibliography.
Need more help?
If you need more help than this page provides, check out Augsburg's Writing Center, on the main floor of Lindell Library.
They can help with all parts of a writing assignment, including:
- Understanding assignments
- Analyzing a topic
- Constructing a thesis
- Writing style and formatting
- Punctuation and proofreading
- Citation questions
- and more!
Understanding the Assignment
So, you have an assignment...
Before you dive in, take a moment to step back and...
Make sure you understand your professor's assignment.
This might not be as simple as it looks. Imagine yourself summarizing it for a friend or roommate.
Can you re-write or say the assignment in your own words?
- Does the assignment describe the outcome in detail?
- How many pages should it be? How many minutes should the presentation run?
- Does it specify what kinds of sources you should be drawing from?
- Does it give a style guide, like MLA, for you to follow?
Figuring this out now will save you a lot of time and effort later.
Finding Sources
You can find many different types of sources here at the library:
- Books
- Articles from scholarly journals
- Articles from newspapers
- Websites, including statistics and government reports
- Videos
- Audio files
Are you a smart searcher?
- See the Effective Searching tutorial.
Is that website a good source?
- See the Establishing Credibility tutorial.
No full text? Click the 
button by the article to get it elsewhere, or to order it.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowCQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher provides award-winning in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day. Our reports are written by experienced journalists, footnoted and professionally fact-checked.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowSimilar to Wikipedia, but actually written by experts, this collection of more than 400 reference books will help you learn general information about your topic from quality information sources. Includes thousands of topic pages and images. Mind maps illustrate relationships between topics.
- Pew Research Center - topicsPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.
- US Newsstream This link opens in a new windowProminent U.S. papers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It's also a good place to look for Star Tribune articles, with archives from 1986. Use the advanced search tab to limit to particular titles or dates.
Assembling a Bibliography
The Bibliography
Toward the end of your project, you'll start assembling your sources into a
Check the assignment, or ask your professor, to find out which style you should use.
No matter where your information is from, whether a scholarly database or even your personal interview with a source, it's important to document it thoroughly.
You'll find more information on citation styles and why they are important in the next few pages.
Using a consistent style reassures your professor, and anyone else who reads your paper or sees your presentation, that your information and opinions are trustworthy.
Build Your Research Skills
- ‘Research Basics’ TutorialThis online tutorial — a series of videos and quick quizzes — gives you the tools you need to begin searching for scholarly sources.
