Skills for University Success Expand All + Collapse All - Course Number: AF105 Subject: Interdisciplinary IntroductionThis guide gives you an introduction to the Laurier Library. It will help you find academic sources for assignments.Top 3 Tips for Using the LibraryTIP #1 Visit!You'll find lots of study space in the Library, including:Study carrelsGroup tablesIndividual pods (reservable)Group study rooms (reservable)There are many books, including current award winners!TIP #2 Bookmark library.wlu.caSearch Omni, the Library search tool, to find books, articles, films, and much more.Get information about Library locations (e.g. hours).Watch short online tutorials (e.g. How to Cite in MLA Style). Access Course Readings.TIP #3 Get help with researchVisit the Subject Librarian page to find your librarian and email for help with research.Use the chat service to ask questions (it's not a bot!).Top 5 Tips for Finding Academic SourcesTIP #1 Know what they are, and why they're importantYour assignments often require you to use academic sources. But why? There are so many different types of sources.JOURNAL ARTICLE FEATURES DescriptionPublished in scholarly journals, share original research about a topic, are written by experts in a field of study, are peer-reviewed by other experts.HOW CAN I TELL IF MY SOURCE IS SCHOLARLY? HOW TO FIND SCHOLARLY BOOKS TIP #2 Where you search mattersDifferent search tools (e.g. Omni - the Library search tool, Google, etc.) are built to do different things.Omni - use the peer reviewed journals checkbox to limit results.Academic article databases - choose your subject to see a list of databases.TIP #3: Search tactics improve resultsWhat is the tactic?What does the tactic do?ExamplesPhrase searchingUse “quotation marks” to find more than one term in a row."science fiction"TruncationUse an asterisk* at the end of a term to include multiple endings.ethic*ethic, ethics, ethical, ethicallyBoolean ANDUse AND to ensure that all terms appear in every search result.ethics AND science fictionBoolean ORUse OR to ensure that at least one term appears in every search result.ethics OR moralsTIP #4: Choose Sources Strategically DescriptionStart early and read strategically: Read article abstracts first and use a book's table of contents.Can you access it? If not, ask your librarian (mefischer@wlu.ca).What's the publication date? Try to find recent research.Is it original research? Peer-reviewed journals publish different types of articles.What kind of research is it? Are you prepared to work with the research you see?Who are the authors? Are you representing different perspectives in the sources you choose?TIP #5 Work on your reading strategies