Podcasts, PowerPoints, and Tutorials prepared by the WCC library

• ProQuest Thesaurus video
• How to use Limit Features in EBSCO video

Tutorials

These tutorials cover various aspects of research, such as evaluating web sites or how to narrow a search, or they provide an overview of research approaches and methods. Some may refer to resources specific to the institutions that created the tutorial, but the concepts transfer to any library setting.

IRIS 4-2  - Information & Research Instruction Suite for 2-year colleges (Clark College, WA). Funded by a grant from the Distance Learning Council of Washington

TILT - (University of Texas) "Full TILT" and "TILT Lite" which have the same three modules, available in either a highly interactive version, or in a simpler form requiring no plug-ins. Each module includes a quiz and takes fewer than 30 minutes. They cover selecting appropriate sources, searching library databases and the Internet, and evaluating and citing information.

BOLT - (Ohio University) A tutorial for basic library and research skills, covering the research process from initial topic selection to citation styles. Modules include information on finding books, articles, and information on the web.

Research 101 - (University of Washington) This tutorial covers the basics, including how to select a topic and develop research questions, as well as how to select, search for, find, and evaluate information sources. There are six main modules, each with quizzes and helpful worksheets that may be printed. Included among the topics is one dealing with Information Cycles.

CORE - (Purdue University) A tutorial designed to provide a conceptual understanding of the research process and facilitate the transition to global information access in support of lifelong learning. There are over ten modules including topic exploration, keyword searching, and library catalogs.

Information Literacy Tutorial - (the Five Colleges of Ohio) Lessons provide researchers with an overview of the creation of information to evaluating information. The one on the Flow of Information is noteworthy.

Internet Detective - This tutorial was developed by a consortium of UK libraries and looks at critical thinking.

Other good tutorials and exercises on information literacy, research, and web searching.

Help guides from some of our Article & Research databases:

• ARTstor
• CQ Researcher
• ProQuest

Search engine help and search tips

• Google - There are more features than you might guess, including those to help narrow your search to yield fewer than a gazillion hits! 

Handouts

You can download copies of some handouts we have available on our spinning literature racks in the library.

• Electronic Resources (62kb .PDF) - WCC Library's subscription databases are listed with a description of content and features.
• Database Tutorial - A series of pages describing database searching in general, Boolean operators, and field searching.

Helpful Information

• Library of Congress Classification information is on our Call Number page
• Dictionary for Library & Information Science - by Libraries Unlimited
• Also on our Research menu: Evaluation of Resources (also covering Scholarly Journals and Peer Review) Citations/Plagiarism (also covering annotated bibliographies) eLearning
• Links to some other Whatcom offerings: WCC Writing Center  and the  WCC Math Center