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Research Help & Research Guides

RESEARCH TUTORIALS

Intro to the Library and Basic Research
This tutorial is a great place to start for beginner researchers and for those needing a refresher.
Library Crash Course
Before you start searching for books and articles, it helps to create a "guide map" by planning out your search first. Learn about picking a research topic and choosing keywords for effective research.

SUBJECT GUIDES

Research Guides by subject
Librarians recommend subject-specific databases, articles, and books for Business, Counseling, Nursing, and More!

RESOURCE EVALUATION

Resource Evaluation
How to evaluate research material to determine the credibility and accuracy of the source.

PROJECT GUIDES

Creating Research Posters
Have you been assigned a research poster as a final project? Preparing for a conference? Use this guide for tips on poster creation!

Research Quick Tip #1

Did you know? Articles found using Google Scholar can link to the full-text version at SAU Library.

In Google Scholar, go to Settings > Library Links.
Search for and select Spring Arbor University.
Remember to save your settings!
If you need more assistance with settings, try our Google Scholar SAU Links TUTORIAL or contact a librarian for help.

Once you've added Spring Arbor University to your Google Library Links settings, look for and select the Full-Text @ Spring Arbor link located next to an article in your search results.

Quick Tip #2: Boolean Searching. Using AND, OR and NOT

A quick, easy way to widen or narrow your search results. Use AND, OR and NOT, also called a "Boolean Search". Remember to use these words IN ALL CAPS.

VIDEO: Learn more about Boolean Searching.

Examples:

alcoholism AND treatment

childhood OR adolescence

dolphins NOT football (for Google searching, use - Example: falcons -football)

Quick Tip #3: Using Phrases and Wildcards

VIDEO: Learn more about Phrases and Wildcards.

Exact phrase: To search for exact phrases, enclose words in quotation marks.

Examples: "play therapy", "classroom management", "nursing practice".

* Use an asterisk to represent one or more characters where there are multiple variations of a word.

Example: child* will retrieve "child", "childhood", "children", "childbirth". Nurs* will retrieve "nurse", "nurses", "nursing", "nursery"