Winman Library: Research Tips and Tricks

1.  Make sure that your sources are RELIABLE.  Here's a poster to help you remember questions to ask yourself when considering a website for a resource::  Poster: 5Ws of Website Evaluation

Click here for a video on Website Evaluation

2.  Avoid plagiarism.  Here's a quick video to remind you how to avoid stealing other people's work.  

This Video: Citing Sources, Why and How to do it is also helpful.  

3.  Set up a graphic organizer or note-taking system:

There are many ways to take notes, but you should include the following key points on sources that you use:

• Citation, including author, title, publisher, date of publication, date of access
• Notes (key words and phrases; avoid using whole sentences unless you plan to use an in-text citation)
• Click here to see an example of a note taking template

4.  Keep track of resources as you use them!!

1.  Find books in the library:

2.  Find scholarly ebooks on Ebsco Books Online

You should always give credit to the content that use--that includes images.  However, these websites let you use their images for free!

• Photos for Class 
• Pixabay 
• Pics4learning 

If you're researching Natural Disasters:

World Book Student Online Encyclopedia for background information and topic ideas:  World Book Student Link

World Book Online Encyclopedia :  World Book Advanced Link

United States Geological Survey:  Earthquakes

Smithsonian Institution:  Volcanoes

UCAR Center for Science Education:  Storms and Other Weather

Ready.gov's Severe Weather of all types:  Severe Weather and Preparedness

Ready Kids:  Let's Make a Plan

Smithsonian Institution:  Emergency Preparedness