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Using Academic Sources

This is a companion guide to "Finding Academic Sources". Its goal is to make student researchers more comfortable with using scholarly material in their own research.

Introduction

To a certain degree finding academic sources is the easy part. The effective use of the sources you've found is arguably the most important aspect of research. This guide, developed by the Instruction Team at Tomlinson Library, can help you as you determine how to utilize the sources you've found.

The material in this tutorial is designed to be followed sequentially using the navigation tabs at the left of the screen (at the top of the screen in mobile displays) or the navigation links at the bottom of each page. However if there is a specific topic that you wish to explore on its own, you're welcome to jump directly there. Some pages have short activities associated with them. They are constructed in such a way that invites you to spend some time either reflecting on or practicing the concept laid out on that particular page. In addition, there are two short quizzes you can use to gauge your familiarity with either MLA or APA citation style. 

If you have any questions feel free to contact us using any of the methods on the "Need Help?" tab at the end of the navigation tabs.