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Library Site

Pens, pencils, screwdrivers, other tools

Research Tool Box

Librarians are available to help with your research!

Librarians help student find and evaluate appropriate resources and prepare citations for articles, books, websites, statistics, and more. Drop by the library's reference desk; call us at ‪(510) 426-5026‬; or Ask a Librarian 24/7. Want to get started on your own? For guidance through the research process, check out the following tutorial links or explore our Library Online Orientation modules in Canvas.

How do I?
Try one of these:
Learn about the research process

  • Lay out the research process

Research is Like Cooking

Research Strategy Chart

  • Do background research on my topic

Doing Background Research 
Learn about research questions

  • Select a research topic

Mind Mapping Your Topic

Picking Your Topic Is Research

  • Create a thesis statement

Thesis Statements (Purdue Owl)

Writing a Persuasive or Argumentative Thesis

  • Identify keywords

Keyword Generator
Learn about scholarly and popular sources

  • Tell the difference

Anatomy of a Research Article

How to read a scholarly journal article

  • Understand peer review

Peer Review in three Minutes
Learn about primary and secondary sources

  • Tell the difference between the two

What is a primary source?

  • Analyze a primary source

Explore! Primary Sources: Read, Think, Analyze
Learn about information and Information Literacy

  • Understand the importance of Information literacy 

Information Literacy: Why Is It Important

5 Components of Information Literacy
  • Understand a variety of sources

Information Cycle

Information Timeline

Know Your Sources Infographic
Learn about search techniques and strategies
  • Select library databases
 What are library databases?
  • Search effectively
 Online Research
  • Search smarter with Google
 Get More Out of Google Infographic
Learn about evaluating sources
  • Check for credibility
 Evaluating Sources for Credibility
  • Identify bias
 Detecting Bias
  • Evaluate sites on the open Web
 The CRAAP Test in Action
Learn about citing sources
  
  • Know when to cite and why
 Citation: A Brief Introduction
 
 
Learn about writing research papers
  
  • synthesize information
 Synthesizing Information
  • Write a research paper
 How to Write a Research Paper in Ten Steps
Learn about academic integrity, plagiarism, and copyright
  • Avoid plagiarizing
 Plagiarism
  • Understand copyright and fair use
 Copyright and Fair Use
  • Understand academic integrity
 What is Academic Integrity?

Credit: Adapted from the Research Tool Box at DVC Library, prepared by librarian Amelie Brown.