Library Tutorials, Videos, and Quizzes for Faculty

Describes the basic steps needed to get organized for a research assignment: understanding the assignment, choosing a topic, developing a search strategy, selecting relevant sources, and citing sources.

(Last Updated: June 28, 2022) 

Have you ever wondered why your students struggle with their research assignments? Perhaps they do not know where to begin. This video shows why it is important to have a research plan and how to progress through different approaches, methodologies and resources so your students can tackle any type of research project.

(Last Updated: May 20, 2020) 

As faculty, you many have noticed that students’ papers sometimes lack a clear progression from their initial thesis question to a well-drawn conclusion. This video will help students understand why it is important to have a good research question.

(Last Updated: May 20, 2020) 

This video explains how to choose and narrow a topic into an appropriate research question, and how to explore your topic through strategic searching.

This tutorial shows how background research is different from in-depth research and identifies some useful sources for conducting background research. It shows how background research can inform next steps in the research process. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

This tutorial outlines the process of conducting research for persuasive writing. It discusses the elements of persuasive writing: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. It also describes the collection of supporting evidence. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

Describes the characteristics of primary sources, and how to use them for research.

(Last Updated: May 8, 2019) 

Do your students feel intimidated by scholarly materials and research articles? Use this video to help students get familiar with articles that include study methodology, discussion, and results of empirical research. Students will learn tips for reading and analyzing scholarly materials, including a breakdown and explanation of the parts of a research article.

(Last Updated: August 2, 2019) 

This tutorial explains the differences between types of sources: tertiary sources like encyclopedias, primary sources like letters, and secondary sources such as articles. The tutorial includes videos and explanation texts that can help multimodal learners understand these sources and when to use each.

Explains how to use RaptorSearch to find books, e-books, articles, streaming videos, and more.

(Last Updated: August 19, 2022)

Use this set of two videos (The Searching Mindset and Exploration Strategies) to introduce students to the mindset of searching as exploration. Students will be able to distinguish between targeted and exploratory search, plus the most effective approaches to each.

(Last Updated: August 1, 2019) 

Students can use this video to receive guidance on how to select the best database(s) for their information need and assignment requirements.

This tutorial will walk students through the process of selecting, refining, and expanding their collection of search keywords in order to locate the most relevant information to their research topic.

(Last Updated: August 1, 2019) 

Use this tutorial to familiarize students with strategic searching. Students will learn the purpose and uses of natural language and Boolean operators to broaden and narrow the scope of their search.

Use this video to help students navigate the search process. Students will learn about using multiple keywords in order to narrow in on a research focus, how to understand and manipulate database search results, and common database features.

(Last Updated: August 6, 2019) 

Discusses various criteria for evaluating information from different kinds of sources. Explains how to access different kinds of sources.

(Last Updated: August 20, 2020) 

This video introduces students to social bias, confirmation bias, and communal reinforcement. It also has examples of each bias type and shows the effects of bias on critical thinking.

(Last Updated: August 21, 2019) 

This video encourages students to think critically about the information they encounter online. Students will become familiar with strategies for evaluating sources based on examples of these criteria: authority, accuracy, currency, relevance, and objectivity.

This tutorial compares editorial vs. news writing in journalism. It explains the evaluation of news and opinion pieces and how to determine context before use in supporting an argument. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions. 

This tutorial introduces students to the practice of lateral reading. Students learn how to evaluate online materials by determining the origins and motives of a source. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

How do we know if we are getting accurate, verifiable information, especially when we find so much information online? We must learn how to understand and evaluate common types of misinformation to make informed decisions. This tutorial, with two short videos, will provide practical tips to students for evaluating misinformation and fake news.

With so much information available online, it’s important for students to be able to locate reliable, high-quality information. Use this tutorial to introduce strategies for navigating the open web and evaluating web sources.

This video stresses the importance of recognizing authoritative sources, developing critical thinking and information literacy skills, and providing proper attribution when writing research papers.

This tutorial introduces students to the practice of differentiating between dominant theories and perspectives that are underrepresented in scholarly and everyday sources. Its goal is to encourage students to seek out multiple relevant and credible perspectives to develop a nuanced understanding of the issues that are important to them.

This tutorial introduces students to the practice of fact-checking and the related concept of accuracy in reporting. Students will get an overview of the purpose of fact-checking as well as professional strategies to apply to their own interactions with scholarly and everyday sources of information.

This video focuses on strategies for writing a strong paper that brings together ideas from multiple sources, including identifying main ideas, and techniques for paraphrasing and summarizing sources.

(Last Updated: August 2, 2019) 

This tutorial describes the purpose of annotated bibliographies, and the process of creating and formatting summary, evaluation, and reflective annotations. This would be helpful to your students as they work on their annotated Bibliography assignment.  The tutorial includes ungraded check-point questions.

This video will help the beginning researcher construct their research paper, explaining the basic components of the introduction, body, and conclusion.

This short video talks about effective communication and writing skills. It offers tips on writing clearly and in a concise manner. It guides students to how /when to use sentence variations and transitions encouraging students to check with their instructors and other academic writing resources.

Academic writing gives you the opportunity to learn about a topic by engaging in its scholarly conversation. Watch this video to understand how the complexities and nuances of a topic can be investigated in your academic writing.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

What and why you want to communicate influences how you communicate. Watch this video to understand how to tailor your communication for different audiences, formats, and purposes.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

Watch this tutorial to understand visual literacy learn skills to make your presentation visually appealing to your audience. Covers both in-person and online presentations. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

Do your students' essays simply provide a series of “dropped quotations”? Do you see a need for them to understand how to paraphrase or summarize their research? This tutorial will help them understand that there are three basic modes of presenting evidence and ideas from other sources: in direct quotations, through paraphrasing, or by summarizing.

Through this Credo tutorial, your students will learn that synthesizing information involves building connections between sources and incorporating their learning from reading various sources to help them write their assignment clearly.

This tutorial with a short video clip will walk your students through time management and planning as they engage in college-level research. It guides them through different strategies to prioritize and balance academic and personal responsibilities.

Use this tutorial to walk students through the components of oral communication: content, audience, and the elements of speech. Students will come away with strategies for getting their point across clearly and appropriately in everyday and formal settings.

Discusses what academic integrity is. Provides strategies for using sources well, to avoid plagiarism.

(Last Updated: November 22, 2019)

Watch this video tutorial to learn that academic integrity not only about plagiarism, but also about why we should value information and treat any information with respect and honesty. Includes short video clips.

This tutorial is about the value of information. It explains how managing information can affect others as well as us personally. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

This tutorial is about what it means to be a digital citizen. Students will start to examine their relationship with information in online spaces and understand their identity as a digital citizen. The tutorial includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

Students will examine the characteristics of a digital citizen in greater depth and gather strategies for responsible behaviors to apply to their everyday life. They'll also see how to develop a customized code of ethics. Includes ungraded check point questions.

As a participant in the online community, it’s important to consider the implications of sharing information online. This tutorial will help students identify where and how personal information may be vulnerable, and provide students with strategies to protect their digital privacy. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions. 

This video provides examples and explanations of specific types of plagiarism, such as cloning, aggregation, and self-plagiarism, as well as strategies to prevent plagiarizing and a reminder of the possible consequences of academic dishonesty.

(Last Updated: August 21, 2019)

This revised Credo tutorial helps students understand how to access and share information responsibly. Includes information on types of copyright and provides a foundational understanding of the concepts of copyright, intellectual property, fair use, and the public domain.  Includes ungraded checkpoint questions. 

Introduces the guidelines for creating APA citations for the Reference list, with some explanation of in-text citations. This tutorial and quiz are based on APA 7th edition, released in fall 2019.

(Last Updated: January 27, 2020)

Introduces the guidelines for creating MLA citations for the Works Cited list, with some explanation of in-text citations.

(Last Updated: June 28, 2022) 

Brief video that reviews guidelines for creating in-text citations in the MLA style.

(Last Updated: January 22, 2020) 

This humorous video doesn’t focus on one citation style, but rather provides students with a general overview of the importance of citations and crediting sources as a part of research. A student goes through common student attitudes and misconceptions about citations.

(Last Updated: August 21, 2019) 

This tutorial from Credo provides students with an overview of the APA citation style based on the revised 7th edition. It starts with a short introductory video clip followed by the tutorial and covers common source types such as books, journal articles, and websites.

(Last Updated: June 16, 2020) 

Use this video to provide students with an overview of the MLA 8th edition citation style, including an explanation of the “container” concept and an overview of using the citation style for popular source types such as books, websites, and journal articles.

(Last Updated: August 22, 2019) 

This video is a quick overview of the MLA-9 style. Watch the MLA-9 tutorial  for a full understanding of citing sources using MLA-9.

In this tutorial, students will learn  how to cite sources using the 9th edition of the Modern Language Association (MLA) style.

This video introduces students to the Chicago Manual of Style and the correct way to use it to cite books and e-books. It also explains the differences between note and bibliography citations and where to include these citations in your paper.

This short video will explain specific guidelines for citing journal articles in both the notes
and bibliography of an assignment using the Chicago style.

This video shows the correct way to cite websites and social media sources using the Chicago style.

An inquiry-based approach to finding information, whether it’s for assignments or real-life decisions, gives you the tools to analyze a problem. Watch this video to learn more about how to use an inquiry-based approach to stay open-minded about finding information.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

When faced with answering a research question, there is a need to find evidence that establishes the conclusion. This may seem like a straightforward task, but there are right and wrong ways to do it. Watch and discover the various methods that are used to reason through evidence and how it fits into research.

Images are often important – and even required – sources for projects and assignments. This video helps students construct image searches that generate relevant results for their needs.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

Images are easy to find! The trick is selecting appropriate images that truly support the message or example you want to illustrate. This video provides tips on selecting just the right image for your needs, with a critical eye toward the context and original intent of the image you found.

(Last Updated: May 22, 2020) 

This tutorial provides a deeper dive into visual literacy, illustrating use of critical thinking skills to interpret and appreciate visual images. Includes ungraded checkpoint questions.

Figuring out how to use quantitative data to form conclusions can be challenging. This video looks at how quantitative data is used in research and how it can be used to draw conclusions and make decisions.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

As statistics are widely used to support arguments and positions, it is helpful to be able to think critically about how statistics are created and used in research. This video can help you learn how to critically evaluate and use statistics.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

This tutorial introduces students to the importance of geographic literacy and its relevance to students' daily lives, academic and professional careers. It introduces them to  geographic literacy with a focus on maps, key map components, different types of maps, how maps can be used as sources of information, and how to think critically about them.

This video explains why it is important to distinguish between generalizations and stereotypes when studying culture. Having a better understanding of cultural norms helps students understand cultural behaviors or beliefs in the proper context.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020) 

Globalization is all about how people, goods, and ideas are interconnected. It is important to be aware of these processes and this short video talks about this global interconnectedness.

(Last Updated: May 21, 2020)