How to Write a Research Paper

• Selecting a Topic
• Types of Information Sources
• Locating Information
• Searching the Web
• Evaluating Sources
• Acknowledging Resources – Citing Sources

* These videos are part of the PCC Information Literacy tutorial series. The tutorials do not reflect the current design of the PCC website, thus some elements and resources may be reorganized.  In addition, personnel changes have occurred since the tutorials were created.  Please contact us if you have any questions.

Selecting a Topic

• Overview: Video Tutorial *
• Selecting a topic: Video tutorial *
• Best Information on the Net: A list of popular paper topics and links to information about them.

Types of Information Sources

• Types of Information Sources: Video tutorial*
• Online Reference Databases: Video tutorial *
• Online Periodical Databases: Video tutorial *

Locating Information

• Libraries & Library Web Sites: Video tutorial *
• Using a Library Catalog: Video tutorial *
• Locating Materials in the Library: Video tutorial *
• Finding Information about Literature:  Video tutorial *

Searching the Web

• Browsing & Searching the Web: Video tutorial *
• Bare Bones 101: A Very Basic Web Searching Tutorial
• Choose the Best Search for Your Information Needs
• Boolean Searching for the Web From UC Berkeley.
• Boolean Searching on the Internet: A Primer in Boolean Logic

Evaluating Resources

• Evaluating Information Sources: Video tutorial *

Journal Articles

• Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Magazine Articles
• Popular Magazines, Trade Journals, & Scholarly Journals

Evaluating Web Sites

• Evaluation Criteria: From "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly ..."
• Evaluating Web Content

The Writing Process

• Annotated Bibliography Guidelines
• Argument & Opinion Essay Writing
• Book and Article Review or Critique Guidelines
• How to Write a Term Paper
• Writing Book Reviews

Acknowledging Resources

• Plagiarism and Citation Styles: Video tutorial *

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Plagiarism Resources for Students: A collection of web sites.
• Plagiarism Court: You be the Judge: A tutorial.
• Plagiarism: What it is and How to Avoid It

Citing Sources

MLA Style

• Beginner's Guide to MLA: PCC Resources PDF
• Quick Reference Guide to MLA: PCC Resources PDF
• Gale Literary Criticism Series citation guide: PCC Resources PDF
• MLA Guide: From OWL at Purdue University.
• Sample MLA paper: From OWL
• MLA Guide: From Diana Hacker
• Sample MLA paper: From Diana Hacker.

APA Format

• Beginner's Guide to APA: PCC Resources PDF
• Quick Reference Guide to APA: PCC Resources PDF
• APA Guide: From OWL at Purdue University.
• Sample APA paper: From OWL (PDF).
• APA Guide: From Diana Hacker
• Sample APA paper: From Diana Hacker.

Other Citation Styles

• Chicago Style: From Diana Hacker.
• Sample Chicago style paper: From Diana Hacker.

Automatic Citation Tools

• EasyBib: Citation builder for MLA, APA and many other styles.