Hello! This course guide is for students enrolled in an INST 4999: Senior Capstone Seminar course, and is intended as a starting point for resources that will help with research for your capstone papers. Here, you will find database suggestions for locating scholarly journal articles, statistics, and other resources to support your research paper.

Below is a description of the pages found in the menus along the top:

• Research Guides - These guides provide lists of the best databases and library resources to use based on your information needs. Clicking on 'Research Guides' will bring you to a list of guides for all disciplines. In the drop-down menu I've singled out a few guides relevant to this assignment, but your capstones are inherently interdisciplinary, so I would encourage you to search openly at the start of your project.
   
• Statistics - The statistics research guide provides a list of library and web resources that contain statistics and datasets, as well as resources to help get started with data analysis.
   
• Research Tutorials
  • Advanced Search Tips - High-level strategies for searching more effectively in the Library's catalog and databases.
  • Use Google Scholar - Covers the search features of Google Scholar as well as how to connect back to Library resources.
  • Use Reference Lists to Find More Sources - Look through reference lists of sources you already have to find additional sources. Plus, use Google Scholar to find sources that cite the sources you've found.
  • Conduct a Literature Review - Learn how to conduct and write literature reviews.
  • Assess Website Quality & Reliability - Outlines five criteria for assessing the quality and reliability of websites.
     
• Chicago (Author-Date) Style Guide & Citation Resources
  • Chicago (Author-Date) Style Guide - An easy-to-use guide on Chicago (Author-Date) citation guidelines, including in-text citations, references, and general formatting standards.
  • Use a Citation Generator Safely - Many of our databases provide tools that generate citations for sources found in them. This guide provides an overview of where those tools are usually found (it varies between databases), and a few things to keep in mind when using them.
  • Zotero User Guide - Provides help with setting up a Zotero account, and covers the basics of saving and citing sources. Using a citation manager is recommended for large research projects.