Building your Research Skills

An introduction to knowledge and skills to help you become a more able researcher.

Our Crazy Information World

The Web has opened up for us a world of information never seen before. Tools like Wikipedia and social media spread information (or misinformation) wide and far. But the messages of our online world are confusing and contradictory. How can you do research when it is not clear what information you can trust and what knowledge you can believe?

This page will help you harness the information landscape and begin to make better sense of it.

What's happening to information today?

No one knows what information is anymore. We live in an era of information confusion and multiple points of view on multiple issues. How did we get here?

     

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How to Handle Information Chaos

How Does the Internet Work?

Google - The Good and Not So Good

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What is Scholarly/Academic Literature?

You may have been told that your research project has to contain only scholarly, academic, or peer reviewed literature, but what, exactly, does that mean? The following presentation will make it all clearer:

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Quick Guide to Peer Review (NC State University Libraries)

Determine if a Source is Scholarly

What Do Scholars Do?

If you want to understand your own research, it's good to know what scholars do. You are a beginning scholar yourself, so knowing how the game is played can really help you.

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