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Librarians are available to answer your questions. Click on the Ask Us bubble for FAQs and contact options (chat, email, text, phone).
Frequently Asked Questions
Top 5 Library FAQ's:
Tutorials: Getting Started with Research
These interactive tutorial videos will introduce you to the basic skills and knowledge you need to get your research started. (Note: Tutorials have video and audio components)
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Selecting Library ResourcesWhere do you even begin searching for articles, books, and other resources? Learn about the basic research resources that the library offers.
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Understanding Citations (APA style)Get a quick overview of APA style citation and begin thinking about the reasons why researchers cite.
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Searching Library DatabasesAdvanced strategies for searching databases.
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Evaluating ResourcesHow to evaluate the quality of your resources based on purpose, authority, and currency.
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Primary & Secondary SourcesExamine key differences between primary and secondary sources.
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More tutorials...Find additional tutorials on using the library catalog, reading call numbers, and renewing materials on the library website
Where can I find Primary Sources?
A collection of databases and links that can help you find primary source data. If you don't see a collection that quite fits your needs, one starting strategy is to search for collection of [your topic] or archive of [your topic] in google.
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Digital Public Library of AmericaImages, exhibits, documents, and more detailing American life and history.
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Digital Theatre + This link opens in a new windowPerformances of plays, operas, dance, and more available for viewing. In addition to the productions, Digital Theatre explores the roles essential to production such as director, costumer, musicians, lighting and offers a section on theory and criticism.
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HarpWeek This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to Harper's Weekly, the illustrated 19th century "Journal of Civilization," for a 56-year period: 1857-1912. Discover the lively news stories, illustrations, cartoons, editorials, biographies, literature, and even advertisements that shaped and reflected public opinion in this era. Includes both original page images and searchable full text.
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HIstory.com SpeechesCollection of famous speeches
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowArchive includes the scanned images of over 1128 scholarly journals in a variety of academic disciplines.
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Library of Congress Digital CollectionsCollections of images, manuscripts, recordings, film, and more. If you're interested in advertising materials, the printed ephemera collection can be a good place to start!
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ProQuest This link opens in a new windowCovers a wide range of topics and document types. Depending on topic, limit to news, research, data, or images to find primary sources.
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Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowDemographic data visualization and research site allows users to generate vector maps in formats including side-by-side, multivariable, swipe maps, street level and satellite views. Data reports and downloads are easily created and exported from current and historical (220+ years) demographic data.
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Statista This link opens in a new windowStatista integrates data on over 80,000 topics from over 18,000 sources onto a single platform. Statistics, industry reports, company dossiers, and forecasts are some of the content available for download in multiple formats.
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New York Times This link opens in a new window
Includes all NYT articles from regular & International editions, Book Review, Magazine, web-only articles, videos, cooking section, and games! Also includes historical content dating back to 1851 (5 article per day per person limit from years 1923-1980). Once you have an account, you can connect directly to the New York Times via the web or via the mobile app!
Access Note: Access to the New York Times requires users to create an account with your MTU email address. Students will be asked to provide an anticipated graduation year, while staff and faculty will be required to verify their accounts every four years.
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IBISWorld Industry Research Reports This link opens in a new window
Industry research reports offering comprehensive data and in-depth analysis of market characteristics for a wide range of industries in the United States at both the national and state levels. Reports include information on industry performance, industry outlook, products and markets, competitive landscape, major companies, operating conditions, and key statistics. The database also provides business environment profiels, occupation profiles, price index profiles, state economic profiles, an inflation tracker tool, and a trade tariff exposure tool.
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Internet ArchiveA large collection of images, sounds, music, etc. Be sure to check the copyright status of any work you would like to incorporate. This site also collects old websites through its "Wayback Machine."
Select Journals
Below is a list of specific journals that might be useful for your research in this course. It is not comprehensive. Depending on your topic, there may be many more in the databases listed above that will have good information you can use!