Tutorials

NOTE: This tutorial needs updating. It currently only works on the Firefox browser. We apologize for the inconvenience. You may also consult a similar tutorial authored by our colleagues at the Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University: https://whhlreference.lmu.build/tutorials/EvaluatingInfo/story.html

Not all sources are created equal! This tutorial covers the basics of how to tell if a source is appropriate for your assignment and research need.

Have an article title and need to find the full text in the USC Libraries' online collections? Find out how.

Learn how to read a call number in the library catalog and find the book on the shelf.

Find ebooks and print books in the USC Libraries catalog and access full-text.

Learn to access health sciences and other databases available at USC Libraries.

Search or browse for a journal in the USC Libraries catalog and access full-text.

Learn to locate reliable and validated research instruments in instrument databases, such as Mental Measurements Yearbook, PsycTESTS, and Health and Psychosocial Instruments.

Learn to locate reliable and validated research instruments in literature databases, such as CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PubMed.

Impact Factors are made by one company; learn how to find them using USC Library subscriptions.

How to find research guides by USC Libraries.

Learn how to get to the full-text of an article from USC Libraries using Findit@USC in any USC Libraries database.

Students often say that getting started is the hardest part of the research process. This may be, in part, because whereas most of our education teaches convergent thinking strategies (developing answers to linear questions with fixed answers and solutions), the research process requires a kind of creative, or “divergent” kind of thinking, where we consider multiple potential solutions for an open-ended problem. This video explains how students can use divergent thinking to interpret an assignment creatively and select a meaningful, authentic topic of interest.