College in the Schools Guide

Do you have your UMN email (also called Internet ID or x.500)?

Initiating or claiming your account will give you access to thousands of online journals, magazines, newspapers and ebooks at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Your teacher may need to provide information to complete this step. Ask them. 

Setting up DUO

You also need to set up Duo Authentication to get access to things like your UMN email and to use many of the research tools on the UMN Library website. The IT Technology online help can answer questions on this. 

Tip: If you are unable to initiate your account you can find scholarly articles with Academic Search Premier, find background information on your topic with Encyclopedia Britannica Academic Edition and find Pro/Con arguments on current issues with Points of View Reference Center.

Before you start your searching it’s worth it to think about what your research topic will be. This will make searching easier, more focused, and ultimately make for an easier assignment.

View this short video, Choosing your research paper topic, for strategies on exploring and choosing a topic.

Searching a database for research is different than Google. It’s time for some new skills!

Here’s a short video called Creating an effective search strategy. Learn how to choose keywords, form searches using AND and OR, and choose an appropriate database to search.

Impressing your teachers with a great paper for your CIS class will mean searching in the right place: databases. Understanding databases will make it easier to search them.

The video What is a library database and why should I use one explains what a library database is and why searching one is different than searching Google (or asking ChatGPT). It also talks about 2 different types of databases: general and specific.

First, try Libraries Search

Start at the Libraries website, lib.umn.edu. Use the Libraries Search bar to find books and online sources like journal articles, streaming videos, and more! It will find almost everything we have access to.

You will be asked to sign in with your UMN ID and password.

Watch this Let’s talk databases video to learn how to access Libraries Search, perform keyword searching, filter and sort search results, view the Full text of articles or download a PDF, and generate a citation right in the database!

Try a few more databases

Academic Search Premier and Google Scholar are also a great databases to start with. If you’d like to learn a bit more about how to search these, check out the videos below.

• AFRO 1101: Introduction to African American Studies
• ANSC 1101: Introduction to Animal Science
• APEC 1101: Principles of Microeconomics
• APEC 1102: Principles of Macroeconomics
• BIOL 1015: Human Physiology, Technology, and Medical Devices
• CI 1563: Physics by Inquiry
• CI 1806: College Algebra through modeling
• CI 3901/CI3902: Exploring the Teaching Profession
• COMM 1101: Introduction to Public Speaking
• EE 1301: Introduction to Computing Systems 
• EE 1701/EE 1703: Climate Crisis: Implementing Solutions
• ENGL 1001W: Introduction to Literature: Poetry, Drama, Narrative
• EPSY 3264: Basic and Applied Statistics
• FSOS 1211: An Interdisciplinary Look at the Family in Multicultural America
• HIST 1307: Authority and Rebellion: American History to 1865
• HIST 1308: Global America: US History Since 1865
• MATH 1371: CSE Calculus 1
• PHYS 1101W: Introductory College Physics 
• POL 1001: American Democracy in a Changing World
• PSY 1001: Introduction to Psychology 
• WRIT 1201: Writing Studio
• WRIT 1301: Trend Analysis Assignment
• WRIT 1301: Ethnography Assignment

World and Classical Languages

• CHN: Chinese
• FREN: French
• GER: German
• GRK: Greek
• JPN: Japanese
• LAT: Latin
• SPAN: Spanish

As a student, you've probably realized you need new skills for dealing with the many tasks filling up your semester: studying, classes, work, finances, family, friends. Explore these free online tutorials to learn new ways to manage your time, manage stress, take better notes, and prepare for tests.

Go to effectiveu.umn.edu.