Finding Information
- Experts@MinnesotaUse Experts@Minnesota to search profiles of University of Minnesota faculty and research staff by collegiate or department, research interests and their publications. Find potential collaborators, learn about the expertise of our faculty and research staff, and about funding sources received by other researchers.
Finding background information
One way to find sources of background information is to search the Databases A-Z list for "encyclopedia" or "handbook." Some subject guides also include sources of background information as well as databases of research literature.
- KnovelOnline access to books, databases, and conference proceedings from a number of publishers that cover all areas of engineering and includes content relevant to related sciences (e.g., chemistry and earth sciences). It includes interactive graphs and tables.
Reading Research Articles
Keeping Track of Your Work
Sample Workflow
- Determine keywords to search using mind mapping
- Identify databases
- Look for articles using database
- Evaluate results
- Select relevant articles
- Save references to citation manager
Citing Your Sources
- Citation Managers (e.g. Zotero, EndNote Online, etc.)Citation managers are software packages used to create personalized databases of citation information and notes. They allow you to: import and organize citation information from article indexes and other sources; save links to pdfs and other documents; format citations for your papers and bibliographies using APA and many other styles; and include your own notes.
Other Research Support
- Assignment CalculatorEnter in the due date for your research project (paper, speech, lab report) and get a suggested time-line for completing with links to the resources to help you succeed in each step.
- Tutorial: Communicating your research with postersWhat makes a great poster? Follow this tutorial to learn and apply design elements and language, practical requirements for posters, and more.
Summer Student Writing Support
Zoom appointments with Student Writing Support: Zoom-based writing consultations are available to undergraduate and graduate students starting June 6. Make appointments by logging in to writing.umn.edu/mySWS or by visiting the Student Writing Support Zoom Front Desk (z.umn.edu/SWSDesk) during our open hours. Consultations are available Mondays–Thursdays, June 6–July 28, from 9:45 am to 3:45 pm.
Off-Campus Access to Library Journals & Databases
In addition to going through links on the library website, we have 2 other ways to access resources from off-campus.
- Proxy Bookmarklet for off-campus accessAdd this button to your browser toolbar and click on it to reload a page and authenticate as a U of M user.
- Virtual Private Network (VPN)Download and log in to VPN before accessing resources