Research

Why Research? 21st Century students are inundated with information. It is not difficult to find information, but it can be difficult to find reliable, credible information. As students it is important to know how to read, understand, and interpret texts in all formats. Further, it is important to be able to inquire, think critically, and create new knowledge with your research skills. Finally, it is imperative that research be conducted and shared in an ethical manner and this means citing sources correctly. The following links will guide students through the entire research process—finding credible sources, citing sources, and presenting new information.

Sources of Information

AVLAlabama Virtual Library
“The Alabama Virtual Library provides all students, teachers, and citizens of the State of Alabama with online access to essential library and information resources. It is primarily a group of online databases that have magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for research. Through the AVL, an equitable core of information sources is available to every student and citizen in Alabama, raising the level of excellence in schools and communities across the state.”

IPLInternet Public Library (IPL)
This is a free, web-based public library that provides live reference help

LOCLibrary of Congress
“The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections.”

DPLAThe Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
"The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums,andmakes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, fromthe written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage,tothe efforts and data of science."

The Research and Writing Process

CitationCitation Machine
“Citation machine helps students and professional researchers properly credit the information they use. It’s primary goal is to make it so easy for student researchers to cite their information sources, that there is virtually no reason not to…because…someday the information that someone else wants to use will be yours!” 

Online Writing CenterOnline Writing Center
“Writing is clear thinking made visible,” ~ Bill Wheeler
Need help with ANY aspect of the writing process? The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) for grades 7-12 should be your first stop. This site provides a wealth of information covering the writing process, rhetoric and logic, different kinds of essays and genres, style and language, and citations.

Avoiding PlagarismAvoiding Plagarism
It is extremely important to respect the issues of intellectual property because plagiarism is stealing! Use the site below to help avoid inadvertently plagiarizing and learn the ins and out of giving credit where credit is due!

CopyrightCopyright
“Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works.”