The Top Ten Resarch Skills for Post-Secondary Success is based on research carried out at UBC and SFU. Find out more about getting started on research and the research into helping students become information literate.
Use A Research Guide for Students to find great tools to conduct research, write A+ papers, effectively deliver a presentation, format a research or term paper, quote passages, and avoid plagiarism.
Rate Yourself as a Researcher
Take this online survey to think about how well you understand how to do research.
Note Making
Download the Note Making Template (Microsoft Word) (Google Doc) to simplify taking notes, citing your sources and the writing process. Find out more about how Cornell Notes can help you understand, learn and think about the information you find.
Writing Guides
APA at the Writing Centre, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Guides to Online Library Services
Worldbook Encyclopedia Online: Site Contents : Online Tutorial
Gale Virtual Reference Library
- GVRL Search Tips
- GVRL and eBook Devices
- GVRL – How to Browse eBooks by Chapter
- GVRL – How to Share Information from Gale Resources with Your Class
Guides to Software Tools
Inspiration – powerful visual learning, graphic organization and presentation software
Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, Powerpoint tips and guides
Google Tools
Google Advanced: fine tune your searches to pinpoint what you need.
Google Scholar: a search tool that allows you to search several academic databases for scholarly literature, peer reviewed papers, books, abstracts, preprints, and technical reports.
Google Books: millions of great books you can preview or read for free.
Guides to Doing Research Online
Research and Documentation Online: Finding and documenting sources with sample papers in the Humanities, Social Sciences, History and Sciences, as well as tips for evaluating information and style guides.
Subject Directories
Academic Info: A directory that adds over 200 sources each month and currently has over 25,000 sources. www.academicinfo.net
Awesome Library: Over 25,000 sources designed for teens, parents, or college students available in English and a dozen other languages. www.awesomelibrary.org
Internet Public Library: Links to general subject areas and ready reference tools from almanacs and calendars to reading rooms and literary criticism. www.ipl.org
Virtual Reference Library: A directory with special focus on Canadian content maintained by the Toronto Public Library. www.virtualreferencelibrary.ca
WWW Virtual Library: Links to online resources for academic subjects. http://vlib.org
Encyclopedia.com: over 55,000 frequently updated articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia (6th Edition).www.encyclopedia.com
Fact Monster: An online almanac to help you search numerous subjects including World and News, People, and Science. www.factmonster.com
Choose your News: select your feeds from websites or search engines and directories that index feeds from the following sites- NewslsFree (www.newsisfree.com).
Find out more about how Boolean searches work here
Check out these videos showing simple but powerful web searching strategies
More Google features such as Wonderwheel