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Tutorials

This guide contains tutorials and worksheets to help students learn information literacy skills and become more effective researchers. Instructors and librarians should feel free to use any content in this guide in online and/or face-to-face classes.

Welcome!

Your Seattle Central College librarians have created and collected tutorials to help students start research, find sources, use the web, and more.

An introduction to your library

A Very Short Introduction to Your Library

All about the services and sources your library offers.

Vintage version: Seattle Central College library introduction video

Made just a few years ago, but my how the library has changed! The services are still the same, though, and you might enjoy the vintage feel of this library introduction!

Start your research

List of tutorials in this section

 

Tutorials in this section will help you get started on your research assignment. They include:

The information timeline

Information Timeline worksheet

Information timeline transcript

The Information Timeline and Types of Sources

This tutorial, created by SCC librarians to help students prepare for library workshops, can also "stand alone." It will help students understand the information timeline and different types of sources. The worksheet in the box on the left can be used as an assessment.

Generate great search terms

Finding Search Terms worksheet

Generate search terms

From the SCCC library! This tutorial will help students find and generate search terms, or keywords, so they can more easily search library tools such as the catalog and databases.

This video mentions using the library reference collection, including subject encyclopedias, for finding search terms. You can find a tutorial on finding and using these encyclopedias on the Understand the Use the Reference Collection page. 

Understand and use the reference collection

Find reference sources online

Watch this tutorial for help finding reference sources (background information) in the library's online databases.

Find sources

Understand and use the reference collection

Find reference sources online

Watch this tutorial for help finding reference sources (background information) in the library's online databases.

Search the library catalog

Search the library catalog worksheet

Get Ready with a Book

This tutorial, created by SCC librarians, can be used to prepare for library workshop or as a standalone video to help students use the library catalog to find items in our collection.

Research databases

Research databases: what are they and why are they useful?

This tutorial provides an excellent explanation of databases and why they're useful. It was created by the librarians at Yavapai College.

What is a scholarly journal article?

What is a scholarly journal article?

This is a great tutorial to help students understand what scholarly articles are, how they are written, and why they are important.

At the end of the tutorial, the "Ask Us" service for the library that created this video is shown. You can find the Seattle Central College Library's "Ask A Librarian" page at  https://libguides.seattlecentral.edu/library/ask. Students can use this page to contact a librarian with questions about research.

How to read a scholarly article

How to read a scholarly article

This is an short and clear tutorial to help students read scholarly articles.

Read and track down a citation

Read and track down a citation

If you want to know whether the Seattle Central College library has access to a specific article, this tutorial will show you how to find that information. This can be helpful for following the citations from other articles you've read during your research.

Putting together your search terms

Putting together your search terms

This tutorial will help students understand how to use keywords more effectively in search tools like the catalog and databases. It was created by librarians at Western University.

Evaluating sources

Evaluating sources

This tutorial is a great overview of CRAAP, a system for evaluating all types of sources. It was created by the library at Western University.

For information about research help at Central, you can visit our Ask a Librarian page at https://libguides.seattlecentral.edu/library/ask.

Evaluating sources - additional information

This video provides a visual-only introduction to the CRAAP evaluation system. 

Broaden and Narrow Your Search Results

Broaden and Narrow Your Search Results

This tutorial is great for students with some familiarity with library databases and search techniques. It will help students search library databases more effectively.

Find Multimedia Items

Finding Multimedia Items in the Library Catalog

This video will help students use the library catalog to find DVDs and CDs about a research topic.

Use the web

List of tutorials in this section

Using Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar

This tutorial from Utah State University Library explains how to use Google Scholar to find scholarly articles and books, and explore related sources.

The tutorial includes the example of "Full text at Utah State" links in the right-hand column of the search results. If you add Seattle Central College links to your search results, you will see the words "ViewIt@SeattleCentral" instead. See the instructions below the video to adding these links.

Adding Seattle Central College Library links to Google Scholar

To add "ViewIt@SeattleCentral" links to your search results, follow these steps:

  1. From your search results page, click the three-bar "hamburger menu" in the top left corner.
  2. Select "Settings."
  3. On the settings page, click "Library links" in the menu on the left.
  4. Search for the words "Seattle Central College."
  5. Select the check-box next to "Seattle Central College - ViewIt@SeattleCentral."
  6. Click "Save."

Using Wikipedia for scholarly research

Using Wikipedia for scholarly research

This tutorial will help students understand how to use Wikipedia for starting academic research.

Evaluating web sites

Evaluating web sources

This tutorial applies the CRAAP source evaluation methods to websites and includes examples.

The video ends with the recommendation to ask a librarian for help if you have any questions about this topic. You can find the Seattle Central College Library's Ask a Librarian page at https://libguides.seattlecentral.edu/library/ask.

Evaluate all types of sources

This tutorial describes an additional method of evaluating websites. The first two minutes of the video also describe why evaluating websites is important. 

Library databases vs. Google and the web

Research databases: what are they and why are they useful?

This tutorial provides an excellent explanation of databases and why they're useful. It was created by the librarians at Yavapai College.

Cite sources

List of tutorials in this section

Tutorials in this section will help you cite sources and avoid plagiarism. They include:

Why citation is important

Why citation is important

This tutorial from the NCSU Libraries explains why citation is important for students for both student authors and those reading their work.

Using NoodleTools

Using NoodleTools to format your bibliography

This tutorial gives the basics of features in NoodleTools, including creating bibliographies and works cited pages.

This video, which was created by another library, begins with the selection of NoodleTools on the library website. To find the Seattle Central College NoodleTools link, click on "Cite" on the left side of the library homepage. From the Cite page, select the "NoodleTools" link. 

Get Ready! tutorials

List of tutorials in this section

Tutorials in this section can be used to prepare students for library workshops. Each includes a worksheet that students should prepare and print before they come to the workshop. They include:

The Information Timeline and Types of Sources

Information Timeline worksheet

The Information Timeline and Types of Sources

This tutorial, created by SCC librarians to help students prepare for library workshops, can also "stand alone." It will help students understand the information timeline and different types of sources.

Get Ready with Reference

Get Ready with Reference Video

This video demonstrates how to use the library's online resources to find reference material to begin research.

Get Ready with a Book

Get Ready with a Book worksheet

Get Ready with a Book

This tutorial, created by SCC librarians, can be used to prepare for library workshop or as a standalone video to help students use the library catalog to find items in our collection.

Information LIteracy Concepts

List of tutorials in this section

Tutorials in this section will help you understand the academic research process.

•         Research is a process: Research is iterative and depends on asking increasingly complex questions.
•         Scholarship is a conversation: Ongoing communication occurs within a community of scholars resulting in new insights, discoveries and perspectives.
•         Credibility is contextual: Credibility depends on many factors including the author, audience and purpose.
•         Format matters: When evaluating your resources, examine the format. The way a document is presented indicates its strengths and weaknesses.
•         Searching is strategic: Doing academic research is hard, but there are some ways to make your searching more efficient and productive.

Research is a process

Research is a process

This tutorial will help students  understand that research is iterative and depends on asking increasingly complex questions.

Scholarship is a conversation

Scholarship is a conversation

This tutorial explains how ongoing communication occurs within a community of scholars resulting in new insights, discoveries and perspectives.

Credibility is contextual

Credibility is contextual

This tutorial will help students understand that credibility depends on many factors including the author, audience and purpose.

Format Matters

Format Matters

This tutorial will help students examine format when evaluating their resources. It will explain how the way a document is presented, indicates its strengths and weaknesses.

Searching is strategic

Searching is strategic

This tutorial will offer students some ways to make their searching more efficient and productive.