Skip to Main Content

Information Literacy

About This Guide

Who is this guide for?

YOU! Whether you're a student, faculty member, or anyone else looking to brush up their research skills, this guide is designed to support researchers at every step of the research process, from developing a research topic to finalizing your citations. We hope this guide will save you time and help you to become a more efficient researcher!

If you're looking for information on using the Relay Library (including general FAQs, highlighted resources, certification materials, how to check out books, and how to use the Relay proxy) check out our Intro to the Relay Library guide.

If you're looking for additional information on information literay, or if you're looking for an opportunity to practice any of the skills mentioned in this LibGuide, look for our LIB-101 course on Canvas! There, you'll find additional information as well as quizzes and tutorials for using Relay Library resources.

What will I find in this guide?

Use the links below or the tabs on the left-hand sidebar to navigate through the following topics:

Types of Sources

  • Source Audience
  • Source Format
  • Deep Dive: Scholarly Sources
    • Types of Scholarly Sources
    • Reading Scholarly Sources
    • Evaluating Scholarly Sources

Finding Sources

  • Where to Search
  • Search Techniques
  • Coming Up With Search Terms
  • Organizing Information From Sources
  • Using the Relay Library
    • Finding Books and Articles
    • What if I can't access a resource that I need?
    • Contacting the Relay Library

Evaluating Sources

  • The 5 W's
  • Practice
  • A Note on Bias and Perspective

Synthesizing Sources

  • Using Information from Sources: "They Say, I Say"
  • Using Research/Theory to Justify Instructional Practices

Citing Sources

  • Why Cite?
  • How to Cite?
  • Relay APA Guide
  • Citation Resources
  • Citation Practice

Research Tools

  • Relay LibGuides
  • Interlibrary Loan
  • Zotero
  • Google Scholar

Contact the Library

If you need help or have questions about:

  • Finding research or relevant articles,
  • Developing your research question,
  • Determining relevant keywords or search terms,
  • Accessing a particular article or journal, 
  • Formatting APA citations,
  • Using Zotero or other citation management tools,
  • Or anything else!

Let us know! In particular, if you've been searching for 10 minutes and still haven't found any relevant resources at all, contact us and we'd be happy to help out. You can email us at library@relay.edu or use the 24/7 Ask A Librarian service using the chatbox below. 

Ask A Librarian Chat