ISB 201 - Helmberger

Welcome to the ISB 201 Guide to MSU Library resources! While this guide will show you how to find scientific sources, many of the skills you learn while reading through the guide will help you find a variety of sources for many other subjects.

If you have questions about any of the content in this guide, please don't hesitate to email me, or set up a consultation using the "Schedule Appointment" button beneath my picture.

If you need immediate help, try the chat box available on each page of this guide. You will be connected to a live librarian 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Throughout the semester, new pages will appear on this guide that will show you how to access different types of information from different sources using MSU Library resources. We have a lot of tips and tricks that will make researching easier! For now, please review the types of information and the sources to find those types below.

In the sciences, peer reviewed papers are incredibly important. But when you are trying to understand the bigger picture, often peer reviewed articles alone won't help you. They discuss very specific topics and can often be dense. The most important step in finding a good source is understanding what information you need.

Review the types of information you might need below. Would a newspaper, a blog, a peer reviewed article, or something else, work better for that type of information?

Let's think about this with an example. I'm writing a research paper on the value of bees. If I want the facts about how bees make honey, I might look in an encyclopedia, Wikipedia, or even a textbook on bees. But what about the moral and ethical issues of bees? Where would I go for that? Brainstorm different ways to find sources for each type of information using bees as a topic. Where would you look?

Check out our Two Minute Tips page for a lot of useful information on finding resources at the MSU Libraries!