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Access the library's electronic resources anytime, anywhere! Just make sure to start your search from this research guide or the library's website at https://library.salem.edu.
When prompted to log in, use your MySalem credentials. Enter just your username and not the @salem.edu portion of your log in. Example: jane.doe NOT jane.doe@salem.edu.
For problems with your username or password, please contact IT at helpdesk@salem.edu or (336) 917-5899.
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Located on the 3rd floor of Salem Library, the Writing Center offers face to face (synchronous) appointments this semester, as well as two virtual options available: 1) synchronous appointments (meet with consultant in real time) using Google Drive and potentially video or 2) you can get feedback asynchronously by submitting your paper via email. Visit their website for more information or to schedule appointments.
The QUEST Program is an academic support program created and maintained by Salem College faculty and staff in order to provide all Salem Academy & College students with an extra outlet of educational support in fields which require quantitative and scientific thinking, and technological skills.
Through the QUEST Program, all registered Salem students have access to online resources and in-person peer tutoring opportunities. All services are free to all enrolled Salem students. All QUEST tutors are recommended by the faculty who teach the supported courses.
The QUEST Center is located on the 1st floor of Salem Library.
Tip: You can use online meetings as a virtual group study room to collaborate with classmates.
Join a Google Hangouts Meeting
Google Hangouts Meet Training and Help
Selected tutorials:
Tip: You can use online meetings as a virtual group study room to collaborate with classmates.
Schedule a Meeting
Brief video tutorials, each approximately 1 minute long:
Searching the Library's Catalog (Discovery)
Searching Databases
Viewing Electronic Resources
Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. - SPARC
Free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
Download free ebooks for Kindle, Android, iPad, Nook, ePub or read online. No registration required.
Research is an iterative process of inquiry that involves:
Before choosing a topic for your research, be sure that you understand the assignment. Look over any information that your professor gave you and ask for clarification if you are unsure about what is expected of you. Also, choose a topic that interests you.
When conducting academic research, topics work well when they are posed as a question. Good rule of thumb is that the shorter the paper, the more narrow the topic or question should be. A good topic is:
A subject that you are somewhat familiar with but not an expert on and that you would be interested in exploring further. Avoid topics that are:
You can use non-scholarly sources to locate more background Information about your topic in order to learn basic facts and relevant jargon.
Keep in mind that the research process is not linear, but cyclical - you may have to come back and tweek your research question as you start learning more about your topic.
A good research question:
Example: If you are interested in global warming - that's way too broad for even a 15-20 page paper! You will need to narrow it down depending on the length of your paper. For an 8-10 page paper, a more manageable topic would be "What effect has global warming had on polar bears in the Arctic Circle and their ability to hunt for prey?" Here we have narrowed our topic down by specific parameters of population (polar bears), geography (Arctic Circle), and subcategory (hunting and prey).
Source evaluation is the process of examining sources that you wish to use and determining not only if they meet your information need but if they are also credible, reliable, and trustworthy. Take a look at the CRAAP Test document below to see what questions you should ask yourself when evaluating sources.
It is important to know if the source is primary or secondary. Primary and secondary sources can both strengthen and improve your research immensely by providing you with information to create an argument and defend your thesis statement.
Primary sources are direct, firsthand accounts about a topic of interest, be it a person, work of art, event, or even an object. Primary sources generally are created at the same time as the topic of interest. An example of primary sources are diaries, photographs,and newspapers. Primary sources allows you to form your own argument to defend your thesis, since the information you are using is unfiltered by another person's point of view. You’re able to critique an original work using your own ideas.
Secondary sources refer to primary sources either by describing, discussing, examining, investigating, reviewing, analyzing, evaluating, or critiquing them. An example of secondary sources are monographs, journal or magazine articles about your subject of interest, biographies, literary critiques, or reviews. Secondary sources allow you to learn about new perspectives that you may not have even considered, and they can also strengthen your own argument in the assignment
You must ALWAYS cite your sources or you may face accusations of plagiarism, which is an ethical violation of information use when one does not give credit where credit is due.
Committing plagiarism is a serious violation of the College's Honor Code and can result in your failure of an assignment or class or suspension or expulsion from the College as a whole. There are numerous resources available to you to help you cite appropriately including your department's Personal Librarian.
You always need to cite your source if you:
In these challenging times, most people are having to learn new, different, and, at times, creative ways to manage stress effectively. If you find yourself feeling stressed as you are learning to navigate online learning successfully, this may be a good time to take stock of the stress management strategies in your tool kit. Give yourself credit for the strategies and techniques that are already in your kit and consider adding one or more that you believe could be helpful to you.
Although online classes may be different from what you have done in the past, you can learn the ins and outs of successful online learning! As you begin the transition from in class to remote learning, take a deep breath and be patient with yourself. Also, try the following: