Skip to Main Content

EOP Students: Engaging with Information and Research

This guide has been developed for EOP students in their first year at the University at Albany, but may prove useful beyond that year. It provides resources for engaging with information both as a consumer of it, as well as a producer.

Search for Sources Efficiently

You will be doing research not just for this assignment, but for countless others at the University. Save yourself lots of time and stress by learning the best way to go about searching. Before you access a database to start your research, watch the following short tutorials:

Keyword Searching Tutorial: Learn how to pick keywords when searching in the Libraries’ search tool. You can also use apply what you learn in this tutorial to choose keywords for a database search.

Working with Scholarly Article Tutorials: These let you check your knowledge as you complete the tutorials.

  • Part 1: What is a Scholarly Article?
  • Part 2: Reading a Scholarly Article
  • Part 3: Finding and Identifying Scholarly Articles

University Libraries' General Search Tool

The University Libraries' Search Tool allows you to search for a variety of sources that are available to you through the libraries.  Looking for a book? This is the tool you want.

Information Sources and Presentation Formats

Information can be presented in a number of different ways. Some are much more eye-catching than others. Keep in mind that in some circumstances, you have the freedom to choose the information format you'd like to use. If you have this freedom, consider the types of sources that will best support your format. Infographics, such as the one below, can be extremely effective when designed well.

Infographic comparing employment status with reading habits

"Infographics" by Andrew Rees is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0