Roll Tide Research

Roll Tide Research is a series of interactive tutorials and other multimedia resources focusing on concepts and skills essential to academic research. The tutorials can be completed in any order. See the about section in the menu at the top of this page for more info.

Module 1: Research Basics

  • 1.1 Identifying Sources

    Topics: Scholarly & popular sources | Peer-reviewed sources | Primary & secondary sources | Common types and formats of sources

    Format: Interactive Tutorial | Estimated Time: 15 min | Optional Quiz | Voiceover Audio w/ Closed Captions

  • 1.2 Evaluating Sources

    Topics: Strategies for determining if a source is reliable and if it is relevant to your project | Timeliness of sources | Looking up authors & publishers

    Format: Interactive Tutorial | Estimated Time: 15 min | Optional Quiz

  • 1.3 Getting Research Help at the Libraries

    Topics: Finding your specialist librarian | Using Ask-A-Librarian Online Reference | Using our FAQ | Scheduling a research consultation | Research Guides and tutorials | Branch information

    Format: Video | Estimated Time: 3 min

Module 2: Beginning Your Research

  • 2.1 From Topic to Research Question

    Topics: Choosing a research topic | Conducting background research | Narrowing and broadening topics | Formulating an answerable research question appropriate to your project or assignment

    Format: Interactive Tutorial |Estimated Time: 10 min | Optional Quiz

  • 2.2 Generating Keywords and Developing a Search Strategy

    Topics: Identifying the core concepts in a research question | Developing keywords from core concepts | Using keywords as search terms | Identifying discipline-specific keywords

    Format: Interactive Tutorial | Estimated Time: 15 min | Optional Quiz

Module 3: Finding Resources

Module 4: Using Information Ethically

  • 4.1 Citing Sources and Avoiding Accidental Plagiarism

    Topics: Understanding citations | What is plagiarism? | When, Why, What, and How to cite | Includes examples in MLA and APA formats

    Format: Interactive Tutorial |Estimated Time: 20 min | Optional Quiz

  • 4.2 Using RefWorks to Manage Your Citations

    Topics: How to set up and use Refworks, a citation management tool available to UA students and faculty. This software interfaces with Microsoft Word and many major Libraries databases to quickly export, organize, and format your research citations.

    Format: Research Guide Webpage | Estimated Time: Self-paced.