Distance Education Services  Tags: uwm distance_education distance_student online_student interlibrary_loan  

To get help with your research, you can contact a librarian by calling the Information Desk at (414) 229-4659, by coming into the library during regular hours, or by trying one of the following options.

Grad students beginning a thesis, dissertation or new line of research or instruction may take advantage of our Research Consultation Service. This is a no-cost advisory service to assist you with specific library research processes. A librarian will work with you to improve your search strategies and help to identify potentially useful resources for your research.

By appointment only. If interested, fill out the Research Consultation Request form.

The UWM Libraries Research and Instructional Support Department (RIS) provides reference assistance, instructional services, and advice in the use of library materials and collections.

The first step in the research process is to create a search strategy or research plan.

• Define your research topic: Come up with a sentence and/or question that defines your research topic (My research topic for this class is...)

• Describe your topic using keywords: Select the main concepts or "keywords" that represent or describe your research topic.

• Think of synonyms: or alternate words for the keywords that you have selected

• Combine keywords: Come up with a good starting search for your topic by combining your keywords using connectors "and", "or" or "not"

• Narrow your topic if needed: Think of options to focus or narrow your topic

Once you have a set of keywords and a good search statement, you are ready to begin looking for articles and books.

The UWM Libraries homepage is the starting point for researchers who wish to access the libraries' resources. From here you can utilize the library catalog, online databases, electronic journals, online forms and much more.

• PantherCat is the UWM Libraries' online catalog, which includes all of the UWM Libraries' collections. Find out if we own a book, journal, DVD, CD, government publication or other material by searching PantherCat.
  

• Databases: Much of your research may involve using databases (such as PsycInfo or Web of Science) to find research articles. We have access to 190 research databases covering every discipline. Our Resources A-Z page is an alphabetical listing of all the databases the library has access to. See Resources by Subject/Major for a list of databases according to discipline.
  
• Assignment Calculator: a tool designed to help you structure and manage your projects by breaking the research process into discrete steps with deadlines.

• Electronic Journals List: This is an alphabetical listing of all of the journals that UWM Libraries has electronic access to. Next to the journal title are the dates that the journal is available. In many cases, access to electronic journals is available via full-text article indexes. Click on the FindIt! button under the name of the journal to see which database indexes the journal. For the most complete and up-to-date records, use Citation Linker.
  

• Citation Linker: Use Citation Linker to check a citation for a known article against the online and print collection of the UWM Libraries. For example, if you have a citation for an article from another source, such as a reading list for class or a bibliography, use Citation Linker to determine whether the article is available online or in print format. You can also use Citation Linker to check if a particular journal is available through the UWM Libraries, in either online or print format.

• Reserve and E-Reserve: Many instructors place materials for courses on reserve. Scroll to the instructor's name and click search. Records for electronic reserve materials are at the top of the list.