Research Support

Feeling overwhelmed by a research assignment?

Access the tools, tips, and tricks you need to succeed!

Databases

Databases are an invaluable tool when conducting academic research.

What Makes Databases so Great?

Check out the video below from UTC Library:

What Databases are available to me through SKHS?

The following databases are available to all SKHS students.

Explora is contains information about a variety of topics and is a great tool to use when conducting research on many different subjects. It could also be a good place to start if you are having trouble coming up with a research topic.

The Points of View Reference Center is an excellent resource to use when conducting research for an argumentative essay. It provides opposing argument ideas for a variety of subjects.

This database is excellent for historical research and contains historical reference books, magazines, journals and a wealth of primary source material.

The Literary Reference Center is a database that is geared toward literary research. It contains synopses, critical essays, book reviews, and author biographies as well as full-text novels, short stories, and poems. This database also provides access to literary journal materials.

Use EbscoHost to search multiple databases at once!

Consumer Health Complete supports the information needs of patients and fosters an overall understanding of health-related topics. This resource provides content covering all key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary and holistic medicine.

This database is designed specifically for high school students and contains information on a variety of topics in the form of of content from magazines, journals, newspapers, and reference books.

*Password: library

The Gale Virtual Reference Library provides access to over 7,000 full-text ebooks pertaining to most common research topics.

*Password: library

CultureGrams allows you to easily research the countries of the world.

Username: rilinkcgrams

Password: cgrams

Learn more about life, earth, and physical science topics in this database.

Username: rilink

Password: stars

How do Search Engines Work?

Check out the video below from Code.org

Preventing Plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

At its foundation, plagiarism is the stealing of another person's ideas and passing them off as your own. When writing a paper or completing a project for school, it is important that you cite your sources. Most plagiarism concerns can be avoided by following proper citation guidelines.

Additional resources related to avoiding plagiarism can be accessed using the following links:

Plagiarism.org

Turn It In Plagiarism Quiz

How to Recognize Plagiarism, Tutorials and Tests (Indiana University)

Citation Support

It is important that you cite your sources using the proper format both within the text of your paper, and at the end of your paper in the form of a bibliography or works cited.

The most common citation format used at SKHS is MLA, but your teacher might also want you to use APA or Chicago Style depending on the subject.

The following are good resources to use as references when citing sources:

Purdue Online Writing Lab

Tip: Most of our databases include a citation tool that makes citing your sources even easier!

Fake News?

In the internet age it is more important now than ever to critically examine the source of your information. The reality is, anybody can post just about anything online so you need to make sure the information you're getting is the good stuff. Below are some resources that you can use to ensure you're not taken in by "fake news".