Getting Started in the Library

Library research involves identifying and locating sources of factual information and expert opinion to answer a research question.

The Library Research Process is Creative

Research is a process that involves creative inquiry: asking questions, exploring resources, and discovering information that will inevitably lead you to more questions. You already do a lot of informal research in your day-to-day activities and you can use the skills you have already developed to do scholarly research.

Library Research Informs Your Creative Practice

Creative practice and theoretical reflection go hand and hand. Artworks and design creations are information, and produced through seeking and responding to information. The library gives you access to books, exhibition catalogues, magazines, journal articles, online databases, and spaces that are here to inspire and inform you. We also have wonderful staff who are dedicated to helping you find what you need.

Library Research Takes Time

Give yourself time to find useful, credible, quality resources. There is so much information out there and it takes critical inquiry and perseverance to find the best resources for your specific needs. Research is also an evolving process - your ideas and focus might change as you delve into different resources, similar to how an artwork will change from the initial idea at the beginning of a project to the completed work.

Library research is a cyclical process that you will likely return to in multiple phases of completing an assignment or project. Give yourself time and flexibility to reformulate your research as you learn more about your topic.

Chart from Concordia University Library Research Tutorial.