Information for Students

Finding Your Way

Your professors are going to have high expectations for your work. That means when you sit down to write your first paper, they’re going to want more than just a recap of what they’ve already told you in lecture. But how can you do that when most of what you’re going to be studying is totally beyond your own realm of experience? You are probably going to need some help.

Here’s the good news. Scholarly resources – like academic books and journal articles – help you to put together a credible research paper. York University Libraries collects and makes accessible over 2.5 million books and thousands and thousands of journals in both print and electronic format for its faculty and students. Not to mention statistical compilations, government documents, maps, music, and videos. These publications will help you to strengthen and support your arguments in research papers and assignments.

But how can you find exactly what you need to help you get the grades you deserve? With training and practice you can learn to get beyond Google and into much more sophisticated and better quality material for your papers. And guess what? The information literacy skills that you learn in the course of your degree are highly valued in the job market, and help to make you a more effective and involved citizen as well. You will be skilled at reading between the lines and finding the most reliable information in a world oversaturated with conflicting reports, news, television and radio broadcasts. Information is the core currency of the information economy and those who can find it, sift it and use it effectively will have a headstart in life.

So let’s get started! The links below will take you to a schedule for workshops (offered in the Fall and Winter terms) as well as online tutorials you can complete at your own pace whenever it’s convenient. And don’t forget to visit the libraries and talk to our librarians: we can give you specialized one-on-one assistance to get you through any research hurdles.

Workshop Schedule – Free drop-in workshops that will get you on the right track.

Online Tutorials and Research Guides – Don’t have time to stop by in person? Check out some of these guides.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism – Information on how to be a responsible researcher and avoid plagiarism.