Now that the fall semester is in full swing, there are loads of research support services for undergraduate researchers. The following is a broad list for students and faculty:
Subject specialist librarians – Each department/college has an assigned expert librarian to assist students with their research. They can help you find materials in your subject area and they can also teach you how to search more effectively in your databases. If you are a faculty member, contact your librarian for specialized information literacy services designed for your course.
Savvy Researcher workshops – We teach workshops almost every day of the semester on a variety of topics including citation management, how to do a literature review, personal information management, GIS, infographics, database design, working with images, presentation tools like Prezi and PowerPoint, advanced Google searching, and much much more!
Resource guides – Librarians create special resource guides on a variety of topics in order to highlight library resources for your research.
Data Services – Every afternoon during the fall and spring semester, there is an expert in the Scholarly Commons (306 Main Library) that is ready to assist your with anything related to data including assistance with finding and formatting digital numeric and spatial data, geographic information systems (GIS), and much more. Drop-in hours are Monday-Friday from 2-5pm. You can also make an appointment by sending an email to sc@library.illinois.edu.
Survey Research Lab – Every Thursday from 2-5pm, the Survey Research Lab is available for free consultations on all aspects of survey design (306 Main Library). They also teach a suite of free research methods workshops including “Introduction to Survey Sampling,” “Introduction to Web Surveys,” “Introduction to Questionnaire Design,” and “Introduction to Survey Data Analysis: Addressing Survey Design and Data Quality.”
Scholarly Commons – Located in 306 Main Library, the Scholarly Commons has experts that can help you with digitization, creating a digital humanities project, consulting about data management, answer basic copyright questions, help you archive your project in the institutional repository, and much more. We have computers that include specialized software including ABBYYFineReader, ArcGIS, Python, QSR Nvivo, R and R Studio, and SAS. We also have Mac computers and corresponding software. Stop by Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm and Fridays 11am-6pm or set up a personal consultation by sending an email to sc@library.illinois.edu.
Media Commons – Located in the Undergraduate Library, the Media Commons offers a wide range of technology and support centered around collaboration and digital media. Specifically, the MC offers several zones of support including audio and video production, gaming, and media editing. There is also a large pool of loanable technology that any student can borrow including video and digital cameras and equipment, gaming and mobile devices, memory and external drives, GPS, adapters, and much more. Take advantage of their training and tutorials and consulting services.
Ask-a-Librarian – Get immediate help anytime the Main Library is open by using our online chat service. Experts can help you with any part of the research process!
Merinda Hensley, Assistant Professor and Instructional Services Librarian