Need help with writing? Contact Regent's writing coaches at writing@regent.edu or use their drop-in hours.
Need help with research? Contact Regent's research librarians at librarians@regent.edu or make an appointment or use live 24/7 chat. Click here for all the options.
If you are on campus, you can come in and speak to a librarian in person during the day. Just ask at the front desk! To find the writing coaches on campus, climb the stairs in the main library to the 2nd floor (to the right) & go to "Academic Coaching."
1. Start with the library's Primo search, which looks through all our books & articles! Sign in & click the "pin" to save favorites.
2. Then try the library's hundreds of subject databases (click "Subjects" or "Types" on that page to narrow the list down).
3. Use Google Scholar to search Regent's articles! (To link: menu; Settings; Library Links; search for Regent; click & Save).
4. Use Google & the internet strategically to find credible articles (use discernment or look up specific publications, as listed below). Use the LibKey browser tool to get instant links to Regent's articles & e-books when you see them cited on the web.
5. Use Google Books or Amazon to see all the books that are out there on your topic; both have book previews of the chapters. Use WorldCat.org to search libraries near you for books, or search for specific titles in the library's Primo search (narrow to "books").
6. Make requests in Primo for sources we don't have: Click "Get it for me from another library" or "Still Didn't Find Wht You Need?" in our library Primo search. Or place holds & mailing requests for physical books: click "Request Regent's Copy" or "Request PDF of Chapter" (emailed).
7. Ask a librarian for help through chat, email, or appointments for another perspective on your research. Librarians know the best resources & ways to search for your topic. See the Reading Lists below for sources compiled by a librarian.
8. Be flexible in your research. Try different key words, terminology, databases, websites, angles, parameters, and even a new topic if necessary.
Finding a history topic: Look at issues such as:
You usually want to find both primary sources (historical documents) and secondary sources (books and articles about history).
To find topics & issues, try browsing or searching for articles in publications like:
Reason, and
For Christian perspectives and issues, try these:
The Gospel Coalition, and
Christ & Pop Culture.
For ethical and family-related issues, try:
US Council of Catholic Bishops
For education issues, try:
Liberal Arts Education Recommended Reading List
James G. Martin Center for Educational Renewal,
The Grade, and the
Chronicle of Higher Education.
For political & cultural issues, try these influential think tanks:
Manhattan Institute (Conservative) and City Journal
AEI --see "Centers" (Conservative/libertarian)
Cato (Libertarian)
Pew Society (Non-partisan)
Brookings (Non-partisan/liberal)
Hoover Institution (Conservative/libertarian)
Be aware that each publication or think tank has a certain worldview or political slant. Try Googling your topic plus the name of a publication to see articles from a certain perspective. See this guide to finding newspaper and magazine articles in the online library collection.
Try ideas & research from other influential Think Tanks, as wells as political advocacy groups, churches/denominations, universities, museums, and other non-profits. Here is our library page on think tanks & policy organizations. Note that each one of these will have a certain ideology and certain goals. Look for sixteen indicators of bias just to be aware of how it influences what you are reading.
On Using Google: Keep in mind that what comes up in Google must be sifted through for bias, originality, and quality. It's a good idea to assess every source in Google (see who sponsors the website & who the author is) and also to Google the name of a good publication along with your topic. Google is good for finding news & opinion articles in newspapers & magazines, government research, university websites, free academic journals, free historical archives/primary sources, free classic books, Christian sites, & think tank research. See the rest of this guide for recommended online sources.
Google, Google Scholar, and Google Books are all great tools.
Google Scholar can be used to search for academic sources. Google Books can be used to see book previews.
Google Scholar should automatically link to our library articles in our databases, in the right margin of your search!
If it doesn't do that, we recommend that you link Google Scholar to our library to see articles owned in our collection instantly.
Directions for how to link Google Scholar to Regent Library:
Tips for Using Google Scholar (Special Operators)
Scholarly research ranked by frequency of citation in other scholarly works. Link your account to Regent to see access links.
The librarians have made many short videos, which are posted on our YouTube channel, that explain the best ways to use our tools.
7 Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. (Proverbs 4)