1. Determine your TOPIC.

2. Write down what you already know about the topic.

3. Write down what you want/need to know about the topic.
4. Create a working OUTLINE so you have a PLAN. This
outline can/will change during the research process.
5. NARROW or EXPAND your topic so you have the right
amount of information for the required pages/time limit.
6. Determine what kinds of resources (and how many) are
REQUIRED by the teacher.
7. Locate information. DO NOT GO DIRECTLY TO
GOOGLE OR ANOTHER SEARCH ENGINE. Check
out the print resources available in our reference section
first. You might go to an encyclopedia as a starting point
to give you direction. Do some preliminary reading on
your topic to spur your interest and set your path for
research.
8. Go to NebraskaAccess or Gale/Cengage Learning to
find newspaper, magazine or journal articles, essays,
speeches, biographies or books available on your topic.
9. Select the information you want to useand make sure
you READ and PROCESS the information from the ma-
terials you have chosen.
10. Take notes from your sources using the Research
Notes Template available from all teachers and in the
library. Use the template for all sources.
11. Write your paper from your notes and your thoughts,
giving credit to your sources as necessary. DO NOT
COPY INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM A SOURCE
AND CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN. This is PLAGIARISM.
12. REREAD your paper and write a second and possibly a
third draft.
13. Include ALL of your SOURCES in a REFERENCE page.

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Welcome to the Library!
Open 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. School Days
Mrs. Julie Huettner, Librarian
Mrs. Tina Schumacher, Library Media Specialist
Examples of In-Text Source Citations
All sources of information must be
properly credited or the writer commits
plagiarism (Schumacher, 2011, p.
13). -APA style*
The result of getting caught plagiariz-
ing can be as little as getting a zero on
the assignment to getting kicked out
of college. At St. Francis, the penalty
for plagiarism is a zero on the project,
an office referral with an after school
detention for first offense, and possi-
ble failure of the class (Schumacher
24).MLA style*
Reference Page Examples
Schumacher, T. M. (2011). It is impor
tant to cite your sources.
Humphrey: Pretend
Press. APA style book*
Schumacher, Tina M. It Is Important
Cite Your Sources. Hum
phrey: Pretend Press,
2011. -MLA style book*
* Sources fabricated for brochure examples only.
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1. NEVER copy and paste
information to a Word docu-
ment.
2. READ your sources.
3. TAKE GOOD NOTES.
4. Always DOCUMENT your
sources in your notes.
5. When writing, CREDIT your
sources in your paper.
6. Use outside sources to
SUPPORT your thoughts
and opinions.
7. Make sure all DIRECT
QUOTATIONS are put in
quotation marks & credit
the source.
8. If PARAPHRASING or
summarizing the ideas from
a source, credit the source.
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We use two citation styles at
HSF.
MLA (Modern Language
Association)
APA (American Psycho-
logical Association)
Make sure you know which
style is required for your pa-
per.
If you dont knowASK.
OR
Check the MLA or APA Style
Guide in the reference section
of the library.
OR
Log onto
www.owlatpurdue.edu
and click on MLA or APA
Documentation Style.
Taking the
thoughts,
ideas, or
words of
another and
claiming
them as your
own. This
can be in
speech,
music, or
WRITING.
Guidelines for the
Research Process
Mission Statement
The mission of our library is to provide our
student patrons in grades 7-12 and faculty
with the best quality, most updated variety
of materials, both fiction and nonfiction, as
well as print and electronic, to aid in the
success of their educational experience at
St. Francis Catholic School.
A B r i e f L i b r a r y To u r
Accelerated Reader Information
Most of the books in our fiction section, located on the
north wall of the library, have AR tests and are marked as
such. If you need to determine if a book has an AR test,
log onto a computer and go to www.arbookfinder.com.
Type in the title of the book and you will get all of the infor-
mation you need, including reading level.
AR tests can be taken on Mrs. Schumachers classroom
computer during AR class or in the library on the days Mrs.
Huettner is present during AR class time, usually M-W-F.
Tests may also be taken during access time in the library,
but you must have a pass from either Mrs. Huettner or Mrs.
Schumacher.
TO TAKE AN AR TEST, click on the Renaissance Learn-
ing Iconthe gray pyramid on the computer screen. Your
user name is the first letter of your first name and the first
four letters of your last name (ex. tschu). The password is
read. Make sure you spell the title of the book EXACTLY
as it is written. Choose the test for read independently
and begin testing. You do not need to print out your test
results. They will be available to Mrs. Huettner and Mrs.
Schumacher through the computer program.
Print Reference Materials
Our reference section is located on the south wall of the
library, nearest the reference/circulation desk. You will find
a variety of materials to aid in research processes. There
is a set of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, atlases,
books on religion, the Catholic church, the saints, psychol-
ogy, anatomy, addictions, diseases, and much more. If
you stroll down to the west, you will find the biographies
and world histories, as well as literature critique. Let this
be the first place you go when you need to research some-
thing for class. Always ask if you have questions. Mrs.
Huettner is here to help, as are your teachers.
Online Resources
ESU7 provides several reputable sources of information. To access
these, first type in the URL http://sites.esu7.org . The available re-
sources include the following:
World Book Onlinethe online encyclopedia AND homework help.
Login ID: neneb
Password: world
Gale/Cengage Learningseveral databases are gathered in this one
source. These are Health and Wellness Center, Student Resources
Junior, Student Resource Center, and Infotrac. For all of these data-
bases the password is the same.
Password at school: colu_log
Password at home: remote
NebraskaAccess has several reputable databases. To use these
resources, type in the URL www.nlc.state.ne.us . They include:
Wilson Biographies Plus (95,000 full-text biographies)
Wilson OmniFile (full-text articles from 1,665 magazines)
FirstSearch (to search for sources found in many libraries)
Kiplinger Forecasts (business information)
Books in Print with Reviews (600,000 full-text reviews of books)
Login ID: rubble5
The main source you will use on NebraskaAccess is E-Library.
Login: rubble5
Password: physic5
Finding and Evaluating Resources
Not everything on the Internet is a reliable resource for information.
The databases on Gale/Cengage and NebraskaAccess are all good
sources of information. You can trust the information and freely use it
in your researchjust make sure you give credit to your sources!
If you are using a source that is NOT found on NebraskaAccess, make
sure you ask yourself the following questions before relying on a
source for your project.
1. Is the author listed?
2. Does the author have any credentials (i.e. degree initials behind
his/her name)?
3. Is there a date of publication or updating of material?
4. Is the information connected to a known/reputable organization (i.e.
The American Cancer Society)?
5. Can you verify the information in other sources or does this person
seem to have his/her own ideas?
6. Will you be able to give proper citation information on the source?
If you have no real citation information; find another source!
7. Did your teacher give you the green light on using this source?
If you dont know or arent sure, ASK!

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Table
Table Table
Table
Table Table
Bank of 13 Computers
Mrs. Hetttners
Desk
Unabridged
Dictionary
ENTER/EXIT
Table
Table
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