Guides: Reference Librarian Manual: Consultations

General information

Encourage students to set up an appointment in WC Online. They have to create an account the first time. This will allow them to receive confirmations, reminders, and cancelations (if needed). You will be emailed the appointment confirmation as well.

WC Online-Research Consultation Appointment Scheduler
- This link opens in a new window

Review the appointment information the student provided.

They list:
- their course number
- top priorities
- what problems they are having with their research
- what the research project is about.
Students can also attach files ranging from their progress to the assignment (at the bottom of the appointment).

Sometimes a student will schedule an appointment five minutes before their appointment and sometimes they won't provide any information that helps you prepare. Be prepared for any stage of the research process.

Check if we have any guides for the assignment. Think about which resources might best help the student.

If the student lists citation in their appointment, gather our handouts and books for the consultation.

Students are learning how to conduct a search strategy. Share with them your thought process, how did you think to use this combination of terms to get these results?
Because of the depth of research, it's OK to give them a few sources to keep them moving forward with their project.
They may have only tried the basic databases: Academic Search Complete and JSTOR, and general Google searches. Lead them to other resources.
Students are looking for that magical unicorn article that answers the question. Be sure to help them understand that they will be compiling information from multiple sources to help provide insight and help them analyze their topic.

Research Strategies for Assignments

Helping a student can feel as daunting as doing the assignment yourself. We put together videos that walk students (and you!) through the process. Review the videos to feel prepared when helping students during consultations.

Research Databases - All
We broke up our databases to help students find the best databases for their subject or assignment. Review which databases are under which subjects.
Library of Congress Classification Outline
Review the LOC Classification to refresh you on the system we have for your books.

Starting a Research Project Tutorial Module (LibWizard)
This is an online training module to help you start a research project. It covers developing a research topic, the creation of a working thesis statement, and maintaining a research log. There are assessments throughout this tutorial. At the end of the tutorial, students may input an email to receive their answers and a certificate of completion is an option at the end.
Starting a Research Project Tutorial
This is a tutorial series we made about the research process.
Building a Research Strategy Tutorials
This is a tutorial series we made to explain parts of research.
Building a Research Strategy
Pick a Research Topic Tutorial
Research Log Example in Word

How to Research a Current Events or Hot Topic
This is a tutorial we made to walk through using the databases for a current events assignment.

We have a "Current Issues & News" database subject. Review these databases and browse through our collection--we have plenty of books on issues.

How to Research a Literary Work
This is a tutorial we made to walk through using the databases for literature assignments.

We have a "Literature" database subject. Review these databases and browse through our collection--we have plenty of books on literature.

Be sure to see if we have any guides for the specific assignment or reading.

Kingwood campus has an Honors College. Honors students have at least one semester long research project in the fall or spring. These projects are on a variety of topics related to the Honors classes they are taking.

A student might need help with brainstorming their topic and to bounce ideas or they might have trouble finding statistics from another country.

Prepare for honors consultations as best you can. Apply research strategies that you know and expand on what you aren't sure of.

Career Exploration Project Guide
We have a class where this is the assignment. Students frequently stop by and ask us questions about the assignment. Use this guide to direct students and yourself.

Frequently, students will ask us questions about citation and paper formatting. We can help them with that. Help, not do.

Sometimes it is an quick citation question, other times they want us to review their paper. And sometimes it is an obscure question that needs searched to find the best answer.

We have guide books on APA, Chicago, and MLA that you are welcome to review and use when helping a student. We also have handouts we put together for basic formatting and citation situations.

APA Style Guide (LSC-Kingwood Library)
In addition to links to the APA Style website, see our Documentation Guide and Paper Formatting: A Visual Guide.
Chicago Style LibGuide
Visit this guide for details, videos, and examples.
MLA Style Guide (8th edition)
LSC-Kingwood library guide for help with the 8th edition of MLA Style citation.
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Center; Purdue U.)
Handy reference to research, writing, and citation for most major citation formats.