As the new semester begins, undergraduate students are starting their geographic information system (GIS) paper assignments. An online research guide on the ESRI Virtual Campus stands by, ready to help them navigate through the sources they need for their research. The Virtual Campus Library contains an extensive bibliography of GIS materials including books, conference proceedings, and journal articles. The Undergraduate Research Guide takes students through the steps of searching through those sources. There are more than 20,900 references included in the Virtual Campus Library, which can be overwhelming when students try to determine which materials are the most useful and current. The Undergraduate Research Guide is a brief, friendly, online introduction to the library by the Virtual Campus librarian that describes how to begin the research process and find the most relevant sources. The guide is valuable to those who are new to the research process or need to narrow their topic.
The Undergraduate Research Guide helps students form a plan for their research, taking them through the steps of choosing a topic, finding useful references, and locating materials. It outlines strategies for narrowing broad topics using appropriate keywords and finding authoritative sources by subject experts. The guide is designed for the typical undergraduate paper assignment, and also explores some ways to use the advanced search capabilities of the Virtual Campus Library to find materials.
