Writing a research paper can be challenging. With the right tools and resources, the process can be less complicated. The resources below have been developed to help improve the process.
Contact the Reference Librarians for further assistance or help.
Getting Started
Remember the first rule of using a library: Help is Always Available!
Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance or
for an appointment with a Liaison Librarian.
Writing the paper
The Writing Center, Prairie View A&M University
Email: writingcenter@pvamu.edu
Phone: 936.261.3724
The Writing Center Presents:
- Writing a Research Paper. Planning Your Project. Develop a research question. Pick a topic that you care about; Find a question,…
- Analysis. Summary vs. Analysis. Summarizing – How Do You Know if You’re Doing It?
- Editing-finding exactly the right word to express a thought can result in writing that is really worth
- APA Format and Citation
- Avoiding Plagiarism. Discussion : What is plagiarism? What does plagiarism look like? How do we plagiarize? How do we avoid …
- Transitions. What is a transition ? Transitions are words, phrases, sentences or even paragraphs that relate …
- Annotated bibliographies assist writer in the early stages of research gathering. By taking the time to write a brief summary and evaluation of each source you
- Passive Voice
- Grammarly – Software for writing
Finding Material
- Find Books – The John B. Coleman Library Online Catalog – Books and other materials you may check out.
- Find Journal Articles – Search the EBSCO Discovery Search for abstracts and full-text.
- Find Articles when you have the Journal Title – E-Journals
- Find Databases A to Z by subject
- Find Government Documents – John B. Coleman Library is a U.S. Depository – Located in the Periodicals Area.
- Find material on Reserve – Your instructor may have placed items on Reserve, located at the Circulation Front Desk.
- Find material on the history of Prairie View – Special Collections/Archives is located on the fifth floor of the Library. Call or email on availability of material on your topic.
- Interlibrary Loan allows you to order books and articles we do not own. Look for the link Request from ILL when searching for articles and books.
- First Search with OCLC WorldCat (NetID required) is a great place to search for Books and other formats and request PV ILL directly.
- WorldCat at https://worldcat.org/ is an open source for everything around the world. Try the new and improved interface.
- Library course/subject guides created by the librarians are good sources for research.
Evaluation & Preparation
Copyright – John B. Coleman Library observes the United States copyright legislation (title 17, U.S. Code). If you need help in interpreting copyright please see the Copyright Office Website for assistance.
Library Subject Guides:
Evaluating Webpages: Is Your Web Site Credible? – Finding information on the World Wide Web is one thing, trusting it is another. You must be a critical consumer of materials you find on the Web. Quality and validity are not guaranteed when anyone can publish anything, anytime, without the benefit of scholarly peer review. Use this guide to analyze the websites you find.
Tools
Citation Help
These resources will attempt to format your citation for you. They will get you probably 80% of the way there,
but mistakes happen! Double check the citation with a handbook.
RefWorks – Web-based bibliography and database manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases and other various sources. You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds.
- RefWorks (ProQuest): on campus and off campus access available. First time users should sign up for a personal account and login with the personal account to use the citation tool.
Citation Style Guides and Handbooks
AMA Manual of Style : A Guide for Authors and Editors
Location: 1st Floor Reference Desk — R119 .A533 2007
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Turabian/Chicago Citation Style Guide
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian)
Location(s): 1st Floor Reference Desk — LB2369.TB 1996
MLA Handbook
Location: 1st Floor Reference Desk — PE1478.M57
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
The APA handbook 6th ed. • Location: 1st Floor Reference Desk — BF76.7.C66 2010
APA Style Reference List Style Guide (6th Ed.)
APA Style Reference Examples (7th Ed.)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
The APA handbook 7th ed. • Location: 1st Floor Reference Desk — BF76.7 .P83 2020
Older editions in Stacks
Help
Writing Center – The Prairie View Writing Center is here to assist you!
Getting Feedback – Feedback from someone else about your writing.
Ask a Librarian – By phone – (936) 261-1535 or by email askalibrarian@pvamu.edu
Assistance from the Northwest Houston Center – (713) 790-7282 by email at ejbrumfield@pvamu.edu
Access from home and off campus:
All Faculty, Staff and Students are required to enter your network ID and network password to access the Library’s electronic resources from off campus.
Learn about how to access library resources remotely.