Whether you’re facing finals, midterms, or just a regular homework assignment, there is a treasure trove of tools that can help you get through it all with confidence. These tools are Research Guides (aka “LibGuides” in librarian jargon), and there are over 100 of them available to you anytime, anywhere on the Fordham University Libraries website.

Research Guides are created by librarians who curate the best information resources on a given discipline or topic. There are guides for nearly any subject you are studying, as well as guides to general research and even advice on topics like living in New York and coping with stress. Some guides have been created for specific professors and courses.

How to Navigate Research Guides

You can browse the complete list (arranged alphabetically) to find your topic of choice, or stumble on something new that you want to explore.

Another way to navigate the guides is to filter them by discipline. This is helpful for grouping different subject guides that fall within the same discipline. For example, there are thirteen separate guides relevant to Sociology and Social Services and eight Business Research guides that will be especially useful for Gabelli students.

If you have a specific question and cannot decide which guide might help, you can also do a full-text search of the entire collection. For example, let’s say you want to write a paper about food, but you don’t know what angle you want to take yet. Just search for “food” and you’ll find every guide that includes the word “food.” It can bring you to unexpected places!

What Does a Research Guide Include?

You will usually find a few key features in a research guide:

• Contact information for the librarian who maintains the guide and acts as a liaison for that subject. If you have further questions, talking to the librarian who created the guide is an excellent place to start.
• Expertly curated lists of specific databases, journals, books, films, and other resources to use as a starting point in your research.
• Search strategies for finding information on your topic in databases and the library catalog.
• Links to trustworthy online resources outside of the Fordham Libraries collection.
• Suggestions for subtopics within your larger topic to help target your research.

Where to Start

Here are some recommendations to get you started with research guides:

• When you need help with using library resources: Reference Help Guide
• When you want to learn more about Fordham: Fordham History and Special Collections Guide
• When you have questions about copyright: Copyright Resources Guide
• When you are working on digital scholarship projects: Digital Humanities Guide
• If you are studying to be an educator: Just for Teachers Guide
• If you are enrolled in an online program: Distance Learning Guides
• When you have to cite sources in your paper: Citation and Style Guide

Need More Help?

Anytime you need help with any library resources or getting started with research, you can contact a librarian through the 24/7 Ask a Librarian chat service or via email. Contact the subject liaison librarian for your area of study if you need more in-depth assistance.