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DIY Tutorials

Watch these videos at your own pace to learn more about library topics, research skills, and resources.

Library Basics

Welcome aboard! Discover how the UC Merced Library supports your academic success by joining us for this unexpected tour of the library.  Prepare for both likely and unlikely events as you begin...
Discover why the Virtual Private Network (VPN) is important for your library research and where you can locate VPN download information.
Learn how to locate ebooks (electronic books) in UC Library Search, the Library's catalog. (1:52)

Research Skills: Introductory

In this interactive tutorial, you will practice searching for information in the PubMed database. 
Use citation information (e.g. author, article title, journal title etc.) to find the full-text of that known item using a search tool like Google Scholar or UC Library Search. 
This tutorial series includes eight sections:Information Privilege & Accessing InformationUnderstanding the Information CycleDeveloping a Research QuestionFinding & Selecting...

Research Skills: Advanced

Credo Reference is a collection of searchable online reference books including specialized encyclopedias.  This is an excellent resource for readable, background information.  This tutorial...
Use an article's citations trails to find more information related to your research. Look for citation trails in Web of Science, Google Scholar, and UC Library Search.
Learn how CREDO Reference can help you locate important background information on a variety of topics. (3:11)

Resources & Tools

Learn how to use Zotero to organize your research, make citations in many styles, annotate, and use the plug-ins to connect Zotero directly to Microsoft Word and GoogleDocs. (50:00)Originally...
Academic Search Complete is a great database to use as you start your research. Learn how you can use it to access a wide range of materials.
PsycINFO is a psychology database that you can use to find empirical articles (articles that report on original research).