Academic Writing

Circulation desk: The place in the library where you check-out, renew, and return library materials. You may also place a hold, report an item missing from the shelves, or pay late fees at this desk.

Reference (Reference Desk/Research Help desk): A service that helps people find needed information. The Research Help desk is staffed by librarians who answer questions about the library or library research. They'll assist you in finding information for your paper.

Course Reserve: Books, articles, DVDs, or other materials that instructors want students to read or view for a particular course. These materials are usually kept in one area of the library and circulate for only a short period of time.

Interlibrary Loan: A free service that allows you to borrow books from other libraries in the United States and across the world.

Abstract: A summary or brief description of the content of a longer work like a book or journal article.

Bibliography: A list containing citations to the resources used in writing a research paper or other document.

Call number: A group of letters and/or numbers that identifies a specific item in a library and provides a way for organizing library materials.  Books and journals are organized by call number using the Library of Congress system of classification.  DVDs are assigned a number as they are received; use the DVD number to ask for a film at our Multimedia services desk. Here is a list to browse.  Find the call number by searching ARGOS.  The book will include a map showing what floor the library is on. If you need help locating a book, journal or DVD, stop by the Research Help desk.

Database: A collection of information stored in an electronic format that can be searched by a computer.

Journal: A publication, issued on a regular basis, which contains scholarly research published as articles, papers, research reports, or technical reports.

Library Search: The search discovery tool of the library, it is the “Google” of our resources, searches for books and articles

Peer Review: In academic publishing, the goal of peer review is to assess the quality of articles submitted for publication in a scholarly journal. Before an article is deemed appropriate to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, it must undergo a process. Sometimes professors will ask you to find peer reviewed articles; they may also ask for scholarly or academic articles.

Plagiarism: Using the words or ideas of others without acknowledging the original source.