Tutorials

Crafting a Good Research Question tutorial

This interactive tutorial allows students to choose one of six research topics to explore the process from thinking of a broad topic to crafting a specific research question, including drawing on one's own existing knowledge, and using reference sources.

Developing Keywords tutorial

Strong keywords are the foundation of every successful search. By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to identify strong keywords, refine your search strategy, and use alternative keywords to explore different perspectives.

Tutorial on Searching the USC Libraries

This tutorial walks students through the process of selecting a research topic and developing related keywords; it shows students how to do an initial search in the library catalog, After students have completed this tutorial, they will have:

• Located one source for their research topic
• Learned how to find the permanent link to the source
• Created a citation for their source

Search with Boolean Operators

This short video shows you how to search the libraries' catalog more efficiently using Boolean Operators.

Tutorial on Evaluating Sources using the SIFT Method

Not all sources are created equal! This tutorial covers the basics of how to tell if a source is appropriate for your assignment and research needs.

Customize Google Scholar for USC Libraries video

This short video describes how to locate USC Libraries-owned materials through the Google Scholar interface.

Research and Writing Process Video Suite

This video suite, created through a collaboration between the USC Libraries and the USC Writing Center, is a series of connected videos intended to provide guidance for how to approach common challenges you may face as a student when writing papers using research. Each video breaks down a specific element of the research process, offers a new way to think about the process drawn from research in critical thinking and learning theory, and outlines practical solutions to help you in your research and writing.

AI in Research/AI Literacy

This page provides interactive and video tutorials on the foundational skills needed to use AI in your academic work. You will learn what AI is, what best to use it for and when to skip it, and how to critically analyze AI output, identifying gaps, biases, hallucinations, and downright wrong information. (In development)