Guides and Tutorials: College Research Skills: Home

The Purpose of The Library

What is the purpose of the library?

In order for anyone to effectively access information it must be organized.

The purpose of the library is to collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to extensive amounts of knowledge and information in many different formats such as: books, journals, magazines, databases, ebooks, and websites.

Here are a few tools to get you started:

Alemany Library Website
The Archbishop Alemany Library of Dominican University of California-- collections, research management tools, and research librarians.
Library Catalog of Books
Make an Appointment with a Librarian

RefWorks This link opens in a new window
To use RefWorks you will need to first create an account
1. Follow the link to the RefWorks landing page
2. Look for and select the link at the bottom of the login box titled Create Account
3. Use your Dominican email
4. Create a password and follow any other instructions
Once you've created an account you can log in and start using RefWorks

Citation Styles

MLA Style 8th Ed. - OWL @ Purdue
OWL Purdue- APA Guide
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing).
Chicago Manual of Style 17th Ed. - OWL @ Purdue

Citation Help for Non-Print Sources

MLA Style (8th Ed.)

APA Style (7th Ed.)

OWL @ Purdue APA Style Guide
University of Portland's APA Style Guide for non-print sources
Columbia College (Vancouver) Media Citation Guide
Citing Social Media in APA Style from Aukland University of Technology Library
APA Style Blog post on citing songs in-text and on the References page

Citing a song or soundtrack in APA or MLA

EasyBib's quick guide to citing a song or soundtrack (example is from the musical Hamilton)
Citing a specific track or song from streaming services from EasyBib. Includes both in-text citation and References (APA) or Works Cited (MLA).

The Research Process

So, what is the general research process?

1. Explore Background

What general concepts does your topic fall under.

2. Develop Topic

Narrow down or develop further the key points of your topic. This is where you will discover keywords to enable you to search for your topic in books, databases, and the internet.

3. Find Sources

Look for information in a variety of sources. Always continue to adapt and add to your keyword list. Discover points of interest in your topic and follow those paths.

4. Evaluate Sources

Understanding who created the information, when it was created, and why it was created will give you background on if and how to use the information in your work.

5. Use and Cite Sources

Give credit when credit is due. By citing your the sources that you use you avoid claims of plagiarizing and allow readers of your work to find more information on the topic.

6. Create New Knowledge

When you use research to understand a topic and develop answers to a posed thesis you create new knowledge and information. Continuing the cycle for more researchers to potentially use your information for research.