Understanding Your Assignment
Before you begin your research, you should make sure you understand your assignment. Some good questions are:
• How many pages should it be?
• How many sources do I need?
• What kinds of sources? Books,
articles, websites? Scholarly or
popular articles?
• In what format should it be
written? APA? MLA? Chicago?
Assignment Calculator
San Jose State's Assignment Calculator is a good resource to help you determine how much time you have to complete various aspects of your research and writing, given your starting date and due date.
If you are having problems selecting a topic, or narrowing a topic, the following resources can help:
For more sources of background information, visit the A-Z Databases Encyclopedias listing.
For off-campus access to the online databases and eBooks, you'll need your student ID. See our Off-Campus Library Services LibGuide for more information.
You can also renew your books online from home.
