Education Research Guide

Using Books in Your Assignment

When people think about libraries, they often think about books. It's true; we do have a lot of books on a variety of topics that can be useful in your research! 

Whenever you find a book in the library, you know that a librarian picked that book to add to the collection, so you can generally trust the information in it. However, you should note when a book was published. It might have the most up to date information. Also, note that some books represent first person accounts by historical figures or arguments for a particular religious, philosophical, or political group. Such books should be read in context and not mistaken for objective historical sources.

Books usually cover fairly broad topics. This means that a book on your general subject might not have the specific information you need for your assignment.

Students are often looking for that one book that will be perfect for their research topic. While it's easy to find many different books that give you pieces of the information you need, there's probably not just "one good book" that will write your paper for you!

If you need help searching for or locating books in the library, ask a librarian!

This video below demonstrates how to find and use the huge selection of eBooks the library has available. eBooks are a great resource and can be used from anywhere!

If you're having trouble finding the full text of a book or article, Jones Library can make a request for the book or article to be delivered to you (for free!) through interlibrary loan (ILL).  Follow the steps in this guide to submit an ILL request.