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Library Assignment Resources for FYS T105: Library Activity

Gus Grenadier wants to know!

If Gus Grenadier were to walk into our classroom right now and ask us the following question, what would we tell him, and what sources would we use to answer his questions?

 

Gus says:

"I want to know more about how to find reputable, credible sources to find information about college scholarships. Do I just do a Google search or what? And what makes a source credible anyway?"

 

Where would you start if you were to try to answer Gus's question? In pairs, write your responses to Gus's questions--1) how to find credible sources with information about scholarships, and 2) what makes a source credible. Be prepared to share your responses with the class!

Finding scholarships through Google searching

Conduct a Google search on college scholarships and choose one search result. Review that site and answer the following questions. 

1) Is this website a credible source? Why or why not?
2) Would you use this source if you were completing an assignment on this topic? Why or why not?
 

Finding scholarships through Library searching

A library database called Testing and Education Resource Center is one place to go to research scholarships.

  1. Click on Testing and Education Resource Center.
  2. Under the College Prep Tools menu, click on Scholarship Search. 
  3. Click on Undergraduate Scholarship Search.
  4. Create an account as instructed.
  5. Then conduct your search! Think of a keyword related to what you think might be scholarship-worthy. For example, as an Italian-American, I did a search for the word "Italian" to see if there were any scholarships available for people like me.
  6. You can also use the Scholarship Match tool to allow the database to match you to your interests and background.
  7. After conducting a search, see if you can figure out how to save a scholarship you found in your account. 

 

Finding information about college students and scholarships

Using Academic Search Premier, conduct  a search on a topic related to college students and scholarships.

But wait! Before you get started, think carefully about your topic and brainstorm the keywords and concepts associated with that topic. Use those words to construct a search phrase. Library database searching is not like Google searching--you have to translate your topic into database language.

Here is one search query you might try. Note the use of the word and to link the keywords: college students and academic scholarships