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Research Tool Tips

Picking the Right Research Tools This video is one in a series that explores searching and research skills. We'll introduce you to the different kinds of resources in the library. We'll learn what they are, what kind of information they have, and how you can find them.

Types of Library Resources - Picking the Right Tool Handout

Research Tools

Acronym Finder With more than 1,000,000 human-edited definitions, Acronym Finder is the world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. Combined with the Acronym Attic, Acronym Finder contains more than 5 million acronyms and abbreviations. You can also search for more than 850,000 US and Canadian postal codes.
Abbreviations.com We are the world's largest and most comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the Internet. Abbreviations.com holds hundreds of thousands of entries organized by a large variety of categories from computing and the Web to governmental, medicine and business and it is maintained and expanded by a large community of passionate editors.
Acronyms (from Dictionary.com) Ever wonder what those 2 or 3 letters in a text message or comment mean? We have all of the acronym meanings you need to text with confidence, ease, and speed.

Research Tools : Almanacs & Quick Facts

BIR Entertainment With BIR Entertainment, users can find information about music or DVD/videos featuring a favorite artist or performer, or specific genre. Permitted Uses
Book Index with Reviews Content Includes: More than 7.7 million book records, more than 1 million music records, 280,000+ e-book records, 200,000+ audiobook records, 46,000+ movie records, more than 700,000 records with full-text reviews, popularity ratings based on national sales data, one-click access to all titles from a particular author/artist, focused limiters for music and DVD/Video searching, including genre and MPG ratings, lexile scores, Permitted Uses

Internet Movie Database (IMDb) IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The IMDb consumer site (www.imdb.com) is the #1 movie website in the world with a combined web and mobile audience of more than 250 million unique monthly visitors. IMDb offers a searchable database of more than 250 million data items including more than 5 million movies, TV and entertainment programs and more than 8 million cast and crew members. An Amazon company.

Calculator.com Calculator.com was launched January of 1996 to provide free online calculators for any purpose. Some solve problems, some satisfy curiosity and some are just for fun.
Inflation Calculator (Bank of Canada) The Inflation Calculator uses monthly consumer price index (CPI) data from 1914 to the present to show changes in the cost of a fixed "basket" of consumer purchases. These include food, shelter, furniture, clothing, transportation, and recreation. An increase in this cost is called inflation. The calculator's results are based on the most recent month for which the CPI data are available. This will normally be about two months prior to the current month.
Investment Calculator (Bank of Canada) The Investment Calculator shows the effects of inflation on investments and savings. The results shown are intended for reference only, and do not necessarily reflect results that would be obtained in actual investment situations.
Martindale's Calculators On-Line Currently the Calculators On-Line Center contains over "22,125" Calculators & Spreadsheets, over "4,420" Courses, Lectures, Manuals, Handbooks, & "1,000's" of Movies, Videos, Simulations & Animations Created by over "8,875" very "CREATIVE" Individuals, Businesses & Tax Supported Entities World Wide
Ultimate Collection of Online Calculators (Crest Captial) Written by Chris Fletcher (aka the Lease Guy). Chris is a senior account executive at Crest Capital, where he manages vendor finance programs for manufacturers and dealers of equipment, vehicles, and software. He's also an active Twitterer—check out his page if you follow financial topics and current events in the world of finance.
Unit Converter (EasyUnitConverter.com) From their website: "On this site, We provide a set of mathematical tools including 2000+ units conversion and online calculations. Each tool is developed based on formulas (unit conversions, calculators) taken from Wikipedia & Academic books."
Unit Converter (Knovel.com) Knovel's Unit Converter enables any user to quickly convert any unit of measurement—or any combination of units—into another unit in just a few simple steps. Choose from a list of approximately 1,000 unique units for approximately 90 properties.
XE Currency Converter Calculate exchange rates from around the world.

Research Tools : Career Information
Career (Learning Portal) This hub will help you explore career options by identifying your skills, getting information about the labour market, and researching related college programs. It will also help you with the process of applying for jobs, including creating a resume and cover letter.

APA Basics - APA Citation & Formatting
This guide is a starting point only. For full details on correctly citing resources and creating references, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (2020).
It is important to remember that Library staff do not teach APA, and will not evaluate or correct work. If you need help with APA Style, contact your instructor, or contact the Student Success Hub to request a meeting with a peer tutor or the Writing Clinic.

RefWorks - New 2021
NOTE: THIS VERSION REPLACED THE LEGACY VERSION EFFECTIVE JUNE 15, 2021. RefWorks is a web-based software that helps you to store and organize your references, prepare bibliographies, and create in-text citations while you write.

Writing & Citing We've gathered the best resources on MLA and APA formatting and citations, and plenty of tips for developing and improving your writing skills.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Dictionary.com Dictionary.com is the world’s leading online source for English definitions, synonyms, word origins, audio pronunciations, example sentences, slang phrases, idioms, word games, legal and medical terms, Word of the Day and more. For over 20 years, Dictionary.com has been helping millions of people improve their use of the English language with its free digital services.
Oxford Dictionaries Oxford Dictionaries is part of Oxford University Press (OUP), a department of the University of Oxford. Our mission is to provide reliable, evidence-based, up-to-date dictionaries.
Symbols.com Symbols.com is a unique online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more. Explore our world of symbols by category, alphabetically or simply search by keywords. Our huge collection of symbols range from ancient alchemical signs, ashanti adinkra and anarchism to modern currency signs and awareness ribbons.
Research Tools : Dictionaries & Thesaurus
Thesaurus.com Thesaurus.com is the world’s largest and most trusted free online thesaurus brought to you by Dictionary.com. For over 20 years, Thesaurus.com has been helping millions of people improve their mastery of the English language and find the precise word with over 3 million synonyms and antonyms and the ability to filter search results by relevance, word length, and complexity

Research Tools : Directories

Research Tools : Encyclopedias

Collins Free Online Translator Translate your text for free Over 30 languages available including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Hindi and many others.
Google Translate A few of the many ways Google Translate helps you understand and communicate in over 100 languages: TYPE : Just use your keyboard. TALK: Have a bilingual conversation. SNAP: Translate images of text in a different language. SEE: Use your phone’s camera to see instant translations. WRITE: Draw letters or characters with your finger. OFFLINE: Get text translations without a data connection.
Symbols.com Symbols.com is a unique online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more. Explore our world of symbols by category, alphabetically or simply search by keywords. Our huge collection of symbols range from ancient alchemical signs, ashanti adinkra and anarchism to modern currency signs and awareness ribbons.
Translate (Cambridge Dictionary) Get a quick, free translation! First, choose your From and To languages. Then, type your text—up to 160 characters each time, up to 2,000 per day—and click on Translate.
Translator.eu Multilingual free online text translator can translate from English into 42 languages.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations : 1901 ed. Compiled by John Bartlett, this tenth edition of 1919 contains over 11,000 searchable quotations and was the first new edition of John Bartlett’s corpus to be published after his death in 1905—the new editor, however, choosing more to supplement than revise the work of the first name in quotations.A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature.
Bartlett's Quotation Collections The 120,000 most authoritative quotations on the web, with 50,000 other short selections.

Study Skills (Learning Portal) This hub will help you develop the skills you need to succeed in your program and cope with the demands of college. Each unit covers practical study skills that will build a foundation for academic success.
8 Steps for Strong Time Management for College Students (About.com)
Creating a study schedule (Athabasca University)
Study Assistance
Study Tips and Resources