Research Help
The UW Tacoma Library offers assistance to all library users, from helping with quick information to working on in-depth research. Research help is open Monday/Tuesday 10:00AM to 4:00PM, Wednesday/Thursday 11:00AM to 4:00PM, and Friday by appointment. Our UW Libraries 24/7 Chat services are also available at any time. Visit our service desk on the first floor of the Tioga Library Building (TLB) for in person services.
Ask a Librarian
Schedule an Appointment
Online Appointments
Choose a specific person or a time that works for you. An email will be sent to you with the Zoom link.
In Person Appointments
Choose a specific person or a time that works for you. Meet for your consultation at the Research Help desk on the 2nd floor of the Tioga Library Building (TLB).
Start Your Research
If you’re starting a research project, here are three good places to start:
- Use a research guide for a specific subject, which recommends databases and other starting points.
- Encyclopedias can give you a good overview of a topic, help you identify keywords, and provide bibliographies of sources.
- Get help from reference staff in the library. You can use online drop-in help or contact us by email, or chat.
The best way to find articles is to search in a database from the UW Libraries.
- A good starting point is Academic Search Complete. (Limit to "Scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles" on the initial search screen.)
- For subject-specific databases, look at the "Find Articles" page on a Research Guide.
- Most of these databases will also let you limit your results to scholarly or peer reviewed articles.
- Most of these databases will also let you limit your results to scholarly or peer reviewed articles.
- This guide lays out the steps to finding full text scholarly articles at the UW.
Not finding what you're looking for? Get help.
Both books and ebooks can be found by searching in UW Libraries Search.
- To find books in the UW Tacoma Library, search in UW Libraries Search and limit to Tacoma.
- ebooks can also be found by searching UW Libraries Search and limiting the format to "eBook". For more information on finding ebooks, look at this guide.
Not finding what you're looking for? Get help.
Encyclopedias are great for giving you an overview of your topic, for helping you identify keywords, and even for providing you with bibliographies of sources.
Dictionaries can help you learn the lingo the experts are using to talk about your topic.
Here are two major collections of dictionaries and encyclopedias:
For specific titles or subject specific resources, the UW Tacoma Library offers:
- Research guide to Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Not finding what you're looking for? Get help.
These materials are the things that can add some strength and pizzaz to your research! They can be found by going to the following research guides:
Not finding what you're looking for? Get help.
All streaming videos and DVDs owned by the UW Libraries can be found in UW Libraries Search. You can identify an online/streaming video because it will have an “eVideo” resource type icon and it will say “Online access” just below the cataloging information.
Major collections of streaming videos from the UW Libraries and freely available on the web can be found on this research guide: Streaming Video
