Course Design Institute (CDI) - Library Instructional Materials and Resources

Research Guides

Why use Research Guides 

How do you know where to go to get the right kind of information that you need for your research? Research Guides can help. These guides provide curated links to resources chosen by librarians to make research in a subject easier for you because a guide offers you the best resources in a certain subject area and organizes sources in a focused way that saves you time and effort.  

How to access Research Guides: 

1. Click the Research Guides button under the search box on the library home page
2. Select how you want the guides to be organized 
3. Click on the link for the guide that fits your research need

How to add a research guide to your Canvas site:

1. Find the guide that works best for your course. Browse currently published guides, or contact your subject librarian for a course guide
2. Grab the guide's URL. Copy the URL for the guide using the URL at the top of the browser
3. Add the guide's URL to your Canvas site. Add the URL to the appropriate section of your Canvas site.
   1. Module Level
      1. From an existing module, click the "+" button
      2. Add "External URL"
      3. Paste in the URL of the research guide
      4. Select "Load in New Tab"
      5. Click "Add Item"
   2. Page Level
      1. ​From an existing module, click the "+" button
      2. Add "Content Page"
      3. Select"[New Page]" and fill out the "Page Name"
      4. Click "Add Item"
      5. Once the page is set up, click on the page, then click on "Edit"
      6. Paste in the title of the research guide, click the "Link to URL" icon, paste in the URL, then click "Update Link"
      7. Click "Save"

Tip: Always test your links after creating them. It is a best practice to periodically check links for potential website/URL updates.

Adding a research guide is one thing, having students use it is another!

We recommend you build time in the class to talk about the research guide, and why it might be important for their course. Some recommended tactics are:

• Sell students on the research guide by explaining as well as their purpose, value, and relevance to the course.
• Preview and promote the resources in the guide, and help students navigate the guide by letting them explore key resources in class.
• Teach research strategies. Schedule a library instruction session or contact your subject librarian.