Research Tutorial

Welcome to the Harrison Libraries' Research Tutorial. The University of Hartford Libraries are made up of two separate units. The Mortensen Library houses the general collections, and the Allen Library houses music and dance materials and supports The Hartt School programs. Everyone at the University is welcome to use either library, and all of the librarians will be happy to assist you. This tutorial is designed to introduce you to the methods and tools you will use to conduct research, no matter what class you are in.

The focus in this tutorial is on tools accessible through a computer linked to the Harrison Libraries. You may choose to work through this tutorial from start to finish or to look only at the section(s) that answer an immediate need, and explain a specific tool. Use the navigation links on the left side to move between the sections of the tutorial.

A link to the tools being discussed is included with the exercises for practice. You may need to disable pop-up blockers and/or firewalls to complete this tutorial.

Please remember that there are library staff members available to help you, whether you are working on the tutorial, using the libraries' research tools, or at any other time during your research process. Do not hesitate to ask. You can ask reference staff in either of the libraries: call us at 860.768.4142 (Mortensen) or 860.768.4491 (Allen) or contact us via Librarian Chat on the Libraries' website.

Additionally, remember that websites and databases do change their appearance and layout from time to time. Although the figures in the tutorial are updated to reflect major revisions on those sites, don't be alarmed if the database you're trying out doesn't look exactly like the picture—the basic procedure is still the same.