Senior Honors Thesis Students: Library Workshop

As part of your Thesis Proposal Preparation, you will be asked to attend a "library workshop"; these workshops are one-on-one appointments with subject librarians at Kent State University Libraries. 

In order to complete the library workshop, follow these steps:

1. Begin by reviewing the subject librarian list,
2. Choose the librarian whose subject area most closely aligns with your proposed research topic,
3. Email the appropriate librarian to set up a meeting time that works for both your schedules.

As part of your requirements for your Senior Honors Thesis/Project, you will be asked to complete a "library workshop." The library workshop is a one-on-one appointment between you and the appropriate subject librarian to discuss your research process. During this meeting you will:

1. Meet your subject librarian,
2. Discuss your research topic and what you have already found,
3. Identify some key resources that will assist you in writing your paper,
4. Learn how to work effectively with research databases including managing your searches and results,
5. Be introduced to citation searching databases, 
6. Discuss library services that will be beneficial to your research such as interlibrary loan and RefWorks,
7. Learn about the OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertation center and how to prepare your thesis,
8. Be given contact information for your subject librarian should you have follow-up questions

Following the inital meeting, your subject librarian will email the Honors College coordinator to notify them of your completion of the meeting requirement. You are encouraged to maintain contact with your subject librarian throughout your research and writing process. 

Here are 4 big reasons why you should get to know your Kent State University Libraries subject librarians:

1. Advanced Degrees
   All of the subject librarians at Kent State University have at least one Masters level degree (many have more than one!) This means your subject librarian knows how to conduct research and has completed graduate-level coursework.
2. Kent State Faculty
   Subject librarians are members of the Faculty and are held to the same professional and academic standards as your professors teaching you in the classroom.
3. Publication Records
   As members of the Faculty, most of your subject librarians are seasoned researchers, many with their own lengthy publication records. Most have conducted original research and been published in peer-reviewed journals; that means your subject librarians understands the research process and can apply their own experiences in research and writing to assist you.
4. Areas of Expertise
   Subject librarians are assigned to colleges and at times schools within colleges to serve as the research expert for that school or college. That means the librarians have expertise in your subject area and have logged considerable time exploring the subject specific resources and research tools available to you. 

Use the chart linked below to identify the subject librarian whose expertise most closely aligns with your proposed research topic.