Though most students are reluctant to admit it, many research papers are written in the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning, often just hours before the paper is due on the professor’s desk or inbox. While it is advisable to start your research as early as possible, we are all guilty of procrastination at some point in our lives. Should you find yourself in this situation, here is some advice on where you can find research help, even in the middle of the night when the Library is closed.
One place to look for help is in the Subject, Research, or Style Guides produced by the Library. You can link to them from the Library’s homepage by selecting “Guides,” and then choosing which type you need. Subject Guides provide assistance in a specific field of study, such as Criminal Justice, Finance, Law, Women’s Studies, or Physics. Research Guides are more general, covering topics like finding articles or statistics, searching the Library’s catalog, or researching financial aid options. Our newest Research Guide, Virtual Reference Shelf, is designed to help students use electronic reference books that are sometimes difficult to locate in our database lists. Finally, Style Guides will help you format your paper correctly; offering particular help with citations and works cited pages.
Another option for help is infoAnytime, found under the “Ask-a-Librarian” link on the Library’s homepage. infoAnytime is a 24/7 chat reference service that connects you to a live librarian. To initiate a chat, click on “infoAnytime”, select University of New Haven from the dropdown menu, enter a name, state your question, and press the Connect button. On average it takes a minute or two for the librarian to respond, depending on how many other people he or she is chatting with at the moment. Once connected, you can chat for as long as you need.
As always, you are welcome to stop by the Library during open hours, contact us by email at [email protected], or call us at 203-932-7189. But for those 3 am emergencies, try using the Library Guides or infoAnytime.
