Get Research Assistance

Davis Memorial Library offers Individualized Research Assistance (IRA) sessions to students who would like help identifying appropriate resources for their research assignments.

Making an Appointment

  • Appointments are scheduled online. Click the button below to schedule an appointment.
  • If you need an appointment outside of the available times or would like to meet with a specific librarian, please let us know in the “Notes” box.  We will try to honor your request but availability cannot be guaranteed due to staffing limitations.
  • Sessions last 20-50 minutes, depending on the complexity of the research question.
  • Please submit your request at least 48 hours before your desired session.

Schedule Your IRA

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Preparing for Your IRA

Please bring the following to the session:

  • the assignment (description, requirements)
  • a working thesis statement and/or possible research topics/angles

Go to the Circulation Desk and let a staff member know that you’re there for a scheduled IRA.

What to Expect During the Session

The librarian will

  • review the assignment requirements with you
  • discuss your working thesis statement and/or potential research topics/angles
  • help you develop a list of appropriate search keywords
  • suggest relevant journal article databases and other applicable resources
  • show you how to effectively search the databases and save your results

Please note that librarians do not proofread papers or provide citation formatting assistance.  For help with integrating your sources of information into a well-organized research paper, please make an appointment with the Writing Center.

No-Shows

If you fail to arrive within 10 minutes after your scheduled appointment time you will be documented as a no-show. Three documented no-shows will result in your not being permitted to schedule an appointment again within the semester.

Cancellation

You may cancel an appointment by emailing the librarian with whom you were scheduled or by calling 910.630.7645. (Leave a voicemail message if no one answers.)

Cancellations made before 8:00 a.m. (by email or phone) on the morning of the scheduled appointment will not be counted as a no-show.