Get It Done Guide to Undergraduate Research

Install the Reload Button and refresh the page 

• If you're having trouble getting past a paywall or accessing an article, try this method first!
• The Reload Button is a browser bar extension that reloads your article with your UMD login credentials. Just drag and drop into the bookmarks on your browser.

Find @ UMD 

• If you don't see a full-text option for your article (PDF Full Text, HTML Full Text, etc.), click on the red Find @ UMD button. This will search for that article across our collection to see if we have that in our collection or another database.

Accessing newspaper articles behind paywalls

• If you run out of free articles or into a paywall with a newspaper (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, etc.), we can check for those articles in our collection. 
• To check our holdings for a specific newspaper / magazine title, search using the Journal Finder. 
  • We have access to most popular newspaper articles through databases like NexisUni and ProQuest National Newspapers. Keep in mind that these databases typically only provide the text of the article, so the formatting might look a little different than it did on the newspaper website.
  • Through the Journal Finder, you'll also see the date ranges for that publication within our collection. If your article is outside those ranges, follow the instructions below to request it from a different library.
  • In addition, UMD students can now gain full access to the New York Times by claiming a New York Times Academic All Access Pass. See how to claim a pass here.

Requesting from another library

• Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows us to request materials from other libraries that we don't have in our collection. 
• ILL requests typically take between 2-7 days to fill. If your paper is due tomorrow (no judgment, we've all been there), this is not the best option, we should look for an alternative article. 
• How to request an article or chapter
• How to request a book or other materials

Remote Access to Library Materials

Accessing library materials from an off-campus location can be a little different. Learn more about the process below.

Using AI in Research

You might have heard about or used artificial intelligence-based tools like ChatGPT or DALL-E, but how do they actually work? How do you use them in your research, and when is it appropriate or not appropriate to do so? And what should you watch out for when using them?

Check out the guide linked below to learn more about:

• How generative AI works
• What AI often gets wrong
• Strategies for fact-checking AI
• How to cite AI-generated work
• More information about AI tools beyond the classroom

One important note about communication, academic integrity, and your learning journey: University of Maryland's Code of Academic Integrity holds us all to standards of truth and academic honesty and prohibits you from receiving any unauthorized assistance on assignments. Especially since the field of AI is changing so quickly, it is your responsibility to double check the expectations of your instructors on all your assignments to make sure you are not using these AI-based tools in a prohibited way -- every instructor will have different expectations about the use of these tools in their classrooms, and even within different assignments. As you use AI-based tools, we encourage you to make sure you're using them to help you learn better and not to shortcut skills that are important for you to practice on your own.

Library Quest

Explore library spaces and resources through this interactive choose-your-own-adventure game. 

Click here to start!