Graduate Level Research: Services, Resources, and Tips

Graduate-Level Research: Services, Resources, and Tips

In addition to the information below, librarians are available to answer questions or provide assistance with research.

• Researching an advisor or thesis committee member
• Finding and researching a thesis/dissertation topic
• Other research tips
• Researching sources of funding
• Submitting a thesis/dissertation
• Beyond graduate school

Researching an Advisor or Thesis Committee Member

According to Marie desJardins, author of How to Succeed in Graduate School:  A Guide for Students and  Advisors, the "ideal advisor will be in the area you're interested in working in, will actively be doing high-quality research, and be involved in and respected by the research community." DesJardins also suggests that students "talk to other graduate students and recent graduates. Ask them how their relationships with their advisors are/were, how quickly the advisor's students graduate, and how successful (well recognized, high quality) their research is."  Her full essay appeared in Crossroads (Part 1 and Part II); access is limited to users on the campus network or with valid UCLA Logon IDs using BruinOnline dial-up, the campus proxy server, or the campus virtual private network (VPN). 

To find an advisor's students:

• Search by advisor in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, which provides full text of UC dissertations since 1997 and excerpts from other universities' dissertations.
• See the "Read PhD theses" section in the UCLA Graduate School Survival Guide. Reading dissertations, especially their literature reviews and bibliographies, can be helpful.

To find out whether a potential advisor, such as the author of an article or book, is actively doing quality research and is involved in and respected by the research community:

• Use Web of Knowledge / Web of Science to see how much their work is cited and by whom. Use UC e-Links to obtain article text or call numbers.
• Read articles to find out what research they have published, in which journals, and how other researchers are using it. Use Journal Citation Reports to evaluate a journal's impact in a field.

Finding and Researching a Thesis/Dissertation Topic

Marie desJardins suggests, "When you first start reading up on a new field, ask your advisor or a fellow student what the most useful journals and conference proceedings are in your field, and ask for a list of seminal or 'classic' papers that you should definitely read."

In addition to discussions with your advisor and strategies such as following your interests and searching the important article databases in your discipline as well as the UCLA Library Catalog, other suggestions include:

• Read a review article, which you can find by using the "article type" field in an article database. Look at the "future research" section at the end to find possible topics.
• Use the auto-alert feature that many article databases have, which runs a search you set up periodically and emails you the results.
• Explore article databases in other disciplines; sometimes work on a topic is being done in another field or research from another discipline may enhance your work.

DesJardins also suggests that you start a journal of your research activities and ideas, keep files of the papers you read, and create an an online bibliography.

• Use bibliographic software such as EndNote or Reference Manager to create and manage a working bibliography of references; many article databases can format citations. Find out more at an upcoming Library workshop.
• Cite sources accurately and ethically; find guidelines on the Library's Avoiding Plagiarism Web page.
• Schedule a consultation with a librarian; a list of subject specialists is available online.
• Email a librarian; the email form allows you to specify which library the question will go to, and you should receive a reply within forty-eight hours.

The following sites have links to electronic research resources, including journals:

• Article databases: to find a specific article, try Citation Linker
• Reference resources
• E-resources links 

Other Research Tips

• Search for books on a topic in the UCLA Library Catalog or Melvyl Catalog (UC campuses plus).
• Use the subject headings links in catalog records.
• Use the Request service in the Melvyl Catalog or interlibrary loan to obtain items UCLA doesn't own.
• Submit a purchase recommendation to request that the Library buy an item.
• Visit the Graduate Writing Center at the UCLA Graduate Student Resource Center.

Researching Sources of Funding

Marie desJardins suggests, "Go to your university's fellowship office or its equivalent, and look through the listings in The Annual Register of Grant Support, The Grant Register, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Foundation Grants to Individuals."

Electronic resources are  listed on the UCLA Library's Grants and Scholarships page; also check these UCLA Graduate Division Web pages:

• Financial Support for Entering Graduate Students 
• Graduate Student Support for Continuing Students 
• Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support Database

Submitting a Thesis/Dissertation

• UCLA Policies and Procedures for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation and Filing: the official UCLA manuscript preparation guide 
• UCLA Thesis and Dissertation Advisor
• Dissertation Calculator: from University of Minnesota

Beyond Graduate School

• UCLA Career Center
• Job Search Web sites
• UC eScholarship: open-access scholarly publishing venue
• The Chronicle of Higher Education