Research and Write Effectively: Dissertation, Thesis, Term Paper
Working on a doctoral dissertation, a master's thesis, a senior capstone, or an undergraduate term paper? Meet with a subject librarian to refine your research question, design a literature review search, learn about research methods, and connect to tools for qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Consult with a Librarian
Students are invited to meet with their subject librarian to receive help with:
- Refining a research topic
- Accessing guidance about qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design
- Locating collections of primary sources and secondary datasets
- Constructing and documenting a literature search strategy
- Evaluating the credibility of sources
- Learning about software options for gathering, storing, and analyzing data
- Using citation style guides to give credit to sources
Not sure who to contact? Chat with us online, or request a consultation to be matched with a specialist.
More Services
Looking for more ways to get help with your research? Check out these services.
Read and Write Critically: Information Literacy
Librarians can help students understand how to sift through and identify credible scholarly works.Upcoming Events
List
- Workshop
February 26, 2025
Image Permissions for Dissertations, Publications, and Research
Learn how to make sense of image rights and seek permission to use images in dissertations and other publications.
- 2:00pm - 3:00pm
- Hybrid event: Online and in Class of 1955 Conference Room 241, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 2nd Floor
Open to Penn Students Only
- Workshop
April 25, 2025
Lunch and Learn: Copyright and Your Dissertation
This workshop will provide basic but essential information on how copyright law applies to the writing and deposit of your dissertation.
- 12:15pm - 12:45pm
- Hybrid event: Online and in Class of 1955 Conference Room 241, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 2nd Floor
Open to Penn Students Only