This LibGuide is designed to help you navigate the UI Libraries' GWSS holdings, conduct research for your capstone project, and learn about contemporary and historical social justice issues.

• On this "Home" page, you'll find information on how to use this LibGuide, as well as the contact information for UI Libraries GWSS librarian, Katie DeVries. She's here to help through all stages of the research process, from formulating your question to identifying sources. You can schedule an appointment with her using the links on the righthand side of this page.
• On the "Starting Your Research" page, you'll find tips and tricks for developing your research question and conducting an efficient, useful search. You'll also find a curated list of journals and databases that can help get you started with your research.
• On the "Finding Primary Sources" page, you'll learn how to locate primary sources in UI Libraries databases, differentiate them from other types of sources, and integrate them successfully into your research.
• The "GWSS Subject Guide" tab links to the general GWSS LibGuide, which collects additional books, databases, subject guides, newspaper archives, blogs, government documents, and other digital archives that may be useful sources for your research. 
• The "Citation Management Programs" tab links to a Citation LibGuide, which contains tutorials on how to use citation management tools to keep track of your references and format your bibliography. You'll also find resources on how to cite your sources in an academic paper. 
• On the "FAQ" page, you'll find quick answers to previous capstone students' most commonly-asked questions about the research process.

Library and Information Science (LIS) literature tends to focus on library anxiety and the resolution of negative emotions in the information search process. There are challenges present in each of these dominant perspectives, specifically that they are both limited by their reliance on deficit perspectives. Recent work by Maluski & Bruce (2022) & Hicks & Sinkinson (2021) (amongst others) has challenged these dominant perspectives. From their work, a few relevant and practical strategies emerge:

• Personal and professional research networks are of utmost importance. Researchers turn to their research network first.
  • If there is a way that you imagine I might fit into this research network, please let me know. If research meetings are not your thing, I am very happy to communicate about research needs via email. We can make this transactional. At this point, that might be what you need given the timeline of your project, the required outcomes, and your available space, time, and capacity.
• Recognizing that in some ways you may be reentering or cycling back through the more tumultuous parts of the information search process soon, be intentional now.
  • Are there people you want to add to your research network or do you feel satisfied and saturated at this point?
  • Are there places you can study that would help improve your outlook? A place with more windows? Access to comfort food?
  • Are there ways you can ask for support from others able to take things off your plate so you have more time for writing and researching?
  • Do you want a regular email check-in from a librarian? We can arrange that :-)
• Self protective information behaviors can help researchers manage negative emotional reactions to research if the cost outweighs the benefit of seeking support from librarians or other trusted individuals in one's research network. These behaviors can help individuals maintain a sense of agency. Self protective behaviors often look like not sharing about one's project or monitoring a project as much as necessary to avoid information that might conflict with one's needs. These findings draw largely from one of our must underappreciated LIS scholars, Elfreda Chatman's theories of 'life in the round,' 'small worlds,' and 'normative behavior'.
  • Self protective information behaviors can also look like avoiding asking for help because you don't want to be a burden to professors or librarians. I can only speak for myself, but responding to research questions is what I get paid to do and I genuinely enjoy helping students. If you find yourself feeling like you shouldn't bother me with your question -- no matter the question (there are ZERO unworthy questions) -- please try to remember that I want to hear from you and I am here to help.

NOTE: In the end, these sources point to a continued need for the library profession to do better. It is up to library professionals to better support researchers recognizing the complexity and uniqueness of individual researchers.