The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Studying

  • Getting ready for finals

    Getting ready for finals

    By | Charlotte Rutigliano

    With finals right around the corner, students like Stephanie Toste and Ellen O’Hare are starting to prepare for them now.

    Toste who is a senior business marketing major said that she has a final in all four of her classes and is starting to study for them now.

    “I normally review my notes and the book for that class,” Toste said, “along with any study guide the teacher provides.”

    According to Angelica Huerta who has been a Chemistry tutor in the Library’s Learning Center for about three years she notices that as it gets closer to finals there are fewer students that come into the library.

    “When it is finally finals week they come in swarms for last-minute study sessions,” Huerta said.

    Huerta said that personally, she starts preparing for finals by studying by herself and with a group of peers. She said she also likes reading through chapters she didn’t fully understand, redoing past exams, and rereading her notes.

    Wildlife major O’Hare said even though she has never used the Library’s Learning Center to help study for her finals, she is still an avid studier in the weeks leading up to her exams.

    “Normally I start by making flash cards or study guides of the material,” O’Hare said, “things I can go over later and quiz myself on.”

    O’Hare who has already taken one final before the fall break is still preparing for her final two exams, one of which is this upcoming week for a lab course.

    Toste who has one more semester of school said that she is looking forward to having a break before next semester and not having to stress as much.

    In an ending piece of advice for students, Huerta said for students preparing for finals should relax, be organized, and be confident.

  • Student Strategies: Research

    Student Strategies: Research

    By Liam Olson

    Research is necessary for almost any academic thing you do. Whether it is a research paper, project, or sometimes even a forum post, they all require some sort of background information.

    For junior psychology major Liz Espinoza, research is important for academic work. She uses some of the library databases on the library’s website that are specific to her major to help her get the right information for her work. Not only that but she said that Google Scholar is helpful for sifting through research as well.

    “It’s [research] the only way to test a hypothesis,” Espinoza said.

    Senior zoology major Nicole Gutierrez has a few tips as well for navigating the large amount of research out there. She said that while looking at normal articles on the web, it is important to look at the website source and make sure it is a credible publication. It is also important to look at the author of the source to make sure that they have background on the subject area they are talking about.

    Gutierrez uses the large selection of library databases to more easily find credible research. One tip she has for students who need help figuring out if an article is peer reviewed is to click on the peer reviewed option in the search criteria of the research databases.

    “Stick to research databases so you know you’re getting credible information,” Gutierrez said.

    However, the library website is the not the only place to find resources for research. The library also offers in person research help with a librarian at the Library Research Help desk. Special Collections Librarian Carly Marino, is one of the librarians that helps students at the help desk. She said that the Research Help desk offers students help with developing research topics, learning how to search the library databases, and making citations.

    “It’s a one stop shop for research needs,” said Marino.

    One of the tips Marino gives students is to keep searches down to keywords to get the most relevant search results. She also recommends to look at subject specific research guides put together by the Humboldt State librarians. These guides help students get a starting point for beginning research in the subject they are writing about.

    Special Collections Librarian Carly Marino is one of the librarians that helps students at the research help desk | Photo by Liam Olson

    According to Marino, the library also has various SkillShops available for free to students. Some of these upcoming SkillShops teach students how to make citations and bibliographies which are an essential skills to learn for research papers and projects. The upcoming SkillShops can be found on the HSU library website.

    With these tips and tricks as well as the large amount of resources available, you’ll easily be able to get an A on that final paper.