What is a research consultation?

A research consultation is a meeting with a librarian, scheduled in advance at your convenience, to get help with your topic and research.

A research consultation is an opportunity for students, staff or faculty to work one-on-one with an expert to receive personalized help with a variety of research assignments. It can be helpful at most stages of your research, from beginning to final bibliography. We can help you focus your topic and suggest research strategies, search terms, print and electronic resources, and tools for citing sources.

Librarians can help with research in any subject area. If you would like general help navigating the library’s many print and electronic resources, we can help with that too!

Why should I get a research consultation?

A research consultation can:

• save you time;
• help you refine your topic;
• verify that material is available on it;
• connect you with reliable resources;
• help you with complex searches;
• direct you to specialized resources; and
• aid you in evaluating your sources.

While you can consult with a librarian at the reference desk, scheduling a research consultation allows the librarian to make preparations specific to your information needs.

What can I expect in a research consultation?

• You will meet with a librarian knowledgeable about your discipline.
• Consultations are usually during business hours; some librarians are able to make appointments in the evening.
• Plan to spend about an hour.
• Scheduling multiple consultations (or consultations on multiple subjects!) is fine.
• During the consultation, you and the librarian search the catalog, relevant databases, and other specialized print and online resources, which might include digital collections, image repositories, other library catalogs, statistical resources, etc.
• While you search, you and the librarian will evaluate the results of the searches and design new strategies and approaches together.
• Expect to go home with full text materials and pointers to more, as well as further search strategies.

How do I schedule a research consultation?

• Call or email the reference desk (973-408-3588, reference@drew.edu), or your specific subject librarian.
• Give us one or more days advance notice; let us know multiple times you can be available.
• Tell us generally what your topic/assignment is and let us know about any preliminary searching you've done (though it's ok if you haven't started yet!)
• The librarian will respond to you, usually by email, to confirm your appointment time.
• Bring your laptop if you like.
• If you can't make it and need to cancel let us know; we can reschedule. (Make sure we have your contact information; sometimes we have emergencies too!)

Who are the Subject Librarians?

Or call the reference desk at 973-408-3588, or email reference@drew.edu.