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The Research Process

This guide will help aid you through the research process.

Finding Articles & Images

The library subscribes to many databases to connect you to scholarly articles, eBooks, and other resources in any discipline. Check our A-Z list of databases to learn more about what's available. You can also check our Databases by Subject page to see which databases are specialized to your major or area of study. 

Multidisciplinary databases can be useful for almost any research subject. 

Finding Images

Google Images, Flickr, and Wikimedia Commons offer a broad range of images under creative commons licenses or in the public domain. The box below provides instructions for setting search parameters on each site to return open source images. 

Google Image Searching

  • Enter your search keyword(s) in the Google search bar

  • Select Images to see image results

  • Click on the Tools button

  • Click the Usage Rights drop down and select Creative Commons licenses

  • Google sources CC-licensed images from many sites. Follow your image of interest to its original website source. Most sites will display specific licensing information on the image landing page, but each originating site may use different layout or labeling.

Flickr Images

  • Enter your search keyword(s) in the search bar

  • At the top of the results page, click on the arrow next to Any License

  • Select your preferred license type

  • Find the license for an image with a link to more information on the image landing page

Wikimedia Commons Images

  • Enter your search term in the Wikimedia Commons search bar

  • The default result type is Images

  • Click on the All Licenses drop down to set your preferred licensing type

  • Each individual image will display licensing information with a link to more detail when selected