ENG 100: Academic Reading and Writing

When you talk with friends about a topic of shared interest, their ideas can help you think of new and different ways of looking at or doing something. The same thing happens in scholarly, academic research. Scholars read existing academic articles and use these articles to form new research questions, develop new research methods, and communicate their findings in new ways. This exchange of ideas over time is often referred to as a scholarly conversation.

This page will help you find articles and books in MavScholar, the library's main database. You can use these resources to:

• understand the existing scholarly conversation about your topic.
• determine what questions you would like to explore related to your topic.
• examine ways you could find answers to these questions through additional research.

As you navigate library pages you may need to use your StarID information to access resources.

Current students, faculty, and staff need to use a two-step process when asked to log into online library resources.

1. On the Microsoft login screen, enter your StarID email address and StarID password.
   • For students, the StarID email address looks like: xx1234xx@go.minnstate.edu
   • For employees, the StarID email address looks like: xx1234xx@minnstate.edu
2. You will then be prompted to provide additional information by responding to a text message, phone call, or through the Microsoft Authenticator App.

This multi-factor authentication is the same process used to log into MavMail or Microsoft 365 and it increases the security of your information. If you are already logged into one of these accounts on your browser, you may directly access the library database without logging in again. Searching MavScholar, our library catalog, does not require a login; however, clicking links to access full text or media will require a login.

Access to most online library resources is limited to current students, faculty, and staff. Community residents and alumni can use designated computers in Memorial Library to access online resources.

If you have questions about logging in to library resources using multi-factor authentication, contact library staff via our Ask a Librarian service.

Alternative Login Screen

Some resources use our previous login process. If the login screen starts with Access Library Electronic Resources..., use your StarID without the @go.minnstate.edu or minnstate.edu. 

If you receive an error that states your credentials are not recognized, login using our new multi-factor authentication (MFA) and try to access the resource again. If the problem persists, contact library staff via our Ask a Librarian service.

This playlist contains two videos. The first video is an introduction to MavScholar. The second is a short demonstration of the tool's search features.