Our librarians can guide you to key resources for your discipline and suggest advanced search strategies. We also assist in defining the scope of your research to best target which informational resources you will need. Below are resources and information to help you get started on your research.

Finding Sources

The Library provides assistance in defining the scope of your research to best target which informational resources you will need.

Literature Review and project scope analysis

If you need assistance with your literature review or scope, consider requesting a research consultation with an interdisciplinary liaison librarians. A consultation consists of a one-on-one appointment with a librarian for extensive, in-depth research assistance. Contact your liaison to get started.

Primary Source Materials

A wide variety of primary resources are available to support your teaching and research through digitization projects at ASU and elsewhere, licensed databases, and physical materials preserved in our special collections. One of our dedicated Subject Librarians, Curators and Archivists can connect you with the primary sources you need. Many ASU special collections and archives are being digitized and can be directly downloaded from the ASU Digital Repository.

Citing Sources

Citation management tools give you the ability to easily collect and organize your citations in a central location. Use them for multiple projects, search citations for a particular author or title, display them in a variety of style formats, and collaborate and share with others. Best of all, you can create bibliographies and in-text citations using your discipline's citation style.

ASU Library provides RefWorks to the ASU community. Everything you need to know to create an account is right here.

However, there are many other options to choose from. Choosing the right one depends on your discipline and personal preferences. Some people prefer their personal database accessible from anywhere, while being able to work offline is a priority of others. We provide a comparison of some of the more popular citation managers to help with your decision.

Building a Data Management Plan

Library Service

Data Management Plans involve preparing to:

• manage and organize data with an emphasis on storage, security, file formats, identifiers and naming conventions
• provide detailed data documentation
• consider metadata standards to apply
• share your data by depositing it in a repository
• archive your data with backups and preservation strategies

Data Management Planning Tool

The Data Management Planning Tool (DMPTool) helps you systematically author and share actionable data management plans. Use the helpful guides and templates based on your funding agency, then request reviews from ASU Librarians and Research Administration Officers.

Select "Get Started" and use the institutional login option select Arizona State University. Go to the Quick Start Guide to begin using the tool. For more help, check out our DMP Checklist to identify the services and workflows you will need to address in your data management plan.

The ASU Library provides consultation services and the Data Management guide provides access to resources and services:

• Guidance on best practices for citing data sets, data management, and sharing and storage of data
• Research Data Management Tutorial on making your research data reusable and accessible. (approximatly 10 minutes)

Find a Data Repository

Search the Registry for Research Data Repositories to find discipline-based data repositories

Share materials and data with ASU OSF, a free scholarly web tool that enhances transparency, fosters collaboration, and increases the visibility of research at the institutional level at osf.asu.edu.

ASU has partnered with the Center for Open Science to create a central hub for research  projects on a branded, dedicated OSF page. Use the OSF to collaborate, gain valuable insight on institutional research and impact, control privacy (share what you want with whom you want), and preserve your research materials and data through built-in archiving services. Request a consultation to learn how you can take advantage of ASU OSF. Already an OSF user? We can show you how to connect your account and affiliate your projects.

Securing Funding and Approval

Research projects at ASU benefit from ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development advances research, innovation, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship, economic development and international development. Additionally there are partners within the university providing seed grant opportunities for various disciplines.

Referred Services

Funded Research Grant Planning

All listed aspects of Grant Planning are currently supported by Knowledge Enterprise and Development (KED)

• Funding Options
• Identify Collaborators
• Proposal Manager Guidance
• Proposal Development Writing

New to grant writing?

Get started with the KED Research Academy with online training support and in person events and learning opportunities designed to help you learn and navigate research administration at ASU.

Want to find researchers who are working on a particular topic or area at ASU?

Use ASU Experts

• Search ASU Experts to find researchers by research interest and competencies
• Search ASU Experts by research unit, scientific term or concept to identify funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), news and journal articles, patents descriptions, business plans, etc.
• View the Collaboration for Authors library guide for instructions

The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance

Research Ethics and Compliance involves:

• Adhering to regulatory guidelines
• Meeting the highest standards of responsible conduct by complying with federal, state, and university regulations

Arizona State University is committed to protecting the privilege of performing research and promoting, fostering and supporting research activities within the university community.

Learn more at The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance

Institute for Social Science Research

Institute for Social Science Research - ISSR provides semester long seed grants to faculty seeking external funding in the social sciences across many fields. Seed grants of up to $8,000, to be expended over 4-6 months, are available to ASU researchers.

Anyone at ASU who is eligible to apply for a grant or contract from external agencies for support of research or training or applications projects is eligible to apply for ISSR seed-grant support. See ISSR Proposal Support for more information.

Institute for Humanities Research

Are you a humanities scholar? IHR awards Seed Grants at individual and team levels to humanities scholars. The Institute supports projects that demonstrate intellectual merit, potential impact on scholarship, and strong prospects of receiving external funding. Visit Seed Grant Projects to learn more.