Student Success Resources

Download Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Office) for free!

How to find anything in any document or web page

Getting started with a Google Doc

Getting started with a Word document

How do I pick a topic for a research paper?

How to use Zoom

How to turn a document into a PDF

Where to find scholarly peer-reviewed articles

How to add money to your student ID/MUlaa account

Where can I get a student ID?

How can I access a computer when I need one?

How do I get a parking permit?

How can I reserve a study room online?

How to attach a file to an email?

Get your free copy of Microsoft 365 (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) for your Mac, Windows, or mobile devices. Scroll down to the "How do I get started?" section and the links under "Students." Miami provides you with this to help in your studies.

And don't forget that you can also use Microsoft Office in the computer labs on campus, or by checking out a laptop from the Gardner-Harvey Library.

That's by using the Ctrl-F command on any Windows computer (holding down the Ctrl and F keys) or using the Command and F keys on a Mac. On your phone you can find a menu choice of "Find on this page" or "Search this document" in your browser or other apps. Just enter that you're looking for in the search blank that appears, and you can jump to that point of the document.

Watch one or more of these short videos on creating a Google Doc and saving and sharing it in Google Drive.

Watch one or more of these short videos on using Microsoft Word.

Typically, your instructor will give you some guidance in the assignment for picking a topic (or will answer questions about what an acceptable topic might be). But here are a couple of approaches to use when you are just not sure where to start.

1. Talking out your ideas with a librarian can be helpful to test your assumptions about whether a particular topic is something that can be researched.
2. You can find a topic idea using The Idea Generator. at Old Dominion University Libraries, which guides you toward picking a topic within an academic area.

3. You can try asking an AI tool for ideas that match the course you are taking and topics you have some interest in. You could go to an AI like Perplexity and paste a prompt like the following into it (changing "course" and "subject" to match your situation): 

   Act as an expert academic librarian. I’m writing a research paper for [course] and I need help coming up with a topic. I’m interested in topics related to [subject]. Please give me a list of 10 topic ideas related to that.

For example, here the response to a prompt from Perplexity that included the course "Sociology" and the subject "climate change." Remember to ask Perplexity for more ideas if you don't like the ones it comes up with.

Here are a set of short videos for accomplishing basic tasks in Zoom. These can help you participate in and set up videoconferencing sessions.

You may use our Group Study Room reservation calendar to reserve a room. The calendar shows when rooms are available and provides details on the size and capacity of the rooms. If you would like to set up a recurring reservation or would like to check one out immediately, please stop by the InfoDesk near the library entrance.

Here are some options for turning a document into a PDF file. PDF files are handy for sharing documents among people who may or may not all have Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other software you are using to create a document. Special Note: in order to make sure that people who use screen readers can also access the PDF, be sure to follow this guide: Creating Accessible PDF Documents In Adobe Acrobat XI

Three options for turning a document into a PDF:

• In Microsoft Word, you can go to File, then Save As, and select PDF as the file type you are saving the document.
• In Google Docs, you can choose File and then Download your document as a PDF.
• From most apps, you can choose to Print a document, and then change the Printer from your usual printer to "Save as PDF"

From the Campus Services Center Parking and Transit page:

"Miami's Regional campuses do not require parking permits. They only require that students and staff register their vehicles in the Miami parking portal so that Campus Security can reach out to the driver in the event of an emergency or if the vehicle needs to be moved.

However, if a Regional Campus student takes a class on Miami's Oxford campus they have the following parking options:

• Semester commuter permit: Email Parking@MiamiOH.edu to request permission to purchase a semester commuter parking permit for $100 which would allow parking in commuter lots at any time.
• Daily commuter permit: Purchase a daily commuter parking permit for $2 per day which would allow parking in commuter lots for the day.
• Daily garage parking: Drive to one of the Oxford Campus parking garages and press the button to take a ticket at the entry. Then insert the ticket at the exit and pay with a credit card.
• BCRTA inter-campus shuttle: There is a free BCRTA shuttle bus that runs between the Hamilton and Oxford campuses.
• Parking Meters: The parking meters on the Oxford campus are intended for visitors to the university and are limited to one hour. They cannot be refilled and drivers must move their vehicles after time expires. They are not a good option for students attending classes."

Desktop computers are available for anyone to use in the Gardner-Harvey Library and the Computer Center whenever these units are open (click their links to see their hours). If you would like to check out a laptop for use off-campus, the Gardner-Harvey Library makes them available for a week at a time with the possibility of renewing a laptop in person.

You may have either a digital ID or a physical ID.

Miami University Digital IDs may be created following the steps at Get Your Miami ID on Your Phone!

You may also stop by the Computer Center on the lower level of the Gardner-Harvey Library (GRD 001) to have your picture taken and get a physical ID card. Contact the Regional Technology Services department for more information.

When using our databases, there are often options for limiting your search to peer-reviewed, scholarly articles. For instance, in Articles & More and our other Ebsco databases, you will see an option under "Refining Results" to limit your search to peer-reviewed journals (shown below):

You may also watch this video to learn how to limit your search to peer-reviewed articles: Focusing Your Search in Articles & More - Two-Minute Tutorial.

Students may add funds for printing and other uses to their Miami University IDs online through OneStop.

In your Miami email (GMail), when you start a new message, you will see a box appear like the one below. At the bottom of the box, to the right of the "Send" button, there are several options for editing the message. The third one from the left after "Send" is a paperclip, and that will open a dialog box that will ask you to locate a file to attach to the email message. The paperclip is circled in red in the image.

Once you have attached the file or files you need to send, you can add a recipient, a subject, and a message, and then click "Send."

Contact your Gardner-Harvey Library librarian:

John Burke
burkejj@miamioh.edu

Phone: 513-727-3222
Chat with us at AskGHL
Text: 513-273-5360

And remember that you can easily make an appointment with us to discuss your research needs using our Research Consultation form.

Here are four quick (5 minutes or less) tutorials on finding articles, books, and e-books at Miami University:

• Articles & More (articles)
• Books & More (books)
• Finding Electronic Books (e-books)
• Focusing Your Search in Articles & More: a Two-Minute Tutorial (some additional tips on limiting your search)