Guidelines for Research Guides

• Organize around actions; teach "how" or "why" to use a resource, rather than listing items
• Look at "guide overall" and "details" statistics to see if usage suggests possible improvements
• Repurpose content: create a box on one guide and link to it, or point to other guides
• Use bullets, images, and white space to break up text-heavy content
• Focus on 3-5 top resources, but refer to appropriate subjects in the A-Z database list
• Re-use links and books assets already in the system
• Review the Link Checker on a monthly basis for accurate URLs

How are we using guide "types"?
(See menu under Guides > Content > Type)

• General Purpose: use for events or programs
• Subject Guide: use for academic departments (each one has a primary guide)
• Topic Guide: use for 'how-to' tutorials on equipment and technology
• Internal Guide: use for staff training and information
• Template Guide: use for creating new guides
• Course Guide: use for supporting specific courses
  • Course guides were phased out prior to 2020 and merged into subject guides;
    If a faculty member requests a course guide, create it as a sub-page on the appropriate subject guide
    Retire the sub-page after 4 years if the course is no longer taught