This article reports on a study of first-year applied science students at the University of New England in 2007 to determine whether the addition of structured library assistance to an online unit improved the use of journal articles in student assignments. It was found that students using the search strategies provided were more likely to cite journal articles and that they gained higher marks overall than those students relying on their own research skills. The study highlighted the difficulties first-year students experienced in finding, interpreting, and critically evaluating relevant journal articles for use in their assignments. (Contains 4 tables and 18 notes.)