1. INTRODUCTION TO
RESEARCH FOR
JACOBSON‟S ENGLISH
111
Jami Bryan, Fall 2011

2. How do you intend
to do the research
for this class?

3. The ERIAL Project
 Anthropologists followed students while they
conducted research for an assignment
 Worked with 161 students, 75 faculty, 48 librarians
at five Illinois institutions
 “Almost without exception, students exhibited a
lack of understanding of search logic, how to
build a search to narrow/expand results, how to
use subject headings, and how various search
engines (including Google) organize and
display results.”*
*Asher, Andrew. “The ERIAL Project: Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries.”
Academic Commons. Academic Commons. 17 May 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.

4. WHAT LACK OF UNDERSTANDING?
Using Google to find info about
a Mexican restaurant in Tysons
Revise and Repeat
Finding a friend from middle
school on Facebook Make Connections between
Resources
YOU’VE BEEN HONING YOUR SKILLS – YOU JUST NEED TO APPLY IT
TO NEW TOOLS

5. The ERIAL Project
 “ „Students showed an almost complete lack of
interest in seeking assistance from librarians
during the search process.‟ ” *
 “A possible reason was that students seek
help from sources they know and trust, and
they do not know librarians. Many do not even
know what the librarians are there for.” *
*Kolowich, Steve. “What Students Don't Know.” Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed. 22 Aug. 2011.
Web. 23 Sept. 2011.

6. What are librarians
there for?

7. Effective College Research
 Knowing where to search
 Knowing how to search
 Evaluating what you find
 Avoiding plagiarism

8. Who cares?
 Better research = better grades
 Learn it now and apply it in other
courses
 Knowing how to research well is
a marketable skill
Image by lanier67: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lanier67/3147696168/in/photostream/

9. Knowing Where to Search

10. Tools and resources
 Search Engines
 Publicly available web resources
 Databases
 Articles in Journals, Magazines and
Newspapers
 Reports, reference information
 Library Catalogs
 Books (including e-books)
 Library Holdings:
DVDs, Periodicals, Reserves, Equipment

11. Why not just Google?
How does a search engine work?:
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc
bsfbvq_1fqxzphfm

12. What‟s an Index? How do these
tools work?
 Collect information about resources and allow
the user to search this information or index
 Information collected depends on the tool
 Search engines collect:
 URL
 Metadata with creator assigned “keywords”
 Full-text of the page
 Links and Clicks
 Databases and Catalogs collect:
 Citation information (Author, Title, Publication Date)
 Keywords or Subject Headings
 Sometimes the full-text

13. Why not just Google?
Eli Pariser:
Beware
online "filter
bubbles“:
“The internet
is showing
us what it
thinks we
want to
see, but not
necessarily
what we
need to
see.”

14. If not just Google, then…..

15. Recommended Resources
 Opposing Viewpoints (Topic
Help, Positions)
 Issues and Controversies on File
(Reports)
 Academic Search Complete (Articles)
 Proquest (Articles)
 Library Catalog (Books)

16. Knowing How to Search

17. Search Terms
 Coming up with Search Terms
 Pull out key words and concepts from your topic
 Think about terms other people might have used
in talking about your topic (Synonyms, Related
Terms, or other Variations)
 Revise Terms as Searching

18. Common Search Features
 Phrase Searching
 “use quotation marks” to search for that
exact match
 Ex. middle school vs. “middle school”
 Wildcards
 Use the * (or ? or $) with the root of a word to
search for variant forms
 rac* finds race, racist, racists, racism, racial

19. Use the Advanced Search
 Allows you to tell them what you want
searched
 If specific doesn‟t work, try going broad

20. Let‟s try a search….
http://www.nvcc.ed
u/library/

21. Evaluating What You Find

22. Evaluating is about Credibility
 Credibility
1. capable of being believed;
believable: a credible
statement.
2. worthy of belief or confidence;
trustworthy: a credible witness.
“Credible. ” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. Web.
12 Nov. 2009.

23. Be skeptical!
 What you can do:
 Rely on library catalog and databases
 Find out who's responsible for the
information, such as the author and publisher
 Consider the purpose of the source and the
audience (e.g., to entertain or educate? for
practitioners or for consumers?)
 Consider the date

24. See each
source for
what it
offers.….

25. Avoiding Plagiarism

26. Citations are also about
Credibility
 Citing sources appropriately is about
YOUR credibility
 If you copy text, use quotation marks
and cite it
 If you rephrase text, cite it

27. Citation Resources
 Library‟s list of citation help:
 My recommendations:
 Use the Cite This or similar feature in the
databases
 CAUTION: These aren‟t always accurate, so check the citations
yourself
 Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): MLA Formatting & Style Guide
 Use the Writing Center:
http://www.nvcc.edu/annandale/lrc/writing/index.h

28. 3 things
•Librarians are available to help
•Think before you search
•Evaluate and cite your sources

29. Need help? Have Questions?
 Come to the Library
 Online help 24/7 via Ask a Librarian
 Contact me
jbryan@nvcc.edu
703-323-3867