1. Univ 106: Library Research“Top 5 Research Facts” Review II Spring 2010
2. 5. Not Everything Is Online, no matter how much you wish it were Sad but true: there are some terrific research sources that you can only get in paper or on microfilm. Persist! A trip to the library to locate one print source will often yield additional sources, too. There are often payoffs. Although a great amount of information from the 1990s forward is available online, there was a lot of important research done before that. Comparatively little of that material has been digitized, so it will not be as visible as more recent sources in a free Web search. History matters. Even current events have historical parallels that can add depth to your research.
3. 4. There are 2 Types of Online Sources Type I: Free Web sources. These are the kind you find in a Google search that are freely available in full text online. They include public websites, blogs, recent newspaper and/or journal articles. Type II: Invisible Web sources. These are online sources that exist in protected, pay databases that are sold to libraries and other research institutions. Google cannot access the Invisible Web because they do not pay to “crawl” these sources. They include academic article databases available through the library website.
4. 3. Smart Researchers Employ A Variety of Tools Want to use Google and Wikipedia? Fine! But don’t stop there… In addition to searching the free Web on your topic, you should also use: The Library catalog (aka WorldCat) to identify books and media items on your topic. Academic databases, such as Academic Search Premier or JSTOR, to identify both news and scholarly articles on your topic. Encyclopedias and dictionaries (print or electronic) via the library website, to locate general information on your topic.
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6. Effective searching requires:Brainstorming keywords, Testing different combinations of terms, Identifying useful subject headings and descriptors from early searches; and Refining your topic to fit the size of your project.
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8. Either way it means you don’t have your search terms or tools quite right.
9. The quickest way to start or refine your research is to ask for help from a librarian.
10. Librarians are experts in finding information. They go to graduate school to hone these skills.
11. You can get help at the library reference desk, via chat, via email, or by phone.
12. Asking for help, in most cases, will enable you to get your work done faster.
