Slides from an introduction to library research class for students visiting Marriott Library who are concurrently enrolled at Snow College

1. Introduction to Library
Research
@ J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah

2. Contact Me!
Jessica Breiman
jessica.breiman@utah.edu
801-585-3073
Multimedia Archives, Special Collections
Level 4, Marriott Library (west side of floor)

3. Contact a Librarian!

4. Today
UALC
Types of information and the Research Process
USearch (library catalog) and faceting searches
Databases tips and tricks
JSTOR
Ebscohost databases

5. campusguides.lib.utah.edu/history
Navigate to Hist 2700 tab
Follow along online!

6. Types of Sources
Social media
Personal blogs
Organizational blogs (NYT
blogs)
Websites
Newspapers (print & online)
Magazines (print & online)
Journals (print & online)
Books (print & online)
Scholarly vs. Popular
Primary vs. Secondary
Use them wisely!!!

7. Scholarly Materials
Scholarly articles are reviewed by other scholars in the field before publication
is approved. Scholarly reviewers examine each paper for:
Basing research on the findings of earlier, published, scholarly works
Designing research and analyzing results in a correct/reasonable manner
Basing conclusions on the evidence provided by the author's experiment
results
For most academic papers, scholarly articles are excellent resources and the
preferred sources for supporting your arguments. Remember to look for
author affiliations/current employment!

8. There is a place for every kind of
information source...
But it’s up to you to decide when,
where, and how to use them!
USE THEM WISELY

9. The Invisible Web!

11. Research Tips

13. Remember….
Research is an iterative process; if one
search strategy doesn’t work, try another
OR go back to think about reformulating
your research question.

14. General Research Tips
Brainstorm keywords for your topic
Gather background info using general
reference sources
Put quotes around phrases e.g. “Hurricane
Katrina”
Look at your assignment; what kind of
sources is your instructor asking for?
Keep track of your sources!

15. Tracking Your Sources
First check what citation style you need
Free tools: Zotero
Take photo of title page of books, citation
page of articles, keep track in your
smartphone
Use a simple Google doc or Word doc
Remember to do it AS YOU GO

16. campusguides.lib.utah.edu/zotero

17. USearch: lib.utah.edu

19. Facets
Subject headings

21. Use the catalog to locate a book that
is relevant to your research topic.
Then go out into the collection, find
the book, and bring it back here.
Your turn!

24. Tips for Searching JSTOR
Go straight to ‘Advanced Search’
‘Narrow by item type’
Use ‘Journal Filter’ option, but still think
broadly
Look for the ‘Tools’ section to save and cite
Use the ‘Find It’ button to see if the library has
the full-text of an item

28. Subject headings

29. Ebscohost Databases Tips
Searches a broad range of databases
Use “Academic Search Premier” and/or others
based on your topic
Make sure “Peer Reviewed” is checked
Look for “View It” or “SFX” button
Experiment with subject headings

30. Final Notes: Database Searching
Check box that says ‘Peer Reviewed’ or ‘Scholarly’
Play around with search terms; look for relevant
subject headings. Play with other search limiters.
Put quotes around phrases
Look for attached PDF and HTML pages
Use the ‘Find It’ button to see if your library has an
item
Look for a ‘Cite’ button

31. www.snow.edu/library

32. campusguides.lib.utah.edu/history
Navigate to Hist 2700 Quiz tab
Quiz Time!

33. Thanks for Listening!