1. The document provides guidance on finding and using various types of research materials for an academic paper, including reference sources, scholarly secondary sources, and primary sources. 2. It discusses how to search the library catalog (LOIS) and databases to find books, articles, and other materials. Keyword and subject searching in LOIS are covered. 3. Tips are provided for effective database searching using Boolean operators and other techniques to refine results. Criteria for evaluating information found on the web are also summarized.

1. Finding research materials in LOIS and library databases and on the Web ENGWR 300 (Gary), Spring 2008 Jeff Karlsen [email_address]

2. LOIS and library databases: Getting started What is your topic ? You should be able to summarize it in a single phrase The effect of cell phones on leisure 24-hour cable news and the decline of newspapers The stock market crash of 1987 and “grunge” music *** What are keywords ? Ideas, phrases, topics When you search for information, you can combine them

3. Topic  Keywords Topic : social effects of cell phones Keywords : cell phones, cellular phones, mobile phones privacy work, leisure communication, community individuality, isolation consumption, conspicuous consumption

4. Research Materials What kind of information are you trying to find? Background information Statistics Evidence of how people reacted to an event Scholarly studies of a particular phenomenon Images associated with a person Artistic representations of an event or phenomenon

5. Research Materials 3 basic types: Reference Secondary Sources Primary Sources

6. Reference Materials early in the process; whenever you need to know more about the “big picture” When to consult discover context; get ideas; learn “common wisdom”; check facts; collect references for further reading Purpose LOIS; browse 2 nd floor; databases (e.g. Oxford Reference Online); web directories How to find encyclopedias (including subject-specific); dictionaries; atlases; books of statistics (e.g. Statistical Abstract of the United States) Examples

7. Scholarly Secondary Sources when you have a topic but are still working on the argument When to consult tie disparate ideas together; model analysis; give you something to set your argument against Purpose Databases (esp. Research Library); LOIS How to find article from academic journal; book (often on university press) Examples

8. Primary Sources when you already have an argument that you are hoping to “flesh out”; when you want to find very specific information about a particular event; when you need to complicate arguments from secondary sources When to consult shows you how an event or phenomenon was viewed at the time; allows you to speculate from “raw material”; provide you with individual perspectives Purpose library databases; LOIS; web directories How to find newspaper or magazine articles; letters; speeches; memoirs; images Examples

9. Library Website Link on the SCC website http://scc.losrios.edu Library home page http://scc.losrios.edu/~library

10. LOIS : Books, audio/visual media, reserve materials, e-books

11. DATABASES – articles, image collections, reference works, e-books

12. Using LOIS When searching for books on a particular topic, you have a choice of searching by keyword or by subject Keyword searching Ideas, words, phrases—can be in title, subject, author, chapter titles Lots of results Not very precise Subject searching Subject terms are in a particular form—not intuitive Fewer results—you might miss some relevant books More precise

13. LOIS Keywords  Subject Enter keywords Skim results for promising books Click on the title to see the full record Look at subject Good subject headings; click on one to see more books on the same topic

14. Important search tips: Boolean logic AND finds only those materials that contain BOTH terms OR finds materials that use EITHER term (more results) NOT (sometimes AND NOT ) finds articles that contain one term, but not the other. vaccination AND autism stress OR anxiety vaccination NOT polio

15. Academic Search Premier scholarly journals, general interest magazines, a few newspapers seaches title, author, abstract, subjects (not full text) keywords here important! OR, AND NOT, other options also available IGNORE

16. Important search tips Enclose phrases in quotation marks (“body piercing”, “american idol”); not always necessary, but never hurts Ending a word with an asterisk (*) searches different endings (blog* searches blog, blogs, blogging, blogosphere etc.) In many databases the default is to search only the citation (title, author, abstract, subjects), not full-text of article. Most databases will also give you the option to search the full text of the article.

17. CQ Researcher: In-depth reports reasonably current information Start with simple keyword search

18. JSTOR : Advanced Search Screen JSTOR contains lots of book reviews; exclude unless you want them Journals go back to the late 1800s! Limit your search to specific disciplines (useful if your keywords have several possible meanings) No subject searching; “near” connectors can help

19. World Wide Web Who creates the content on the Web? What are the advantages? Disadvantages? How do you find more reliable information on the Web? Is Wikipedia a good resource?

20. Evaluating Websites Who is responsible for it? When was it last updated? Does it contain a lot of ads? What sorts of other sites does it link to? Does it show obvious bias? Does it cite references for the information it contains? What kinds of references are they?

21. Top-level Domains .com, .org, .net, .info, .us, .biz, .tv, etc etc etc etc .gov, .edu, .mil Unregulated (may or may not be reliable) Regulated (often reliable)

22. Subject Directories Limited number of websites, selected by librarians as useful for research; search the directory with your keywords and explore the sites listed in the results Librarians’ Internet Index http://lii.org/ Infomine (some links are not accessible) http://infomine.ucr.edu/

23. Questions? Need more help? Reference Desk, 2 nd floor of Learning Resource Center Phone: 558-2461 E-mail me: [email_address] Find the page for this course at: http://scc.losrios.edu/~karlsej/instruction