This document provides guidance on finding and using research materials from the library catalog (LOIS) and databases to write a research paper. It discusses the different types of sources - reference, secondary, and primary - and when each is most useful during the research process. Search tips are provided for LOIS and databases like ProQuest and JSTOR. Methods for evaluating websites and ensuring reliable information found online are also summarized.

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

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

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

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

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. white supremacists AND aryan white supremacists OR militia groups white supremacists NOT photography

16. ProQuest Research Library scholarly journals, general interest magazines, a few newspapers select “document text” for more results keywords here important! OR, AND NOT, other options also available

18. ProQuest Research Library: Refine search

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

21. 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

24. 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)