This document serves as an orientation to scholarly research and library resources, highlighting the services available at Newman Library and the importance of using reliable sources for academic projects. It covers key topics such as searching for research materials, understanding information formats, conducting literature searches, and evaluating resources based on various criteria. Additionally, it offers guidance on citation styles, specifically APA citations, and emphasizes the role of peer-reviewed articles in academic research.

1. HNFE 2014:
ORIENTATION TO SCHOLARLY
RESEARCH & RESOURCES
Ginny Pannabecker
vpannabe@vt.edu
540-231-7980
February 2016
Content in this presentation is reused with permission
from a presentation by Rebecca Kate Miller, with some
modifications. This presentation is licensed for reuse
as CC BY-SA 4.0:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

2. “RESEARCH”
 Involves identifying and locating sources that
provide factual information or personal/expert
opinion on a research question
 A necessary component of all research
projects/questions/methods at some point
 What IS the library, and why is it still relevant?

3. NEWMAN LIBRARY
 Physically, Newman Library houses most of the
research materials at VT
 Other branches include Vet Med and Art + Architecture
 Aside from books, journals, and reference help, you
will find:
 Comm Lab
 Electronic equipment (laptops, iPads, etc.)
 Language Resource Lab
 Writing Center

4. NEWMAN LIBRARY SERVICES
 Circulation
 Check out books, DVDs, journals, equipment and more!
 Use your Hokie Passport to do this
 Request It! service
 “Reserve” books are also found here
 Reference & research help
 Librarians. We’re here to help.
 Visit the 2nd floor reference desk
 Interlibrary Loan
 Desktop Delivery
 Order a book that the library does not own…it’s FREE to you!

5. ABOUT YOUR PID
 Your personal identification number that lets the
library system know you are a member of the VT
community
 Must have it to:
 Sign up for an Interlibrary Loan account
 Access databases from off campus
 Access electronic journals from off campus
 Access electronic books from off campus
 Renew your books online
 Check your record online
 Reserve a book if someone else has it checked out

6.  Start at the University Library’s website; it is a portal
to all databases, books, journal articles, and other
resources
http://www.lib.vt.edu
 Next, you may want to visit the HNFE Subject
Guide for ideas on where to begin research
STARTING RESEARCH

7. RESEARCH QUESTION KEYWORD SEARCH
Is melatonin treatment effective for children with
insomnia?
“melatonin treatment” AND children AND insomnia

8. BUILDING SEARCHES
Use our Search Strategy Builder:
http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/portal/search-strategy-
builder.html
Use PubMed’s Search Builder:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/advanced/
Off campus? Use this for PubMed Search Builder:
https://login.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/login?url=http://www.nc
bi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?otool=vauvpilib

9. INFORMATION FORMATS
 Books
 Addison
 Summon
 Journal articles
 Summon
 Databases
Where to
search?

10. SUMMON
 The “library search engine”

11. PERIODICAL LITERATURE
 While books represent the best way to gain a basic
understanding (background) of your chosen topic,
periodical literature will let you gain an
understanding of the current conversation
revolving around your topic.
 What is a periodical? And how do you search for
related periodical articles?
 Think magazines, newspapers, journals…

12. DATABASES
 Definition:
Generally, a large, computer-based file of organized
information. In library terms, such a file, devoted to
a specific subject and organized for information
search and retrieval. For example, PubMed is a
database of sources, such as journal articles, for
the study of medical-related material. May also be
called an “index.”

13. DATABASES…
 Most likely, you will be using a database to look for
a periodical article much like you would use the
online catalog to look for a book
 The information is organized in the same way
 Databases will let you search for individual articles,
which the catalog will not let you do
 How do you decide which databases to use?

14. SELECTING A DATABASE
 Currently, at VT, we subscribe to nearly 1,000
databases
 Search for a specific database using the
“Databases” tab on the homepage
OR
 Use a related Subject Guide as your starting point,
and view recommended databases
 http://guides.lib.vt.edu/course-guides/hnfe2014

15. DATABASE DEMONSTRATION
 PubMed
 Visit through the library website
 Make sure you’re logged in to Off Campus Sign In to
view the Get VText icon
 The most comprehensive medical database
 Some full text articles, some bibliographic articles
 Limits: dates, publication types, subjects
 Web of Science
 Visit through the library website
 If off campus, must log in to view this database
 Completely bibliographic database

16. USING KEYWORDS IN PUBMED

17. FINDING FULL TEXT
 Often, databases will offer the “full text” of an
article—the complete article
 Sometimes, it will not: you may need to be able to
track down the article from its citation or through
options in the database
 Look for the Get VText icon in the database you
are searching (make sure you are logged in through
Off Campus Sign In)
 Or, use the citation to track down the article through
Addison (or Interlibrary Loan)

18. TYPES OF JOURNAL ARTICLES
 We’ve discussed different types of sources, such as
books, journal articles, conference proceedings.
However, journal articles reporting on research
describe different study types.
 Let’s review each type of study article that you
might use
 Review article
 Clinical Trial/Intervention
 Observational (cross-sectional or longitudinal)
 Meta-Analysis

19. LIMITING YOUR SEARCH IN PUBMED

20. A WORD ON PEER REVIEW
 What is peer review?
 Also known as “scholarly” or “refereed” (as opposed to
“popular”)
 An editorial process in which experts from a particular
discipline scrutinize articles before they are published by a
journal
 Why is it helpful to us, as researchers?
 We can trust that the information presented in a peer-
reviewed article or journal is authoritative
 You WANT to use peer-reviewed journals in your research
So, how can you tell if an article is from a peer-reviewed
journal?

21. DETERMINING PEER REVIEW
 The journal’s website—they will tell you if it’s peer
reviewed
 Ulrich’s Periodical Directory
 Using “limiting” options in a database that allows
you to search specifically for peer-reviewed articles
 Understanding the principles behind scholarly work,
and recognizing them…

22. RESOURCE EVALUATION, IN GENERAL
 Consider:
 Currency—when was the book/article/website
published?
 Audience—who is this information intended for? Why?
 Authority—who is the author? What are his/her
credentials?
 Publisher/sponsoring body—is this an academic
press? A hate group? Do they have a bias/agenda?
 Organization—is the book/article organized well? Is
the grammar correct? Are there footnotes, endnotes,
and a bibliography?
 Coverage—is the topic treated with depth? Does the
book/article contribute to the existing body of
knowledge?

23. A WORD ON CITATIONS
 There are many different styles of citations, but
they all have the same components
 When conducting research, it will be necessary to
understand citations:
 You will need to create citations when you attribute your
sources in papers/projects you create
 You will need to understand how to find the original
resource from the citations given in databases or other
bibliographies

24. CREATING APA CITATIONS
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of
Online Periodical, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved
from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
• Find more information on the library website:

25. READING & USING CITATIONS
 Citations can provide you with an “address” for
tracking down additional articles
 How could we find the full article for the following
citation?
Hellström, P. M. (2013). Obesity research in
adolescence: moving object--hard to
target. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
98(5), 1147-1148.

26. USING CITATIONS TO FIND ARTICLES
 2 easy options:
 Use Summon to search for the article title
 Search our journal finder for the journal title (American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition) and see if we subscribe to it

27. REVIEW
 Library services
 Starting research
 Locating research resources
 Determining study type
 Determining peer review
 Finding full text
 Good evaluation criteria
 APA citations
 Your questions…

28. Thank you!
Contact me if you have any lingering questions:
Ginny Pannabecker
vpannabe@vt.edu
4010 Newman Library / 3066A Derring
540-231-7980