| Gabriela Sonntag
Instruction Librarian
KELLOGG 3422
(760) 750-4356
gsg@csusm.edu Email, call or stop by with any
questions or concerns. |
|
What is the GEL Library Module?
The Library Module will introduce you to the basics of
college-level research. The skills you learn during the
module will help you for 2 main reasons:
- specifically, for the
final presentation
and paper
you will do for this class.
- in general, for the papers and projects you will be
expected to do
for the rest of your college career.
- to learn more about the upcoming elections and be
prepared to be a good citizen and cast an informed vote.
Schedule, Topics and Assignments
The Library Module covers a lot of information in only 9
classes, so attendance and participation are important.
- Each
in-class activity and homework assignment is for credit
and must be
completed on time.
- NO late work will be accepted
without prior arrangements.
- Homework must be typed.
- You must do your own work--do not turn in the same
assignment as another student unless you are instructed
otherwise.
- Plagiarism and other forms of cheating, as
defined
here in the General University Catalog, will
result in zero credit for each plagiarized
assignment. Repeated violation will result in a grade of
zero points for the library module.
Advanced
internet searching
Google or DMOZ? Yahoo or LII? What's the difference?
|
Search Engines |
Subject Directories |
Compiled by
computer "spiders" that "crawl"
the web, constantly adding websites |
Compiled by
people, selectively adding websites |
|
"More is better" or "Quick and easy" |
"Less is more" or "Quality, not quantity" |
| Websites often
listed by popularity or paid sponsors |
Websites often
listed by subject categories |
BEST FOR:
- very specific searches (e.g. person or org.)
- phrase searches (e.g. "Martin Luther King Jr")
- you know exactly what you're looking for
|
BEST FOR:
- broad topic or concept searches
- need background information (e.g. alternative
health treatments, history of, types of)
- you're not sure what you're looking for
|
|
Try out:
|
Try out:
|
Evaluating websites
From your own Internet searching,
you probably realize there is an overwhelming
amount of information available online.
Like searching for a book
or article, you can
plug keywords related to your topic into
a search engine... but doing a Google search
and using the first few results for your
paper does not constitute research!
Anyone can put up a website. How
do you know that its information is accurate,
legitimate or current? Learn how to
evaluate a web site before choosing
to include the information you find in your
research project.
Top
Finding books
Find books by searching the
Library Catalog. A good strategy
is to:
|
Enter
a keyword or two |
housing and Hispanic
bilingual education
gender and role |
Scan
the list for one good
title of interest |
'Clear and convincing evidence: measurement of
discrimination in America'
'The
Hispanic child: speech, language, culture, and
education'
'Gender
and domestic life : changing practices in families
and households'
|
Click
on the subject
headings for that
book |
Discrimination In Housing United States
Education Bilingual
Sex role -- United States -- History |
*The following are just
a few subject headings from our Library
Catalog related to the class topics.
Try clicking on some that are related to your topic and see
what titles come up:
E98.E2 O75 1999??
What does a call number tell you? Here's a quick guide to the Library of Congress system.
In-class activity:
1. Find a book on your topic.
- First search by keyword,
- Find one good title that is on your topic.
- Write down the title, call number and all
subjects for this book.
2. For each of the call numbers linked below, write
the main topic or subject.
Top
Finding articles
Journals articles include the latest
research in the field. To find articles, you need to start
with a research database. Each will allow
you to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at once
by searching for keywords relevant to your topic. Databases
can have BOTH scholarly and non-scholarly articles.
Think you can find all this stuff on the Internet?
Not for free!
See an article you want in
these databases?
- Look for "Full Text" in
PDF,
 HTML,
 Linked
or 
- If all else fails, fill
out an Interlibrary
Loan article request form. You'll get it within 5-10 days for FREE.
- Or, any time you need
help, ask a librarian!
Journals articles include the latest
research in the field. To find articles, you need to start
with a research database. Each will allow
you to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at once
by searching for keywords relevant to your topic. Databases
can have BOTH scholarly and non-scholarly articles.
|
|
Scholarly (peer-reviewed,
refereed, empirical) |
Non-scholarly (popular) |
|
Audience |
academic readers |
general audience |
|
Author |
researchers, experts, specialists |
journalists, free-lance
writers, generalists |
|
Language |
professional
jargon; may be
difficult to read |
common; easy to
understand |
|
Style |
specific structure (e.g.
abstract, methodology,
data, results, conclusion, references) |
structured like a story; can look
glossy with pictures and ads |
|
Sources
|
long list of
bibliography, references, footnotes |
no bibliography or
references listed |
| Examples |
Ethnic and
Racial Studies; Gender & Society;
International Migration Review;
American Journal of
Public Health;
Latin American Perspectives |
Time; Newsweek; Business
Week;
US News & World Report; New York Times;
Christian Science
Monitor |
Some databases provide a 'peer-reviewed' or 'scholarly
only' limit function that can narrow the results, but will
still bring back non-scholarly materials that were published
in a scholarly journal (e.g., editorials, letters to the
editor, book reviews.) When in doubt, ask a librarian!
The following databases are useful for this class. Try searching for
keywords related to your topic:
NOTE: Depending on your topic, other databases
might be more relevant.
You can choose a
database by
subject.
In-class activity:
Each group will search a specific database for articles
related to their topic. Groups will do 5 minute
demonstrations on how to use this database, addressing the
questions below.
ScienceDirect
JSTOR
Lexis Nexis
Academic
Sociological Abstracts
ProQuest Direct
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Show the class a sample search:
-
What kind of information does this
database contain: scholarly or popular articles, other?
-
How do you get full-text? How do
you save, email and print?
-
What is an advanced search feature
in this database?
Writing an annotated bibliography
What is an annotated bibliography anyway?
An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other
publication. Its purpose is to describe the work in such a way that the reader
can decide whether or not to read the work itself.
Annotations often appear as
part of a bibliography, the list of sources that is standard in scholarly books and articles, including most student papers.
When a
bibliography includes annotations it is known as an annotated bibliography.
These are 6 points to help you write your
annotated bibliography (not necessarily in this order):
1. What are the
qualifications of the
author?
2. What is the main
purpose of the text? (summarize in one sentence)
3. How does this source
relate to your topic?
4. What is the viewpoint
or bias of the author?
5. Who is the intended
audience of this work?
6. What is your final
comment on this work?
Here is an extended
explanation
and examples
Basically, keep it short and straightforward by using the 6
points above.
Top
Plagiarism and academic honesty
View plagiarism powerpoint
Paraphrasing activity
UCLA Bruins Success: Review section on "Citing
and Documenting Sources"
Top
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