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GEL 101 Library Module (Fiegen)

Use this page as a resource to accompany the GEL 101 Library Module course     Courses/WEB CT

Click Here: student evaluation of library module

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:

Ann Fiegen
Business & Economics Librarian
afiegen@csusm.edu
760-750-4365

Email, call or stop by with any questions or concerns.

Office hours:
 3307 Kellogg Library
Monday - Wednesday 1-2
Thurs 4-7
by appointment, drop in ok

 


Define a Topic

Build a Thesis statement tutorial: Finding a topic and building a thesis


Research project planning Five Search Strategies  Skim through Badke's Research Strategies

Free or Fee, the organization of information

 

Background and books information
Library call #s and subject headings 
Library catalog
Finding books

Introducing the book (YouTube)
Book worksheet
 

Magazines, Journals, and Articles--
Distinguishing scholarly, popular, professional articles.  
Test it?  Is it scholarly?
Find a scholarly article
 

Annotating and Citing your work
APA Citation format 

How to write an annotation
 

Web evaluation

Website Scoring Worksheet
Five Web Evaluation Criteria (Word)
 

Finding articles

Journal 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.

The following databases are useful for this class. Try searching for keywords related to your topic:

Sociological Abstracts
 
ERIC
 
ABI Inform Global
Academic Search Premier
 
CQ Researcher
 
Lexis Nexis Academic
 
Factiva PAIS ProQuest Newspapers
 

NOTE: Depending on your topic, other databases might be more relevant.
You can choose a database by subject.


Think you can find all this stuff on the Internet? Not for free!

See an article you want in one of these databases?

  1. Look for "Full Text" in pdf PDF, HTML Full TextHTML, Linked Full TextLinked or  Check SFX for Availability
  2. If all else fails, fill out an Interlibrary Loan article request form. You'll get it within 5-10 days for FREE.
  3. Or, any time you need help, ask a librarian!

Scholarly, Professional (Trade), Popular articles

 

Scholarly (peer-reviewed, refereed, empirical)

Professional or Trade

Popular

Audience

academic readers

Professional or industry readers

general audience

Author

researchers, experts, specialists

professionals, practioners

journalists, free-lance writers, generalists

Language

professional jargon; may be difficult to read

easy to understand, some specialized language of the profession or industry

common; easy to understand

Style

specific structure (e.g. abstract, methodology, data, results, conclusion, references)

news reports, feature articles on important topics, usually glossy with pictures, advertising by suppliers to the industry, job listings.

structured like a story; can look glossy with pictures and ads

Sources

long list of bibliography, references, footnotes

no bibliography, may contain recommended readings, or cite sources in text of article.

no bibliography or references listed

Examples Ethnic and Racial Studies; Gender & Society; International Migration Review; American Journal of Public Health; Latin American Perspectives Automotive News, Business 2.0, Restaurant News, Packaging World 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!

What is a scholarly journal?

Finding books

Find books by searching the Library Catalog.   Map of the Library
A good
strategy is to:

Enter a keyword or two health care
lifestyle
cultural activities
education
recreation
conservation
local government
Scan the list for one good
title of interest

Wellness perspectives
Hispanic spaces, Latino places : community and cultural diversity in contemporary America
Mobilizing an Asian American community
How police officers maintain order in a school setting : an ethnographic study
 
Click on the subject
headings
for that
book
Charter schools
Asian Americans--California
Wind power--environmental aspects--California

 

*The following are just a few subject headings from our Library Catalog related to the social issues.
Try clicking on some that are related to your topic and see what titles come up:

  Charter Schools
Lifestyles
Solar energy
Minorities
Toleration
Discrimination
Gay Male Couples
Citizenship United States
 

E98.E2 O75 1999?? What does a call number tell you? Here's a quick guide to the Library of Congress system.

Try this:

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.

DS79.76 .A26 2004
HQ1033 .S28 2005 
HQ1154 .B4148 2004   
HQ76 .H65 1994    
HV6017 .E52 2002
Hq 734 G716 2004
F1029.5.U6 C34 2004    
JC599.U5 B557 1988   
JV6483 .N49 2004    
JC596.2.U5 R44 1995   
JV6032 .C37 1993    

To get you started--some subjects in the library catalog

Doping in sports
Right to die
Children--Nutrition
Cloning

Spiritual Healing
Firearms
Cannabis

 

Citing sources

For every college paper and project, you will need to document where you got ideas and quotations from (see Academic Honesty below).

There are many different ways, or styles, of citing your sources-- including styles from the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and Chicago Manual of Style.

For every source you use in your paper, you need to include a citation in your list of references. Most sources need the following information:

  1. Author(s) if there is one.

  2. Title (of article, book, journal...)

  3. Publication information (when it was published, by what publisher, in what journal, volume, issue, pages etc.)

 

Book Cover APA: Publication manual of the American Psychological Association.  5th ed. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, 2001.

Try KnightCite, a free online citation tool to help create your bibliography.

In order for the citation to be accurate, you will still need to understand the difference between a journal and magazine, volume and issue number, and so on.
You will need to review the results for accuracy.

 

News and opinion articles

Critical reading from scanning to deep reading for analysis (Word)

News and opinion

Lexis/Nexis Academic / News / General News / Major Papers / Search terms: gun control AND editorial
Factiva New Pages (in upper green bar); or +Source to select news groups or individual publications
ProQuest Newspapers
Ethnic Newswatch
CQ Researcher

 

Writing an annotated bibliography

What's the difference between an abstract and an annotation?

"Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority."

Reference Department;
Instruction, Research, and Information Services (IRIS);
Cornell University Librar
y



Annotations often appear as part of a bibliography, the list of sources that is standard in scholarly books and articles, including most student papers.


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?

Purdue's Owl informational and descriptive annotationshttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_abstract.html

Extended annotation explanation and examples
pdf format
Basically, keep it short and straightforward by using the 6 points above.

Comparison of Annotation and Summary

Annotation

Abstract

Authors qualifications
Purpose of the text
Relation to your topic
Viewpoint or bias of the author
Who is the intended audience
Summary comment, your opinion

Topic of article
Highlight essential points
Article conclusion
Are found at the beginning of articles

How an annotation looks in a bibliography:
Example of an annotated bibliography  (Word)
 


 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

Evaluating web pages
from UC Berkeley's undergraduate library
 

Evaluating information found on the Internet
from John Hopkins University
 

Five criteria for evaluating web pages
from Cornell University
 

Evaluate web pages
from Widener University
 
Web Evaluation Guide
Seach Engine Ratings
Sullivan, D. (2005). comScore Media Metrix search engine ratings. Retrieved from http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156431 February 21, 2006.
 

Apply the criteria to these websites:

DreamTech International
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division

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.

Excellent work--you are now University Scholars!

 

Last updated afiegen 10/09/07

 
 
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