| Gabriela Sonntag
Instruction Librarian
KELLOGG 3422
(760) 750-4356
gsg@csusm.edu Email, call or stop by with any
questions or concerns.
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|
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
research project
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.
Schedule, Topics and Assignments
The Library Module covers a lot of information in only 9
classes, so attendance and participation are important.
Subject specific reference sources
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
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Try out:
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Try out:
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Search hints from Alltheweb:
http://www.alltheweb.com/help/faqs/query_language
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:
E98.E2 O75 1999??
What does a call number tell you? Here's a quick guide to the Library of Congress system.
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.
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|
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.
Think you can find all this stuff on the Internet?
Not for free!
See an article you want in one of
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!
Top
Plagiarism and academic honesty
View plagiarism powerpoint
UCLA Bruins Success: Review section on "Citing
and Documenting Sources"
Top
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California State University San Marcos Library