Welcome to class. Intro self as Reference Librarian. Point out my desk and invite students to come by any time to say hi or ask a question. Tell the story about how I had the first tour of U. Penn’s library and didn’t know how to use a mouse or find anything at all. The courage it took to ask for help in learning to use the microfiche.
Point out that previous classes have had a tour of the library, met all the librarians, and had some tutoring in searching the catalog & databases. They have already learned some basic search strategies and something about the research/writing process. This class focused on just one part of that process: citations & bibliography done with EasyBib. We will talk a little about keywords and do a search to review what they have already practiced, then focus on citations.
Explain that MLA7 is the Modern Language Association’s style guide for the rules in citing sources. Many professors at Geneva require this type of Bib. The rules are very specific as to punctuation, order, & necessary information to include. This session will teach you exactly how to do it quickly & easily.Tell the story of how difficult it was for me to do bibs as a student: if not for these rules I would be a straight A student!! My greatest struggle so now I am still wrestling with it as a career. ASK: why do we always include a bibliography? What is important about citing sources?Get a feel for what they know already about citations. Point out that in addition to giving credit to the original author and showing your prof. that you really did the work, citations give credit to your own thought and research, showing the world beyond the classroom that you are presenting reliable, relevant & respected information from credible sources. As you continue in your specialized field this will become increasingly important. Peer reviewed journals carry more weight in academic respect, and your sources will be scrutinized by those whose opinions matter most to you in your career. Where your information came from is as important as your added thoughts & interpretations.
ASK: what discussions have they already had on the topic? Do they already have some thoughts & opinions? What assigned readings have they done? Does anyone have a textbook or packet of readings with them? Have they studied the Mission, etc. already in previous class meetings? Wait for answers & listen closely. Take notes.Discuss keywords: important terms or phrases that you think will be fruitful in a search for literature. Not too broad or specific. A range of possible leads based on what you intuitively feel will be most interesting & bring the most hits. Keep a list & note what gives good results. Revise and refine what works. Share with partners & collaborate. Muddle around thoughtfully. Very important part of research!! Don’t rush through it.
Leave this slide up while students brainstorm keywords.
Open link in a new tab. Turn & talk to neighbors, use stickies to list possible words. Five minutes tops! Circulate to listen, chat, make suggestions but let them do the thinking!
Open links in new tabs. Ask students to come up and demonstrate finding textbook & one article.Give partners 5-10 minutes to search & locate at least one book/article. Encourage them to look up textbook to get bibliographic data. Looking for title, author and/or ISBN. Explain ISBN as key identifier everywhere.
Students should have computers so they can follow along and do the same thing while I demonstrate. One student could demo on the screen while I talk, if there is one who knows how to do this already. Have partners work together if they seem unsure or haven’t practiced this already. Keep the pace moving, even if they don’t get all the search things. If you have time you can do more on searching, but the point is just to generate bibliographic data to use in EasyBib. Don’t get distracted by search tips unless you have lots of time!
Don’t worry if you don’t find the perfect book right now. We are practicing the process, we don’t need to actually find the best resource at this time. We want to focus on where to find the necessary info to cite the book. Point out the imp. Sections: title, author, “About this Book” MORE info on Google books.
On the right pane students must click the “select” button that is cut off the screenshot. Of the two choices, decide which one is the book you want. ISBN number is an international way to identify particular books. It is a very quick way to fill in the bib form. If you don’t have that number just use title & author…
Students may use whatever database they think is most relevant.
Put in your keywords. If you want to try advanced search go ahead and experiment. See what you notice about using more features!
After finding an article, read the abstract and determine if it fits your research interest. Note whether there is a full text available or if you will have to ask a librarian to get the article for you. Then go to EasyBib.com and begin to fill in author, title, etc.
Copy & Paste or type all the information you can find. DOC numbers are sometimes given to identify articles published on the web. Don’t worry if you can’t find one, just use what you have.
Students need to register to save data. They can copy & paste or export this session without registering, but can’t save or open on another computer, or export to Google docs unless they register. It is free & easy & very well worth it!