Lib 103 fall 2010 third ed textbook

LIB 103 Library Skills ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

[object Object],The course textbook is: The research process : books & beyond by Myrtle S Bolner ; Gayle A Poirier 3rd Edition, 2004

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The following slides provide guidance and an overview to supplement the textbook readings and give you more detailed information on each of the types of resources covered in this course .

[object Object],General Information about Books Books are publications of one or more volumes bound between 2 covers. They can take several years to create and are not published on a regular schedule. Books often require a proposal, research, reflection, synthesis, editing, revision before they are printed. Popular books (e.g. unauthorized celebrity biographies) can be rushed into production because they often aren't carefully researched and represent a quick profit. ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Journals General information periodical publications (usually available monthly or quarterly), contain scholarship, empirical research reports, and/or learned commentary on subjects of special interest to a specific academic or professional community. Journals are a formal means of communicating ideas in academic scholarship; and publication in journals is a major criterion for promotion and tenure among university faculty. Articles are peer reviewed or refereed (screened) before they are approved for publication by peer professionals (scholars and/or practitioners) who evaluate articles by such criteria as: Sound methodology -- is the method by which these data were gathered consistent with normal and accepted practice within the discipline? Conclusions -- are the conclusions consistent with the data gathered? Significance -- is the research trivial within the context of the discipline? ,[object Object]

Strengths: Written by and for scholars, researchers, and professionals -- a formal conversation among specialists Contain bibliographies with full citations Filtering ensures high credibility In-depth analysis of narrowly-focused subjects Authoritative source for research findings Considerations: Dense, technical vocabularies may require reading an overview and gathering terminology beforehand Normally published monthly or quarterly; not a great source for the latest developments May only be available in libraries or through licensed Internet sources at a cost to the library but free to qualified users. Target audience: Scholars, researchers, & professionals within a discipline ,[object Object]

Reference Works Reference works attempt to summarize topics and/or assist in finding secondary literature. The purpose of these sources is to answer short questions, provide background information, and help you find other sources. Reference works come in an assortment of types on all subjects. Strengths: Good starting points for research, particularly in unfamiliar topic areas (disciplinary handbooks, subject encyclopedias) Good sources for quick facts, contact information, or statistics (almanacs, directories, statistical abstracts) Good for discovering new vocabularies (dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias) Provide lists of information sources on a topic (indexes, bibliographies) Considerations: Usually tools for finding more in-depth information sources, rather than being sources themselves. Normally are found in the library's reference section and cannot be checked out. (Some are linked to a library's web page and can be accessed from anywhere.) To start serious research, you should know enough about your topic to talk about it for 1 minute without repeating yourself. Target audience: All types ,[object Object]

Government Publications Provide information from all levels of all governments, including state and foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations, as well as reports of research projects funded by the government in all fields. There probably isn't a topic about which a government has not published. Strengths: Laws : from treaties, pacts, and international agreements to village ordinances Legislative histories and related information A statistical gold mine ! Nobody gathers more numbers than governments. Considerations: Foreign government information may be hard to get (even on the Internet) and may not be in English U.S. government documents in print are organized uniquely and may require some help from a librarian. Target audience: All types ,[object Object]

Databases A database is information arranged for ease and convenience in searching, accessing, and gathering data. The Internet does not have standardized search capabilities. Databases may sometimes be accessed through the Internet, but their contents are typically not retrieved by search engines such as Google or Yahoo! Most are available through separate Web sites that charge a fee for use, normally paid by libraries on behalf of their users. ,[object Object]

The Internet The Internet is a computer network, in fact a network of computer networks, where anyone who has access to a host computer can publish their own documents. Your textbook does an excellent job explaining Internet history and the distinction between the Internet and the World Wide Web. Please read that information carefully, pages 117 - 120. ,[object Object]

Search Engines Another part of learning about search engines is to learn terms and their definitions that are commonly used when discussing the use of World Wide Web. Click on each term below to learn more about their meanings. URL HTTP IP Address HTML HTTPs

Your textbook will introduce you to the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress System of classification. However most college libraries, and here at MCCC, use the Library of Congress System of Classification. You should know about both systems but focus on the Library of Congress System. Click here to learn more about the Library of Congress System of Classification . NOTE: We have an online catalog that lists resources at all of the branch libraries for MCCC and all of the branch libraries for the Mercer County Public Library System. The County library system uses the Dewey Decimal System as does most public libraries. ,[object Object],[object Object]

Superintendent of Documents Classification System (Click here for more information) The Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification system is designed to group together publications by the same government author. Within an agency or department, publications are grouped according to the subordinate organization. The purpose of this system is to uniquely identify, logically relate, and physically arrange each publication so that all publications of a single agency or department may be found together. ,[object Object]

The link to the online catalog & electronic resources are on the MCCC library’s web pages. Click on the hyperlink to preview. ,[object Object]

Keyword and Boolean Searching are essential tools for finding the information you need. Click on this site for more information on keyword and Boolean searching. http://dotatmac.mcmaster.ca/kw_searching/kw_searching_16_and.htm ,[object Object]

Electronic databases provide access to the online version of journals. These are the same journals you may see on the shelf in any library or at home. Not all journals are in electronic format and not all journals allow you to read the entire article (this is called full-text format). Instead you may only find the abstract (a short review of the article). ,[object Object]

An online journal database is an index to what is available in a journal. You simply enter the keywords for the topic you are researching. Do not forget to use Boolean operators to help you find exactly what you need. ,[object Object]

Your textbook provides a detailed explanation of what is a periodical. For more information, you might want to review this site. http://www.ocad.ca/Assets/PDF_MEDIA/Dorothy+H.+Hoover+Library/WhatisPeriodical.pdf ,[object Object]

What is Government Information? It might be easier to answer the question, what is NOT covered by government information? The information produced by the government is vast in terms scope (it is hard to find a subject the government does not publish on) and breadth (the government has been publishing research, statistics, reports since its inception). For a random example, the Census Bureau collects annual data on mode and time of transportation to work by age, sex, occupation, annual income range, etc for multiple geographic areas. While this example may not be of direct interest to you, it illustrates the kind of interests and detailed data that governments collect. How Do I Find Information on My Interest? One of the most significant resources for finding government information are the librarians and staff in the Government Documents Library. We are here SPECIFICALLY to help you find the information you are looking for. For more information on government documents, go to this site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ ,[object Object]

Statistical research is a way of looking at facts from a larger perspective, to collect and observe the distribution of certain characteristics of a population or topic, and propose theories of cause & effect by allowing one to generalize and compare among populations, across a span of time (time series), or predict the results of a change. As you conduct research, you will often find that you need to locate specific facts or details about your topic. This guide describes some of the tools used to locate statistical sources. Types of Statistical Sources Almanacs & News Digests are often one volume reference sources containing statistics, news summaries, chronologies, and geographical, political, and biographical information. Most are published annually. Examples are: Almanacs Information Please Almanac Yearbook s Yearbooks compile and provide time series or comparative data by region or country. Britannica Book of the Year Demographic Yearbook Europa Yearbook (Information on countries) Statistical Yearbook Handbook Handbooks compile data collected from other sources - - in many cases from government agencies. Locate statistical handbooks i.e. education statistics,... Statistical Compendiums compile information on a wide range of subjects, and from a variety of sources. Many of these limit their coverage to a particular level of government - - international, national, state, or local. Statistical Abstracts of the U.S. is a good starting point for locating statistics on social, political, and economic conditions. Many of these titles are available online. Search for them to conduct your research for this class. ,[object Object]

Biographical Sources biography: A written record of the life of an individual. ,[object Object]

Your textbook has a very good explanation of these resources. There are many online biographical resources and a biographical database located on the MCCC library webpage of online databases. Access requires login using your MCCC ID barcode. Biography Collection Complete Biographies Plus Illustrated (Wilson) ,[object Object]

Some Biographical Sources on the Internet Biography.com Biographical Dictionary ,[object Object]

When you have to find a review and commentary on a book you have been assigned to read, you need to use book reviews to find the information to help you write a critique or brief report. Your textbook provides extensive coverage of resources. Here are the databases for the MCCC library where you can find this information online. ,[object Object]

Literary Reference Center Literary Reference Center (LRC) is a comprehensive literary reference database, which provides users with a broad spectrum of reference information from antiquity to the present day. LRC is a comprehensive database that combines information from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and reference works, hundreds of literary journals, and unique sources not available anywhere else. Literature Resource Center (Gale) The Literature Resource Center is the most comprehensive literary collection available providing single search access to an assortment of traditional literary reference works, current journal articles and additional resources ,[object Object]

Your textbook provides detailed information on the use of the World Wide Web. More importantly, it provides a history that is important to understanding how to use the WWW effectively. ,[object Object]

It is essential that you make evaluating a website a habit. More frequently than not a website may include inaccurate information, outdated information, or may have biased information that is meant to be little more than an advertisement for a product or certain way of thinking. As a result, very careful use of web-based resources from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. must be used. Here is how to make that evaluation. NOTE: You must evaluate every URL included in your final project. ,[object Object]

Evaluation Standards for Information Found When Using Search Engines Accuracy : Can you verify that the information is correct? Do the links on the site actually take you to the sites you expect? Authority : Who authored the content? Is a name and contact information provided? What do you know about the organization or person? Objectivity : Is there evidence of bias? Does the vocabulary try to lead you in one direction without evidence or facts that can be verified? Currency : Is there a date to indicate when the site was created, updated, or revised? Coverage : Is the topic given a comprehensive treatment, or does it briefly explain the topic? Are there links to related topics? Do the links work?

Mega search engines allow you to search a number of search engines at one time. Examples of mega websites are: Click on these sites for more information and to try them. dogpile.com mamma.com The problem with meta search engines is that they may provide too much information to sort through, and they frequently have a lot of advertisements, and they mostly only accept paid submissions which means you will not get information that is very valuable that a source has but is not willing to pay to have put online. ,[object Object]

The invisible web, or deep web as it is also known is where the really valuable web-based information can be found. It is not very widely known and that is why, as college students, you should know about it and use the search engines that search the deep web for information. Many people mistakenly think that everything is on the web. THIS IS NOT TRUE! However, searching Google or Yahoo alone will not provide the quality information needed for academic research. ,[object Object]

A good source of background information on the invisible web can be found by clicking on the following URL. The Invisible Web I highly recommend that use these search engines for your web resources needed to complete your Pathfinder. IncyWincy or Beaucoup ,[object Object]

Blogs and Wikis for Research Purposes Blogs is short for weblogs. Weblogs are similar to journals that either individuals or groups use to keep a record of ideas, thoughts, actions, interests, etc. For more information on blogs, click here . Most blogs are individual opinions and ideas. Yet, they may provide important information to lead you to helpful valid research places. Wikis are similar to blogs but instead of individuals or groups controlling the input, anyone interested in the idea, thought, or interest can add to what has already been written. For more information on wikis, click here . Wikis have information supplied by sources that may not be reliable. However, if you can verify the source, the information may be useful in your research. The most well known Wiki is the Wikipedia – an online encyclopedia. If you choose to use it, do so with extreme care and remember that many instructors do not accept information that comes from Wikipedia.

Lib 103 fall 2010 third ed textbook

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