library research tips for a Political Science class

1. Research Tips & Tricks POLI 378 The Canadian Judicial Process Megan Fitzgibbons, Liaison Librarian

2. How big is the internet?

3. 3 Google doesn’t find everything….

5. Office Hours Every Wednesday 13:30-15:30 Leacock 324B

6. Agenda The flow of information Finding academic articles Government information Your questions!

7. Information flow Academic analysis

8. Scholarly information timeline Write-up Revise Reviewed Research study Researcher Conference paper Article Journals Feedback from peers! Revisions usually required. Feedback from peers! Further research conducted.

9. Points to evaluate: Currency Reliability Accuracy Purpose

10. Evaluation task Look at the characteristics of each article. (No need to read them!) Evaluate the currency, reliability, accuracy, and purpose of the article Make a judgment: should you use this article for your term paper?

11. 11 Sax, David. “Ignatieff for Canada.” Foreign Policy online January, 2006: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3352 Not a scholarly article. Use with caution.

12. Matheson, Andrew. “Seeking Inclusion South Asian Political Representation in Suburban Canada.” Electoral Insight 8, no. 2 (December 2006): 24-29. http://www.elections.ca/eca/eim/article_search/article.asp?id=146&lang=e&frmPageSize=5&textonly=false 12 Publication sponsored by a government agency. NOT peer-reviewed.

13. 13 Stanford, Jim. “Canada's Productivity Performance Under the Stephen Harper Government.” Behind the Numbers 9, no. 2 (September 2008). http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National_Office_Pubs/2008/Canadas_Productivity_Performance.pdf Publication by a think tank organization. NOT peer-reviewed.

14. 14 Claes, Ellen, Marc Hooghe and Dietlind Stolle. “The Political Socialization of Adolescents in Canada: Differential Effects of Civic Education on Visible Minorities.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 42 (2009): 613-636. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008423909990400 Scholarly, peer-reviewed article.

16. Where do you find articles?

17. Choosing your ingredients

18. Different from searching the web… Databases are like directories for finding academic articles

19. Databases: What’s the difference??? Each database provider chooses different journals, books, etc. to include in their index. Some are specialized directories (e.g., only legal journals), while some are broad (e.g., social sciences in general, with a few journals from each discipline). You will find that some of the databases overlap, but they all have some unique content.

20. The Subject Guide

21. 21

22. This guide lists links to resources that will help you find information for your assignment.

23. My topic Judicial activism in Canada

24. Search tip 1 “Exact phrase” Examples: “Charter of Rights and Freedoms” “Stephen Harper”

25. Search tip 2 AND Canada AND constitution OR ethnicity OR race

26. Canada Canadian Canad* Canadiens Search tip 3: fill in the blank

27. Search tip 4 Subject words Look for the standardized subject words or “descriptors” in the database

28. Research process

29. If not available… If full text is not available online Search the library catalogue for the journal title Use CREPUQ or Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

30. Off campus? Virtual Private Network

31. Bibliography

32. Roach, Kent. Due Process and Victims’ Rights. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. How to find… Look for the title of the book in the catalogue

33. Malloy, Jonathan. “Bush/Harper? Canadian American Evangelical Politics Compared.” American Review of Canadian Studies 39, no. 4 (2009): 352-363. How to find…

34. All articles are NOT listed directly in the library catalogue!

35. Malloy, Jonathan. “Bush/Harper? Canadian American Evangelical Politics Compared.” American Review of Canadian Studies 39, no. 4 (2009): 352-363. How to find… Look for the title of the journal in the catalogue

36. Finding government information Two strategies: Searching Browsing

37. Finding government information Searching by keyword Custom Google search Canadian Research Index

38. Finding government information Browsing: who would write about your topic? Government of Canada website Look for: CanLII (legislation), Parliament, Supreme Court McGill Library government information guide

40. Where do you find articles?

41. Library materials Subject guide VPN help

42. Ask Us!

43. What are your questions? Megan Fitzgibbons Liaison Librarian megan.fitzgibbons@mcgill.ca 514-398-4696 Office hours: Wednesdays, 13:30-15:30 Leacock 324B

44. Image Credits Slide 1: Juggling by timailiushttp://www.flickr.com/photos/9914541@N05/2832728718/. License: Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic Slide 3: Vastness of the Internet by Ellie Koning Retrieved from http://blog.alivenow.in/2010/07/infographic-vastness-of-internet.html Slide 8: Information timeline. Created by Anna Stewart, Librarian, St. Edward’s University. Retrieved September 21, 2009 from: http://libr.stedwards.edu/about_library/depts/instruction/instr_class_docs.htm. Used with permission. Slide 18: Life ring by mag3737 http://www.flickr.com/photos/50318388@N00/2071089166 / License: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Slide 21: Yellow-Pages by metrostation. Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic http://www.flickr.com/photos/28803949@N00/30441950/ Slide 39: Standing upon the shoulders of giants by mushonhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/74121966@N00/282287572/. Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic