Navigating Sterling, Other OPACs, and

Internet Search Engines

Presentation Outline

Objectives of this Module

• To demonstrate how library resources can be used to update a course syllabus.

• To review efficient search techniques for searching library catalogs, and search engines.

Method

• A representative syllabus from a course in the School of Communications has been chosen to illustrate the objectives of this module.

• Name of the Course: Survey of Communication Research

Course Objectives

• Identify major research traditions and trends in the field of communications.

• Define basic concepts and theories of social science research.

• Plan, design, and conduct a research project or investigation.

The Research Project

• Find information on “How did journalists and the news media influence perceptions of race in the coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster?”

Tips for Searching• Keyword searching: review Boolean

searching at this Web site: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/gold/boolean.htm

Researching a Topic• Jot down keywords from the research topic:

“How did journalists and the news media influence perceptions of race in the coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster?”

• Formulate search statements.• Examples: • Hurricane katrina• hurricane katrina and (media or journalism or

journalists) and (racism or race) • Hurricane katrina and (racism or race)• Hurricane katrina and african americans

Searching Sterling, the online catalog

• Log on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Sterling to begin.

• Search by keyword for Hurricane Katrina.

Searching Other OPACsand Books in Print

• WorldCat

• ALADIN

• A selected CIRLA library: University of Maryland

• Books in Print (BIP)

Logging on to Other OPACs and Databases

• Log on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Other Catalogs.

• Click on the desired link.

• Type your search statement.

Searching Books in Print (BIP)

• You may search for books that are in print, out of print, and forthcoming in various formats: book, audio, or video.

• You may also search by keyword, author, title, or ISBN number.

• Begin by logging on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Other Catalogs.• Scroll down and click on Books in Print.

Logging onto WorldCat

• Log on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Research Assistance.• Under the heading Services for Faculty &

Teaching Associates, click on Resources for Teaching and Research

• Under the heading Tools for Identifying or Accessing information, click on First Search Databases.

• Change the database from Dissertations to WorldCat.

What is WorldCat?

• WorldCat is a union catalog created and maintained collectively by member institutions from more than 80 countries worldwide. The database contains millions of online records from the contributing libraries.

• Records typically have library holdings information attached. Users can quickly evaluate relevance, decide if it's the correct resource and see where they can access it.

A WorldCat Sample Search

• Search by keyword hurricane katrina and racism.

• Which libraries worldwide own the book After the Storm by David Dante Troutt?

ALADIN

• What is ALADIN?

• ALADIN (Access to Library and Database Information Network) is the shared union catalog for the eight member universities in the Washington, D.C. area. It has been in operation since 1980.

• The members include American, Catholic, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Marymount, and U.D.C.

A Sample ALADIN Search

• Begin by logging on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Other Catalogs.• Scroll down and click on ALADIN.

• Search for the journal Journal of Communication.

• Is vol. 55, no. 3 (Sept. 2005) at Catholic University?

CIRLA• What is CIRLA?• CIRLA (Chesapeake Information and

Research Library Alliance) is a consortium of educational and research institutions in Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.

• The members include G.W. University, Georgetown U., Howard U., Johns Hopkins, Library of Congress, National Agricultural Library, the Smithsonian, U. of Delaware, and the U. of Maryland.

CIRLA Benefits• Provides reciprocal borrowing privileges to the

registered graduate students, current faculty, researchers and fellows of the other CIRLA institutions.

• The lending library determines specific privileges, including the maximum number of checkouts and the specific ending date for borrowing privileges. Borrowers under this program are subject to the regulations and loan periods established by the lending library.

• Inquire at the Loans Services desk for a direct borrower’s card.

A Sample Search from one of the CIRLA Libraries

• Begin by logging on to the library home page: www.howard.edu/library

• Click on Other Catalogs.• Scroll down. Look under the heading CIRLA and click on

University of Maryland.• Search for Come Hell or high water : Hurricane

Katrina and the color of disaster, a book by  Michael Eric Dyson.

• In which Univ. of Md. library can you find this book?

Finding Other types of Library Material in Sterling

• Audiovisuals

• E-journals

Limiting Sterling results to audiovisuals

1. Log onto Sterling.

2. Search for your topic by keyword.

3. When the results are displayed, click on

Limit Results.

3. Choose a format from Material Type.

4. You may also put a check in the box

Sort Results by Year.5. Click on Submit.

Finding E-journals in SterlingSearch by keywords: • Example: ejournals and mass media. Or, search for mass media by keyword;

then, limited results to ejournals.• If you are looking for a particular journal

title, search by Journal in Sterling. If the electronic format is available, you can click on that link.

• Example: Search for Discourse. When the results are displayed, click on Discourse Online Muse.

Image Databases• Google. Log on to Google (

www.google.com).– To begin your search, click on Images.– Type your search statement.

• Yahoo! Log on to Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)

• AltaVista Image Search: http://www.altavista.com/image/default

• To begin your search, click on Images.– Type the name of the image you want to

search.

Suggested Web Sites for Images

• Capturing, processing, and storing images: – http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imageda

tabases/

• Images of Art and Architecture:

http://www2.art.utah.edu:81/index.html

• To find other image databases: – Search for “image databases” in Google,

Yahoo! and AltaVista.

Free Web-based Citation BuildersA citation builder is an online tool for creating basic

citations in various formats.• This citation builder illustrates differences among

several major styles. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/lobo2/citationbuilder/citationbuilder.php

• APA and MLA Styles: NoodleBib http://noodletools.com/login.php. NoodleBib is more complex than “Citation Builder,” but very accurate if you follow the directions.

• Chicago Style: http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/bb-f1.html• IEEE Style:

http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/bb-f1.html

Searching NoodleBib

• When you log onto NoodleBib, ignore the request for Personal ID and Password.

• See NoodleTools at the top of the page. Click on Home.• Scroll down and look under Free Tools. Click on

NoodleBib Express.• Follow directions for generating a citation. Choose the

MLA style or the APA style. • When the next page appears, choose a citation type

from the dropdown list and click the Go button.• Proceed with the directions. Click the Next button to

continue.

Sample Entry for Citation Builders

• Try the various citation builders using the entry below.

• Come Hell or high water : Hurricane Katrina and the color of disaster by Michael Eric Dyson.  published   New York : Basic Civitas, c2006.

Evaluating Web Sites

• 5 W’s for Evaluating Web Sites            http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/5ws.htm

• Evaluating Web Pages:  Techniques to Applyhttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

• Evaluating Web Sites:  Criteria and tools   http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/

research/webeval.html

• Quick:  The Quality Information Checklist            http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm 

Citing Internet Sources

• Citing Internet sources, articles on the Web, Web sites, etc. (APA, MLA, and Chicago styles) http://www.library.ucla.edu/yrl/referenc/citing.htm

• Citing Electronic Sources. http://www.libraries.psu.edu/gateway/referenceshelf/writ.htm