College Level Research: Diana Aram
Technology [email protected]
http://nova.libguides.com/CST229PeckFA2012
Wheredoes information come from?
What should information
Look like? What should information
Do for you?
• People• Internet• Books• News• Journals• Facebook• TV
• Truthful• Accurate• Authoritative• Easy to
understand• Objective
• Give examples• Support my
topic• Give me ideas• Answer my
question
The Research Process
Wisdom in Song Lyrics
“You can’t always get what you
want. But if you try sometimes well you might find You get what you need.”
Jagger, Mick, and Keith Richards. You Can't Always Get What You Want. London: Decca Records, 1969. Print.
Research is a Journey –Starting with…
What is your topic?
What are your search terms?
How about synonyms and related terms?
Where to searchLibrary Catalog?
Library Databases?
Google?
Evaluate your findings
How does it support my argument/ purpose?
Is it CurrentRelevantAuthoritativeAccuratePurpose?
Rockwell, Norman. The Gossips. 1948. ARTstor. Web. 1 November 2010
Citing your sources
Build your credibility by giving credit where it’s due.
Revise and RepeatRevise you search terms/ strategy
Narrow Topic
Explore one aspect of topic
Avoid Target FixationO Change is inevitable
O It’s possible you (or someone else is wrong)
O Know how to get unstuck and move on
O More than one way.
What about Google?
Using tools
The Filter Bubble
“The ultimate search engine would understand what you mean and give you back exactly what you want.”
- Larry Page, Co-founder of Google
The Filter Bubble
Library Catalog OBooks
OeBooks
ODVDs,
OeVideos
OLibrary of Congress Classification – Call Number
Library DatabasesO Organized (“quality control)
O Evaluated
O Proprietary (not free)
O Specialized content
O Scholarly/ Academic
What’s in a Database?
http://youtu.be/KKIbnNLCh8g
Using tools
Types of DatabasesO Reference
O Article
O Bibliographic
O eBook
O Music & Video
Research & Search TipsIdentify:
Topic
Keywords
Synonyms & related terms
Topic & KeywordsO Voting laws and the presidential
election
OOther possible search terms:
- Voting rights
- 2012
- Identification requirements
“Phrase searching”Searches for words in exact order, as a package.
O “Great Depression”
O “Digital Divide”
O“19th Century” or “Nineteenth Century”
AND: Focuses a search
O “Voter rights” AND election
O India AND culture AND customs
OR: Broadens a search
Washington DC OR District of Columbia
NOT: Excludes/ narrows search
“Social networking” not Facebook
Truncation*Child*
- child, child’s, children, childhood
India*
- India, India’s, Indian
Review: EvaluationOCurrency: When was it created
ORelevance: How does it relate to topic
OAuthority: Who created/ wrote it
OAccuracy: Evidence?
OPurpose: Who’s the audience? Bias?
Review: Cite Your Sources!
O Citation builders
O Web: Online Writing Lab (OWL)
O Print: Rules for Writers, MLA Handbook for Writers & Research Papers
Review: What makes an effective Researcher?
O Knows where to search
O Knows how to search
O Evaluates findings
O Gives credit (cites sources)
Help
OLibrarians
OWriting Center
O24/ 7 Librarian Help via Chat
Questions?
Research Guide:
http://nova.libguides.com/CST229PeckFA2012