Library Research in Aboriginal Studies

Jennifer Thiessen

Liaison Librarian, Education, Aboriginal Studies

James A. Gibson Library

November 2013

WELCOME

Our agenda:

• Library website overview

• Finding books

• Finding journal articles

• Search tips

• Where to find out more/get help

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GETTING STARTED

• Pull out the main concepts/terms from your topic

• Example topic: Native literature in Canada • Key concepts: Native peoples, literature, Canada• Synonyms:

• native* or first nations or aboriginal or indigenous, etc.

• literature or writing, etc. • Canada? North America? Ontario?

SUPERSEARCH

TRY IT OUT…• Go to the Library website

• Look for the SuperSearch box

• Do a keyword search for First Nations. Now do a keyword search for “First Nations”

• Is there a difference in results? Why?

MORE SEARCHING…• How do you find books in SuperSearch?

• How about journal articles?

• What’s the difference?

BOOKS VS. ARTICLES

Books Journal Articles

• Broad overview• Longer• Books take longer to

write/publish• More historical info

• Focused on specific topic• Shorter• More current?

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

• WHY ARTICLES?

• Original research• Supplement information

found first in books• More up-to-date• One perspective

• Use library databases

SEARCH TIPS

Tips:

• Limit to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals• OR limit to newspapers/magazines • Use a few tricks:

• Phrase searching: “first nations”• canad*

MORE SEARCH TIPS…

Look for subject headings/descriptors

“Get it” button looks for the full text throughout all of the Library’s databases

EFFECTIVE SEARCHING• Keywords

• Pull out the main concepts/terms from your topic• Synonyms e.g. native* or first nations or aboriginal or

indigenous, etc.• Too many results?

• Use limits (peer-reviewed, date, language, etc.)• Add additional keywords

• Too few results?

• Remove one or more keywords; go broader (e.g. search Canada instead of Ontario)

TRY IT OUT…• Find the Aboriginal Studies databases

• Go to Academic Search Complete

• Search for: first nations education

• How are the results arranged?

• How can you make your search more specific or more meaningful?

FOR MORE HELP…

Visit the Aboriginal Studies Research Guide

Visit the resource page in your Sakai

See the Help pages

Contact the Library Help Desk

• 905-688-5550 x. 3233 or use email form

Contact your liaison librarian:

• Jennifer Thiessen (phone, chat, email)

jthiessen@brocku.ca

905-688-5550 x. 3573