Introduction to library research Pol 150: science, policy & innovation SFU Library Introduction to library research Pol 150: science, policy & innovation Chloe Riley Reference Librarian chloe_riley@sfu.ca

SFU Library A few quick facts about us … SFU Burnaby SFU Vancouver SFU Surrey Over 2.5 million books & ebooks Over 98,000 subscriptions to journals, magazines & newspapers Over 500 research databases Three campus libraries

Your political science librarian Mike McIntosh mmcintos@sfu.ca 778.782.5043 Political Science research guide: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research- assistance/subject/political-science “And I thought we were friends” by hehedan, CC BY-NC 2.0

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What about Google? CONS PROS authors may not be reliable easy to use information may not be correct subjects may not be covered in depth PROS easy to use convenient covers lots of sources covers lots of subjects

Popular magazine articles Scholarly journal articles Scholarly vs popular Popular magazine articles Example: The Economist Scholarly journal articles Example: Canadian Journal of Political Science Audience: general public Colourful graphics & advertisements Plain language No abstracts or citations Audience: academics Mostly text, with some tables & charts Subject-specific language Includes abstracts & citations Key criterion: peer-reviewed

Focus your topic Example topic: Racism in new technologies. Focus your topic by asking some questions: Who? Women, seniors, students, Indigenous people … Where? BC, Canada, USA, international … When? Current or historical What? What kind of technology? Social media, electronics, software … Why? Effects, reasons, context, history … Focused topic: The effects of racism on youth using social media.

Example: The effects of racism on youth using social media. Develop keywords Example: The effects of racism on youth using social media. Key concepts: Racism race, discrimination … Youth teens, teenagers, adolescents … Social media social networks, Twitter, Snapchat … Try a search for articles in the Catalogue Search on the Library’s homepage

Search tips Use AND between keywords to narrow your search For example: innovation AND Canada Use OR between keywords to broaden your search For example: innovation OR experiment Use quotation marks around an exact phrase For example: “climate change” Use an asterisk (*) to find related terms For example: Canad* will get results for: Canada, Canadian, Canadians …

Where to go for help Contact us: Student Learning Commons: Phone: 778.782.4345 Email us at: libask@sfu.ca AskAway (online chat) Research help desk (drop-in & by appointment) Student Learning Commons: Help with academic writing, study skills, EAL support & more http://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc