Library Research

What were going to cover What is research? Internet research Looking for books Here and at Dominguez Hills Looking for magazine and journal articles Library Databases

Do you have an assignment to write a research paper but youre not sure where to start? Begin by carefully reading the assignment requirements. This will help you understand the work you need to do. Ask your teacher about anything youre not clear about before you get started. First, lets think about what we mean when we say research.

Research Gathering information from authoritative sources: pertinent books, encyclopedias, and articles in magazines, journals, and magazines.

The research process: 1. Have a topic 2. Focus on your topic by : Asking yourself: how much do I know about the topic? Making a list of terms related to the topic Making a list of questions related to the topic. 3. Form your hypothesis or guess answers to the questions you made; 4. If you are ready to find out whether your guesses are correct, then you are ready to start your research.

Approaches to Research Question: How does divorce affect children? Topic: Effects on violence on TV on children Hypothesis: Birth order affects personality

Words to use in searching Children Teens Teenagers Divorce Broken homes

Relationship of the parts of the topic to each other Agriculture or Farm* or Crops or Orchards Pesticides or Insecticides Soil or Groundwater Use OR to group synonyms together Use AND to combine the parts of the topic Using the * will ask the computer to search for farm, farms, farming, farmers…

To gather information about your research You have your topic and you know what you do not know In other words you have identified what things you must find out

Resources

Information from the Internet – The Internet Provides a Good Place to Begin… But… Are published instantly without anyone checking or validating the correct information; Anybody can write a webpage You yourself must evaluate the authority of the author or the source of information; Information from the Internet is useful only if it matches what you found from a reliable source.

Guide to evaluating information from the Internet Wolfgram Memorial Library at Widener University Wolfgram Memorial Library at Widener University

Best move: Use BOOKS first for research Works of known experts The publisher validates the qualification of the writer; Consultants study the information in the material Editors to check the material before publication.

But which book should I use?

Use the Library Catalog to find books. TOOLS

Things to consider Make sure the book you use is recent enough to provide reliable information – in politics and some sciences, things change FAST You dont have to rely on the Compton Library only for your books Public libraries are great for some topics You have borrowing privileges at Long Beach State and Dominguez Hills

Databases Provide information about and sometimes links to: Newspaper articles – for current events Magazine articles -- for popular opinion Scholarly journal articles -- for academic analyses

Which databases? Proquest SIRS CQ Researcher

Putting them all together Your collection of information from various resources needs to be written …

Writing your paper… INTRODUCTION BODY OF THE REPORT CONCLUSIONS Work Cited List

Ooops…what is Plagiarism ?

Work Cited List This is a listing of all the materials you used to get the information you have included in your research paper. Visit : rch/r_mla.html rch/r_mla.html

Writing the final paper The first draft The final draft EDIT YOUR PAPER

Good luck!

Created by : Eleanor Liwanag Sonido and Anita Colby Librarians Compton Center library