Lesson 2: Finding Sources Topics Internet Sources vs Library Sources Search Terms Finding Varied Sources Evaluating Source Quality

When considering a source, keep in mind: Consider Your Sources When considering a source, keep in mind: Check for often-cited authors. Ask yourself if it is a primary or secondary source. Is the author is an acknowledged expert in the field? Is the information carefully documented? How was the book received by peers and critics? Often-cited authors are many times the best scholars in the field. A primary source is the original words of the author, his speech, letter, interview, and so on. Primary sources tend to by more authoritative. A secondary source presents somebody else’s work. Use an academic search engine to find out how the book was received by peers and critics

Pyramid of Library Resources Top of pyramid knowledge is more general and less authoritative Bottom of pyramid consists of specialized knowledge that is more authoritative.

Scholarly Articles Scholarly articles Can appear in a magazine, newspaper, or journal. In general, offer more reliable evidence than popular magazines Citation searching can help evaluate sources. Three citation indexes include: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) 1977-date Science Citation Index (SCI) 1961-date Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) 1966-date Citation searching is searching for authors who have been cited repeatedly in the literature. As you search the various bibliographies, mark your bibliography cards with stars or circles each time a particular source is cited; two or more stars will suggest must reading. Three citation indexes will provide such citations:

Journals vs. Magazines Journal articles are better than magazine articles for several reasons: They are generally written by an expert They are more narrowly focused. They are carefully documented. They are subject to peer review. Peer reviewed means the article is reviewed by other authorities in the field who question the author's methods, argument, and evidence.

Scholarly Books Scholarly books, including textbooks, treat academic topics with in-depth discussions and careful documentation of the evidence. Resources for scholarly books include: Book Review Digest. The Booklist Book Review Index Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities Index to Book Reviews in the Social Sciences Current Book Review Citations Book Review Digest, which provides an evaluation of several thousand books each year, arranged alphabetically. The Booklist, a monthly magazine that reviews new books for librarians, including brief summaries and recommendations. Book Review Index, listing reviews in 225 magazines and journals. Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities lists reviews in periodicals devoted to history, philosophy, literature, art, and similar fields. Index to Book Reviews in the Social Sciences indexes reviews in periodicals devoted to education, psychology, political science, and similar fields. Current Book Review Citations gives an author-title index to book reviews in more than 1,000 periodicals.

Biographies Biography resources include: The Biography Index Current Biography Yearbook Contemporary Authors The Dictionary of Literary Biography You can also find brief biographies on the Internet, using a search engine such as AltaVista. A critical biography is a book devoted to the life of one person, such as Richard Ellmann's Oscar Wilde, a study of the British poet and playwright. To find a critical biography, use the electronic card catalog at the library or go online to Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com, which are bookstore sites that will show you what biographies might be available. The Biography Index in its printed form has long been a starting point for biographies of famous persons. Current Biography Yearbook provides a biographical sketch of important people. Most articles are three to four pages in length and they include references to other sources at the end. Contemporary Authors provides a biographical guide to current writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and a few other fields. The Dictionary of Literary Biography provides a profile of thousands of writers in more than 100 volumes. Brief printed biographies may be found in works such as Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of American Negro Biography, and Who's Who in Philosophy.

When using information from web sites, always question: Sponsored Web Sites When using information from web sites, always question: Is it appropriate to my work? Is it reliable and authoritative? Is it sponsored by an institution or an organization?

Newspapers Print indexes can help locate newspaper articles. Popular print indexes include: Newspapers.com Bell and Howell's Index to the Christian Science Monitor The New York Times Index Official Index to the London Times Wall Street Journal Index Your library may have a newspaper search engine on its network, or you may need to go to the World Wide Web and access Newspapers.com.

Popular newspaper databases include: National Newspaper Index Proquest National Newspapers Newspaper Source Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe Newspaper Abstracts

Library Research Techniques Despite the ease of the Internet, your campus library will probably be your greatest asset for academic research. To be effective at library research, you must become familiar with: Using call numbers to locate books Searching for magazine, journal, and newspaper articles

How Books are Classified Two main systems for classifying books: Dewey Decimal Divides all knowledge into ten parts, then subdivides each of these parts into one hundred additional classifications. Adding decimal points gives librarians the ability to subdivide things even farther. Library of Congress Uses both letters and numbers. It is much more common in college libraries and is the one you should become most familiar with. The card catalog system many of us grew up using is now a thing of the past. It’s moved into the electronics age and is now usually Web-based, which allows you to search for books from home. Cataloging and indexing books is still done by hand, and there are two book-classifying systems you need to be familiar with: the Dewey Decimal [Divides all knowledge into ten parts, then subdivides each of these into one hundred additional classifications, and adding decimal points to allow for further subdivision] and the library of Congress [Uses both letters and numbers to classify books, mostly common in college libraries] systems

Finding Books in a Library Examples of how books are arranged on the library shelf: Books with the classification LA are arranged before LB Books with the classification .B22 are arranged before .B27 Books with the classification .M are arranged before .N Books with the classification 1995 are arranged before 1997

The Library of Congress System The Library of Congress system is complex, but not difficult to use. Each call number starts with one or two letters, which signifies a category of knowledge. The letters are followed by a whole number between 1 and 9,999. Read call numbers from top to bottom (or left to right if they’re written horizontally). The alphabetical and numerical order help sequence the book.

Citation Information During research, gather this information for each entry (based on the MLA style).  Call Number Author(s) Title Place of Publication Date of Publication Include a two- or three-sentence summary of the article and it’s relevance to your topic.

Finding Articles Tips for finding articles Start search with a general subject database, then move to a more subject specific database. Use the MLA format for recording citations and note articles to research further. Be aware that many electronic databases include popular magazines and scholarly journals. Some indexes are very subject specific. The EBSCO MasterFILE database indexes thousands of journals and magazines. UnCover has a database of more than 18,000 magazines and journals.

Finding Articles using Databases Examples of General Subject Databases include: MasterFile Premier InfoTrac One File General Reference Center Gold MasterFILE Premier Reader’s Guide Abstracts UnCover (fee for article) Expanded Academic ASAP Academic Research Library Proquest Direct Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe Ebsco

Check the Bibliography Use the bibliography of the sources you find to locate additional resources. Never set aside a promising book until the bibliography is reviewed. Document the complete bibliographic information from books to research later. Keep a running list of all interesting or relevant sources.