BIS 3320 Nature of Intellectual Inquiry Hillary Campbell September 22, 2003

Types of Research Resources Reference Books Scholarly Books Periodical Articles Databases of Information World Wide Web

Reference Books – A Great Place to be Inspired…Just the Facts Reader’s Guide to the History of Science Chronology of Science American Men and Women of Science Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Scholarly Books – You have chosen your topic…now, hit the catalog! Biographical Historical Scientific Critical Government Publications *These resources often contain valuable indexes and/or bibliographies

Periodical Articles & Essays Some are published in popular magazines or journals Some are published in scholarly journals Some are only published electronically

Popular / Trade Journals Intended for a general audience. Articles written by journalists who may or may not have special training Articles do not have footnotes Magazines have advertising, photographs, and glossy pages For Profit Not Peer-reviewed

Scholarly Journals Intended for an audience knowledgeable in the field Articles are written by scholars, who’s names are listed along with credentials Articles are footnoted and list sources used No advertising, few photographs, and usually printed on plain paper Usually not for profit Peer-reviewed

How Can I Tell if the Journal is Scholarly? Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory – Located at Library Reference Desk Serials Directory – Located at Library Reference Desk Ulrich’s Online – Accessible via Library Reference webpage Some databases allow you to limit searching to peer-reviewed pubs only

Beginning Your Research Select a topic Identify keywords Identify synonyms Group concepts and add connectors (Boolean) Use truncation and/or wildcard keys if available

Select a Topic Broad Topic – Research a scientific discovery, within the last 100 years, that had a significant impact on our society Narrow Topic – The discovery of a hole in the ozone layer and its impact on society

Identify Keywords The discovery of a “hole in the ozone layer”and its “impact on society”

Identify Synonyms Take your keywords and find other words that also describe your topic. Also write down narrower and broader terms to help refine your search.

Identify Synonyms Ozone layer Ozone, Ozonic Atmosphere, Atmospheric Layer Ozone hole, hole in the ozone layer Environment, Environmental Depletion Deplete Decrease, Decreased Thinning, Thinned Diminish, Diminishing, Diminished

Identify Synonyms Discovery Discover, Discovered, Discovery Find, Found, Founding Invent, Invented, Invention, Inventor Impact Consequence, Consequences, Influence, Influences, Influenced, Influential Repercussion, Repurcussions Significance, Significant

Group Concepts Group concepts together by parentheses or quotation marks “ozone layer” (ozone layer) “impact on society” (impact on society)

Add Connectors - Boolean AND - both terms must appear together in the record (narrows search) OR-either term appears in the record (broadens search) NOT-placed before term omits all records featuring this term in them

Add Connectors - Boolean Example : ozone AND depletion Example : “ozone layer” OR “atmospheric layer” Example: (“ozone hole” OR “atmospheric layer”) AND depletion

Add Connectors - Proximity w or w5 (“with”) – searches for two terms in the order typed n or n5 (“near”) – searches for two terms in any order “ “ quotation marks – groups terms together as a phrase *Not all databases support these

Add Connectors - Proximity Example : ozone n4 layer (… “hole in the Earth’s ozone layer”…) (… “a hole in the Earth’s layer of atmospheric ozone”…) Example : atmosphere w/5 pollution (… “problems in the Earth’s atmosphere as a result of pollution”… Example: “atmospheric pollution”, “the Greenhouse Effect”

Use truncation and/or wildcard keys Both use a special key (*, ?, #, $) depending on the source used Truncation - When key placed at end of term, all variations of word (from “trunk” onward) found. Wildcard key – Replaces a single character and makes it a “wildcard” for any letter in the alphabet.

Use truncation and/or wildcard keys atmospher* atmosphere, atmospheric invent* inventor invented invention f??nd find found wom?n women woman womyn

Thesaurus List of standard subject terms used for indexing the documents in their files Also known as controlled vocabulary Example: Use “CFC” for “chloroflourocarbons” Use “sun protection factor” for “SPF”

Selecting Your Database(s) Choose by subject See descriptions on Alphabetical List – Ask a Reference Librarian – we know what’s best!

Sample Databases – Scientific Discovery Project Sociological Abstracts – Full Text Web of Science – Citation Only Historical Abstracts or America: History and Life – Full Text and Citations

Sample Databases – Information about Scientists Academic Search Premier – Full Text Biography and Genealogy Master Index – Index, no full text PAIS – Citation only, no full text, includes government documents

Find Full Text Search Catalog for Library Periodical Title and Holdings Use call number in catalog to access the print/microform Access electronic coverage from catalog record Use InterLibrary Loan Service

WWW Resources – Evaluate Them with the ABCs Audience Authority Bias Currency Scope *Remember, ANYONE can publish on the WWW!

Citing your sources MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, and other citation manuals available at the Reference Desk. Copies may be available in Main Stacks Need help citing? The writing lab can help.

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