Revving the Engine for Research Mrs. Abdul & Mrs. Greenaway, Librarians

Topic Selection

Start broad, then narrow if need be Use encyclopedias and the Internet for ideasInternet What are some keywords that relate to the topic? What questions do you have about the topic? –Make a list and this will guide your research Which topics can you find supportive details for? –If there isn’t enough information out there, broaden your topic or switch topics

The effect of genocide on the female population in Rwanda Females in Rwanda during genocide Rwanda Genocide Mortality rates due to the treatment of childhood diseases Treating childhood diseases in third- world countries Third-world countries Healthcare in third-world countries

Keywords & Searching

Common words –Dyslexia vs. learning disability Use thesaurus for keywords Highlight main topic words Avoid Google-style searching Use names (people and places) –Find biographies, use reference encyclopedias

Thesis Statement Need More?

Forming a thesis statement –Main idea of what you believe –Main idea of what you want to prove/question –Main idea that can be supported by evidence Use the questions from your topic to formulate a thesis statement –Example: American car companies are failing because Americans don’t trust American-made products. –Example: Leadership from government agencies and officials was so disorganized that casualties were inevitable during Hurricane Katrina.

Make the connections

Places to Look

School, academic, public Library

Public –Books, ILLBooks, ILL School –Library Catalog –Online Databases Academic –Partnership with U AlbanyU Albany ILL, borrow books, databases

Don’t Wait

Resources to use Encyclopedias, Internet, Databases, Magazines, Journals, Newspapers, Government Publications, Reference, Nonfiction, Multimedia, Interviews

Current Topics –Online Databases Magazines Radio, Interviews, Video Newspapers –Documentaries –Websites Seasoned Topics –Online Databases Archived newspapers Archived magazines –Encyclopedias –Documentaries –Reference and nonfiction books

Encyclopedias & Internet

Common bonds Encyclopedia –General information –Ideas for specific searching Internet –General information –Do not use in bibliography –Question authority

Databases

JSTOR –Focus on science and humanities with full-text –Major journals and publications Culturegrams –Country information past and present Proquest –All subjects including multimedia –Primary sources, transcripts/broadcasts Teen Health and Wellness –Health related subjects ABC-CLIO –Ancient and Modern World –America at War –Issues

Magazines, Journals, Newspapers

Magazines –Think Time and Newsweek –Best for current issues/topics Journals –Think Journal of American Medicine –Technical and peer-reviewed Newspapers –Think Times Union or The New York Times –Important dates, setting historical context

Government publications

Reference & Nonfiction

Access the OPAC –Minerva for U Albany –Library Catalog for Albany HighLibrary Catalog –Catalog for Upper Hudson Library System Reference –General overviews, synopses Nonfiction –More specific

Multimedia & Interviews

Use Online Database Conduct an interview via phone or Great primary sources

Plagiarism

Don’t do it

Note-Taking

Find a style and stick to it –Index cards –Printing/Photocopying with highlighting –Notebook and/or binder Ideas for organization –Print question above and notes (answer) below –Color code resources and notes –Create outline and insert notes into outline Put research into your own words

Citations

Recap In-text citations Parenthesis Author’s last name / page number Punctuation Works Cited Page Citation Generator Alphabetize Indent

Remember –In-text citations: Summarization Direct quotes Statistics Paraphrasing –Information needed: Author’s last name Page number

Remember –Works Cited: Resources CITED within paper Alphabetize Indent after 1 st line –Information needed Author’s name “Article Title” Resource Title Publishing Copyright Page number

Outline

Make the connections

Library Website

JUST ASK! Then… The Librarians can help

Graduation