1. Introduction to library research Pol 150: science, policy & innovation
SFU Library
Introduction to library research
Pol 150: science, policy & innovation
Chloe Riley
Reference Librarian

2. 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

3. Your political science librarian
Mike McIntosh
Political Science research guide: assistance/subject/political-science
“And I thought we were friends” by hehedan, CC BY-NC 2.0

4. Start your research

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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 …

10. Where to go for help Contact us: Student Learning Commons:
Phone:
us at:
AskAway (online chat)
Research help desk (drop-in & by appointment)
Student Learning Commons:
Help with academic writing, study skills, EAL support & more