1. Doing Research Online:
A Crash Course
Where do you plug
this damn thing in?
Gary Handman

2. What I hope you'll come away with...
1. The current lay of Information Land
2. A group of basic moves and
features common to many online catalogs
and indexes
3. How to develop/employ search strategies
4. How to select databases (and determine what’s in them)
5. Practice using these features in selected
databases.
6. How to get your hands on the material you find

3. Card Catalogs Contained:
The Information Universe (Then)
The guy next to me
is soooo hot!
Card Catalogs Contained:
Records for:
Books
Journals/Newspapers
Other stuff (maps, media, dissertations, manuscripts…)

4. Get da Book in da Stax The Information Universe: Books (Then)
Look stuff up by author, title, subject
Get a Call #
Kesey, Ken.
One flew over the cuckoo's nest.
New York : New American Library, 1962.
Moffitt PS3561.E667.O5
Get da Book in da Stax

5. The Information Universe: Articles (Then)
I know! I’ll
do my paper on
Marilyn Manson!
Indexes/Abstracts
Annual/semi-annual print volumes
Allow subject searching in a group of journals in a particular discipline or topical area.
Some indexes also offer abstracts-- short description of article content

6. The Information Universe: Articles (Then)
Wright, Robert.
'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson.
Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages).

7. Get da call # The Information Universe: Articles (Then) Popular Music
Wright, Robert.
'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson.
Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages).
Get da call #
Popular Music
Music ML5.P66
Shelved: Latest issue in Reading Room

8. Get da Journal in da Stax
The Information Universe: Articles (Then)
Wright, Robert.
'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson.
Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages).
Get da call #
Popular Music
Music ML5.P66
Shelved: Latest issue in Reading Room
Get da Journal in da Stax

9. The Information Universe (Now)
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)
Indexes & Abstracts
Print
Online

10. The Information Universe (Now)
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)

11. The Information Universe (Now)
Books in Stax
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)

12. The Information Universe (Now)
Books in Stax
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)
Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT individual
e-articles]

13. The Information Universe (Now)
Books in Stax
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)
Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT e-articles]
Indexes & Abstracts
Journals in Stax

14. The Information Universe (Now)
Books in Stax
Online Catalogs
--Pathfinder
--MELVYL (CDL cat)
Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT e-articles]
Indexes & Abstracts
Full-Text Articles Online
Online
Journals in Stax

15. Library Acquires Full-text materials in three ways:
1. Subscribes to full-text journals (you can get to em’ via Pathfinder)
Animal genetics. <1986>
Published: [Oxfordshire] : Published by Blackwell Scientific Publications for the International
Society for Animal Blood Group Research, c1986-
Format: Serial
Location: BIOS: QP98.A1 A5;
Electronic Location(s): v.30(1999)- Restricted to UC campuses

16. Library Acquires Full-text materials in three ways:
2. Links from electronic indexes and abstracts
From Expanded Academic Index:
ME, MOM & MARILYN MANSON. (Brief Article) BECKY EBENKAMP.
Brandweek April 17, 2000 v41 i16 p28
View text and full content retrieval choices
or 1 full page PDF

17. 3. Subscribes to searchable full-text. archives: e. g. JSTOR, Project
3. Subscribes to searchable full-text archives: e.g. JSTOR, Project Muse

18. Not everything is online!!!!!:
…But Remember!!!!
Not everything is online!!!!!:
Indexes: Often only go back yrs online
Not every publication is indexed
Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the books and journal universe is currently available in full-text
The sciences currently have it better than the humanities and social sciences

19. Remember Also:
Not every topic has lots written about it, either in books or journal lit.
--Research on very current topics
--Research on topics off the beaten academic track or off the pop culture radar
--The quirky, strange, and over the top

20. What to do if nothing is turning up:
Broaden your topic / go for the more general / select a different angle
Rethink your search strategy (new keywords, new concepts, etc.)
Bail out and choose another topic
What to do if too much is turning up:
Narrow your topic:
e.g.: geographically, chronologically; by race, gender, ethnic group;
Specific focus or aspect of the topic (e.g. ethical, social, economic, political aspects)

21. (land of organization, control, and sensibility)
The Information Universe (Now)
The Net =Anarchy
Google
Rocks!
LibraryLand
(land of organization, control, and sensibility)

22. How to Begin? Before you click: THINK
Formulate a concise, concrete statement of the research problem
Formulate your search in terms of
keyword and key phrases:
The impact of exposure of children to advertising television and television violence on school performance.

23. How to Begin? Before you click: THINK
Formulate your search in terms of:
KEY WORD Searches :
--Look for words anywhere in record: title, subject, abstract and full-text (if available)
PHRASES:
--Looks for words in the exact order entered

24. Keywords
e.g.
-- Keyword: Cold War Horror Film looks for words Cold AND War AND Horror AND Film ANYWHERE in the record
You would conceivably retrieve an article entitled:
“At War With Your Refrigerator?: How to Avoid
the Horror of Moldy Film on Cold Cuts.”
--Phrase: Cold War Horror Film looks only for those 3 words in that order; would not find a book entitled
Depending on db:
--May be able to limit keyword/phrase searching to specific fields: title, subject, or all fields.

25. Think of synonyms for key words/phrases
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK
Think of synonyms for key words/phrases
Commercials
Ads
…etc.
Children
Youth
Adolescents
…etc.
The impact of exposure of children to advertising television and television violence on school performance. …
Academic achievement
Grades
…etc. Or television psychological aspects
Mass Media
TV…etc.

26. --e.g.: Advertis* will give you: advertise, advertising, advertisers,
Truncation:
When appropriate, use truncation to scoop up broader results:* # or ? Depending on db
--e.g.: Advertis* will give you:
advertise,
advertising,
advertisers,
advertisements

27. Once you’ve found something that looks promising,
Check out the “official” subject headings

28. Choosing a database --Some journals are indexed in multiple databases
Indexes/Abstracts come in various “flavors”
--from narrow discipline focus to general/pop lit
--citation only to abstracts to full-text
--links to library holding – no links (you need to look up the journal holdings in another catalog)
--Some journals are indexed in multiple databases
--The same journal may be full-text in one db and
citation only in another

29. Choosing a database
Look at the alphabetical listing of indexes and abstracts on the library’s home page:
Listings of subject-specific electronic resources on individual branch library home pages
CDL Searchlight

30. Before we plunge...questions???

31. What do you see on this page?

32. Environmental Racism and Fast Food Marketing
The Keyword/key phrase Tango
Keywords in title
Environmental Racism and Fast Food Marketing