1. EDUC 210: Researching Term Paper Topics and Using APA
Chris Bober
Education Librarian
January 30, 2018

2. Workshop Outline Term Paper Proposals (due Feb. 13):
Identifying the main concepts in a topic – Activity
Using the Library Catalogue to find books
Databases for finding journal articles on a topic
ERIC, Education Source, and PsycINFO
Activity on finding journal articles
APA guidelines: format, in-text citations and references
Note: Some workshop slides are based on content originally developed by Concordia Library’s Teaching & Learning Committee.

3. Term Paper Proposal Requirements
Scholarly Books (recent publications)
Academic Journal Articles
Credible websites (in limited numbers)
avoid .com (commercial sites)
Combination of books, journal articles, and credible websites

4. Help for Proposals and Term Paper
Chris Bober (Education Librarian)
Book an appointment:
office: Webster library (LB )
phone: (514) ext.7697
Education Subject Guide
Recommended databases (journal articles)
Ask a Librarian (live chat service)

5. Identifying Main Concepts in a Topic
Identify main ideas (keywords) contained in your topic
The effects of video games on
teenage attitudes towards violence

6. Activity - Identify the Main Concepts in a Topic
“The use of assistive technologies for special needs students in the secondary school classroom and their effectiveness in improving reading and writing skills”.
Activity: Can you identify the main concepts in this topic?
1. Assistive technolog*
2. Special needs or reading disabilities or autism
3. Secondary school* or high school* or secondary education
4. Reading skills
5. Writing skills 7.

7. The Library Website

8. Resources for Finding Books
SOME Database Content
Print books, eBooks,
Audiovisual content (DVD,VHS, streaming media) +
Catalogue Content

9. Library Catalogue vs. Discovery Search
Discovery Search is used to find books, but you’ll retrieve a lot of other results you don’t need, and you can do a more precise search for books in the Library Catalogue.
Use the Library Catalogue to locate books.

10. Library Catalogue

11. Using the Library Catalogue to find Books
Start with keywords search (main concepts)
Review preliminary results for relevance
Add/Remove terms as needed
Review Subject Headings for books
Search Subject Headings as required

12. Library Catalogue search tips
“ ” searches for the exact phrase e.g. “video games”
AND searches for both of the words (key concepts) e.g. teen AND “video games” AND violence
OR searches for either of the words (synonyms) e.g. (teen OR adolescents) AND (“video games” OR “computer games”) AND violence OR aggression
Use asterisk * character to locate variations of the keyword: teen* will retrieve teen, teens, teenagers…..

13. Databases for Finding Journal Articles
Start with ERIC database
Covers current journals in education and psychology
Education Source and PsycINFO databases can also be used

14. ERIC Search using Limit Features

15. Search Operators - AND
AND – Use to locate articles that include all terms

16. Search Operators - OR
OR – Use to locate articles containing similar terms

17. Techniques for Improving Search Results
Enclose phrases “two or more words” in quotation marks:
“academic success” or “academic achievement”
Use asterisk * to find all variations of a root word:
Child* will retrieve child’s, children, childhood, etc.

18. Publication Manual of the APA
Guidelines for:
Formatting your papers
Using in-text citations in the body of your paper
Providing a reference list at the end of your paper

19. APA Guidelines for Format
Use Purdue Owl APA guide:
General Format
APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation
APA Sample Paper
Use Concordia Library APA guide:
How to set up a running head in MS Word

20. In-text Citation - Basics
Use Author & Date method
When quoting directly from a source, provide the last name of the author, the year of publication, and the page number.
When paraphrasing, provide the last name of the author, and the year of publication (page number is recommended, but not required).
Parenthetical type citations – used at end of sentence
Narrative type citations – used at beginning of sentence

21. In-text Citations – Direct Quotes
Quoting from a journal article:
Example:
Kaplan, T. N. (2013). Multiple dimensions of parental involvement and its links to young adolescent self- evaluation and academic achievement. Psychology in the Schools, 50(6),
Use the 4W’s and how. Ask yourself these questions.

22. In-Text Citation - Parenthetical Type
Use Quotation marks and include
the author, date, and page number(s)
Current research indicates that the role of parents is significant and “has consistently been shown to positively affect children’s achievement, regardless of its form” (Kaplan, 2013, p. 635).

23. In-Text Citation – Narrative Type
Use Quotation marks and include
the author, date, and page number(s)
Kaplan (2013) confirms the importance of parental support, noting that it “has consistently been shown to positively affect children’s achievement, regardless of form” (p. 635).

24. Using Narrative and Parenthetical Citations

25. Citing One Author & Multiple Authors
Citation type
Narrative - First citation in text
Narrative - Subsequent citations in text
Parenthetical – First citation in text
Parenthetical – Subsequent citations in text
One work by one author
Geddes (2015)
(Geddes, 2015)
One work by two authors
Cooper and Atwood (2003)
(Cooper & Atwood, 2003)
One work by three authors
Lancashire, Finneran, and Norton (2014)
Lancashire et al. (2014)
(Lancashire, Finneran, & Norton, 2014)
(Lancashire et al., 2014)
One work by four authors
Henson, LePage, Gober, and Aeschliman (2017)
Henson et al. (2017)
(Henson, LePage, Gober, & Aeschliman, 2017)
Henson et al., 2017)
One work by five authors
Mitchell, Ramirez, Lambert, Centineo, and Byerly (2016)
Mitchell et al. (2016)
(Mitchell, Ramirez, Lambert, Centineo, & Byerly, 2016)
(Mitchell et al., 2016)
One work by six or more authors
Banks et al. (2017)
(Banks et al., 2017)
bl.1 (p.177) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010)
Table adapted from Table 6.1 (p.177) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

26. APA Format for References
References - list of sources used in writing the paper References are on a separate page at the end of the paper References label centered Listed in alphabetical order by first author Double-spaced, all lines after first line are indented Every in-text citation in your paper must also appear in the References
Source: OWL at Purdue University

27. Help with APA
Get the Publications Manual of the APA at the Library or buy a copy at the bookstore (6th edition: paperback edition is blue)
Use the Library How to Cite guides
For latest info and advice, consult the APA Style Blog
Ask for help at the Ask Us desk or via chat (Ask a Librarian)

28. Closing Remarks Read the term paper guidelines carefully.
Difficulty finding relevant and/or current books and journal articles?
Contact Chris.
For writing assistance, contact Student Success Centre (Learning Support)
Good luck with your term paper assignments.