1. Searching & Evaluating Resources Rhetoric 1302 Carol Oshel Reference Librarian 972-883-2627 carol.oshel@utdallas.edu

2. Internet / the Web Contains text, images, sound and video Numerous hits with many duplicates Anyone can publish pages on the web Unregulated source of information

3. Searching the Web Government information and websites Associations and Organizations Current news Background info / preliminary research Always search the web with a critical eye

4. Electronic Databases or Indexes Index journal articles, books, newspaper articles, dissertation etc. Cover a variety of topics – some subject specific (e.g. ERIC – education) Some are full text When you are looking for articles on a topic start here

5. Searching Periodical Databases Need to research articles, especially scholarly Greater concern for authoritative sources More powerful “advanced” searching Need newspaper or journal archives/backfiles

6. Popular Magazine or Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journal Tutorial at: http://www.utdallas.edu/%7Ecxo02500 0/scholarlyjournalsfirstpage.htm http://www.utdallas.edu/%7Ecxo02500 0/scholarlyjournalsfirstpage.htm

7. Selecting Your Database Choose by subject Or from the alphabetical list (descriptions given for individual databases)alphabetical list Ask a Reference Librarian

8. Developing a Search Strategy Select a topic Identify keywords Identify synonyms Group concepts and add connectors (Boolean) Use truncation and/or wildcard keys if available

9. Selecting a Topic and Determining Keywords After deciding on a topic, (Define/Evaluate yourself – culturally, as a leader, racially, etc) write down the topic in the form of a sentence or question. Is there a typical middle-aged, first-born, female, Anglo-Saxon? Yes, you’re looking at one. Look at your question and pull out the most important words.

10. Identifying Synonyms (Use a thesaurus) Take your keywords and find other words that also describe your topic. Also write down narrower and broader terms to help refine your search. First-born – birth order, sibling rivalry Female – sex, gender English - English, race, national heritage, nationalism Discrimination, qualities, characteristics, englishness, culture, immigrant, personality

11. Group Concepts Group concepts together by parentheses or quotation marks “Anglo Saxon” or “english” “first born” or “birth order” personality OR traits OR characteristics

12. Add connectors 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 (use NOT carefully – it may omit results that you had not intended)

13. Examples (birth order OR first born) AND personality Using Academic Search PremierAcademic Search Premier

14. Using a Subject-Specific Database Try english AND personality In PsychInfoPsychInfo

15. Broaden or Narrow the Search Try english AND national AND identity Then try english national identity (as a phrase) in Sociological Abstracts

16. Evaluating Sources (ABC’s) Crucial for Web Searching! Audience Authority Bias Currency Scope

17. Audience What age group/education level/political affiliation/etc. is the audience? Is this for a person with in-depth knowledge or a layperson?

18. Authority Does the author’s name appear on the Web page? What are his/her credentials? Does the author provide contact information?

19. Bias Is the source objective? Could the writer’s or the organization’s affiliation put a different spin on the information presented? What is the purpose of the source?

20. Currency When was the work published? When was the work last updated? How old are the sources or items in the bibliography? How current is the topic? If a Web page, do the links work?

21. Scope What does/doesn’t the work cover? Is it an in-depth study (many pages) or superficial (one page)? Are sources and statistics cited? If a site, does it offer unique info not found in any other source?

22. Choose Your Sources Wisely No matter how much time and effort that you put into your paper, it will be only as good as the sources that you use Choose a variety of sources (reference materials, journals, essays, books, statistics, documented research, letters)

23. Use magazines to add interest, emotion, humor, opinion, etc. I think genetic testing should be done because then there wouldn’t be so many diseases. Experts in the treatment of multiple sclerosis say more children are being diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune disease… (USA Today). If you were the mother of one of these children, would you be for or against gene therapy, if gene therapy could cure your child? (this is NOT academic research)

24. Citing your sources MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, and other citation manuals available at the Reference Desk. Links from Other Useful Web Sites (Library Page)Useful Web Sites Copies may be available in Main Stacks Need help citing? The Writing Lab can help.

25. Other Library Services Telephone Reference 972-883-2955 Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. E-mail Reference “Ask A Librarian” http://www.utdallas.ed u/library/reference/eref form.htm http://www.utdallas.ed u/library/reference/eref form.htm By appointment with a reference librarian Contact Loreen Phillips loreen.phillips@utdallas.ed u loreen.phillips@utdallas.ed u Stop by the reference desk and ask Ask a UT System Librarian-Chat Monday-Thurs. 12:00-6:00 pm; Friday 12:00-4:00 pm CST http://www.lib.utsystem.edu/s tudents/ask.html http://www.lib.utsystem.edu/s tudents/ask.html

26. CREDITS The University of Texas at Dallas Libraries An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action University P. O. Box 830643 Richardson, TX 75083-0643 972-883-2955 Original content created by Stephanie Isham & Matt Makowka. Updated September 2005 by Carol Oshel Edited by Susie Kutchi