Native Issues-CATC:
Research Strategies
Jane Long, Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of Oklahoma
MA, English, Wright State University
BA, English, Southwestern Oklahoma State
University
Periodicals and Government Documents
Librarian
Al Harris Library
jane.long@swosu.edu
Outline of session
• Plan your search/Keywords/Boolean
• Choosing appropriate Sources/Databases
• Work with using Citations
• Visit the library
Major Concerns
• Topic Selection
• Narrowing the search
• Using the library effectively
What is your research question?
“What is the Trail of Broken Treaties
and how does this connect with the
American Indian Movement?”
Answering this question will be the
focus of your research. Using
keywords and keyword phrases will
lead you to information about the
question.
Identifying Keywords
• Identify the significant terms and
concepts that describe your topic.
– Use your research question for guidance.
– Formulate your thesis statement by
considering your question.
• Use these keywords for searching
catalogs, databases and search engines
for information about your subject.
Boolean
• AND = Narrow
• OR = Expand
• NOT = Exclude
Books
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Al Harris Catalog
Ebrary
Ebooks on EBSCO
Open World Cat
Ebrary: eBooks
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24/7
Full Text Searching*
Highlight Markup
Note Taking
Changeable Font Size
Multiplicity of Use
• CREATE A BOOKSHELF
eBooks on EBSCO
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•
•
•
•
24/7
Full Text Searching
Highlight Markup
Note Taking
Changeable Font Size
• Create a FOLDER
Open World Cat
• Meta search engine for online catalogs
of libraries all over the world. Search
for any book using a geographic
location for the closest sources.
• Over 9000 libraries combined.
• If you find it in WorldCat, and it's not
in our library, we can get it through
ILL.
• CREATE A USER ACCOUNT
Choose Appropriate Databases
• Begin with Library Resources for your
Subject
• Search several databases
• Think about the range of sources:
books, journal articles, statistics,
websites
• Remember: Google is not (usually) the
answer
Databases: Social Sciences
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America: History and Life with Full Text
JSTOR
North American Indian Thought & Culture
Project Muse
Also video resources such as Films on
Demand or VAST: American History on
Video
EBSCO Databases
• America: History and Life with Full
Text
JSTOR
• Includes archives of over one thousand
leading academic journals across the
humanities, social sciences, and
sciences.
• Search by discipline: History
Project Muse
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Wide variety of humanities and social
science subjects
• Complete journal content, including
charts, graphs, and images
North American Indian Thought &
Culture
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The collection is comprised of
material that covers the entire
history of North America; from
17th century accounts of the
first encounters involving
Indians and European colonists
to the stories of aboriginals
living in a 21st century world.
This is a good source for
locating basic or background
information.
Reading citations
A citation is a short, multi-part
description of a specific information
source. It provides the information that
is needed to find that source.
Citations:
• Giving Credit to Sources
• Using Citations to locate additional
sources
– Areas to document:
• Books
• Periodicals:
– Journal
– Magazine
– Newspaper
• Conference Reports
• Websites
A standard journal citation will
include:
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Author
Title of the article
Title of the journal
Volume number/Issue number
Publication date
Page numbers
A standard book citation will
include:
• Author
• Title
• Publication information
– City
– Publishing Company
– Date
A standard website citation will
include:
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Author – if given
Title of content used
Title of webpage
Name of organizational sponsor
Publication date
Date of access
Google: Improve Your Searches
Site Specific Command
What it does: searches only specific
domains
What to type: Trail of Broken Treaties
site:edu
Trail of Broken Treaties
site:gov
Google Scholar
• Google Scholar provides a simple way
to search for scholarly literature.
Search across many disciplines and
sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses,
books, abstracts and articles, from
academic publishers, professional
societies, preprint repositories,
universities and other scholarly
organizations.
Google Scholar
• Works best for Citations
• Restrictions to Content
– Fee-based
– Often your library already owns material
– We’re working on improving access
Native Issues:
Internet Resources
• Tribal Government and Native
American Resources
• Native American Documents Project
• Indian Affairs Laws & Treaties
Review
• Searching techniques
• Books:
– Ebooks/Catalog/Open WorldCat
• Databases:
– America: History and Life with Full
Text/JSTOR/North American Indian
Thought & Culture/Project Muse
• Google Site Search/Scholar
Helpful Things to Remember As You
Complete Your Research Assignment:
• Read carefully, make notes, and take
advantage of the resources that are
available to you.
• Do not parrot the material: use your own
words and your own style as you write.
• Use what you have learned about your topic
to develop your own analysis of the subject.
In this way, you are answering your
research question.
Questions?
• Contact me:
– Jane Long
• 774-3731
• jane.long@swosu.edu