A Survivor’s Guide to Library Research
James A. Gibson Library, Brock University
James A. Gibson Library
Brock University
OAC Students
Check out:
HTTP://WWW.BROCKU.CA/LIBRARY
A gateway to a world of information!
How do I find books?
To locate books on your topic, search the Brock library catalogue (http://brain.biblio.brocku.ca) by
TITLE, AUTHOR, SUBJECT or KEYWORD.
Use TITLE when looking for a specific item or when checking to see if Brock has a particular
journal.
Use AUTHOR when looking for material(s) by a particular author or government or corporate
body.
SUBJECT and KEYWORD searches will be most helpful when looking for material (books, government
documents, etc.) on your topic.
Use SUBJECT when you know of the correct Library of Congress subject headings. For
example, if you are looking for information about domestic abuse, correct subject headings include
Family Violence and Wife Abuse. If in doubt, check the Library of Congress Subject Headings,
the big red volumes near the reference desk, or ask at the reference desk for help.
Use KEYWORD when you do not know the subject headings or need more material. Note that
you can use AND, OR, NOT and truncation (*) to broaden or narrow your search. For example:
(adolescen* or youth) and (drug* or alcohol*) – will retrieve works about young
people and drug, drugs, etc. OR alcohol, alcoholism, alcoholics, etc.
Use LIMIT THIS SEARCH to limit/sort your results by YEAR of publication, MATERIAL type,
PUBLISHER, WHERE the item is located and more.
DON’T FORGET! r check to see if the item is in the library (under STATUS)
r write down the call number (e.g. PS 648 S5 B47 1989)
r write down the location (e.g. 7th floor)
For more help on searching the catalogue, go to:
http://brain.biblio.brocku.ca/screens/help_gen.html
How do I find articles?
To locate journal articles on your topic, you can use either a print index/abstract or an electronic database.
Both of these index articles from a specific set of journals in particular subject areas. Some are general
and some are specialized.
GENERAL – covers many subjects (e.g. Canadian Periodical Index, Academic Search Elite)
SPECIALIZED – subject-specific (e.g. Physical Education Index; PsycINFO)
To identify an appropriate index or database, consult a library subject guide. These colourful handouts, which
are located on the rotating rack near the Reference Desk, provide lists of recommended indexes and
databases for specific subject areas. Or read the descriptions of each database
on the Databases page
(http://brain.biblio.brocku.ca/screens/edtitle.html).
ÄDo not limit yourself to just one database! Try both
general AND subject-specific databases. It is often
helpful to start out in a general database such as Academic
Search Elite and then move on to a more specific database
such as PsycINFO if you need to.
Databases to try:
Academic Search Elite
Elsevier
PsycINFO
Sociological Abstracts
Indexes and Abstracts
• Note the call number– e.g. Canadian Periodical Index REF PER AI3 C344
• Look up an appropriate subject term (e.g. drugs). The index is in alphabetical order.
• Peruse the list of citations following the subject heading.
• Write down relevant citation(s) in full (author and title of article, complete journal title, volume and
issue numbers, dates and pages).
• For more help on using print indexes, consult the guide mounted on the counter by the printed
indexes.
Databases
• All the databases are different, but the overall concept is the same: enter words in the search box to
find articles or other material containing those words. You can usually search within the whole
citation, parts of the citation (e.g. title), or, if the database is full text, within the entire article.
• Use AND, OR, NOT and * to further narrow or broaden your search.
• For help searching in a particular database, consult the help guides located on the wall by the sitdown workstations, or the HELP screens in each individual database.
How do I get the article(s)?
• Using TITLE, search the Brock library catalogue by the full title of the journal (e.g. Art Journal).
• Check if the library has the volume that you are looking for (look in the Lib. has section).
• Write down the floor and call number, and go to this area in the library.
• Use the citation of the article (volume, issue, year, page numbers) to find the article in the correct
volume of journal.
Ä If you are using a full text database, you can print, email or save the article!
For more help on finding journal articles, go to:
http://www.brocku.ca/library/fjour.htm
“How Do I…?”
http://www.brocku.ca/
library/faq.htm
Need some tips on database searching? Try:
http://www.mun.ca/library/research_help/qeii/tips.html