9th Grade Research Introduction
Introduction to THS Library:
 Welcome to Tremper Library! Please see the attached yellow sheet for
information regarding library hours, resources and policies. If you have
any questions, please see a librarian.
Research Unit Overview:
 9th grade English classes participate in a 3-4 day research project in the
library. The librarians introduce some of the electronic resources available
and provide tips for more effective researching during this time. Students
research their topics using the resources on the 9th Grade Research
Checklist and write down the citations for articles/books they find. This is
the information used to create bibliographies or works cited pages. Once
the checklist is completed, your teacher will have an additional assignment
for you to complete, such as a summary of one of your sources or a paper.
The librarians will assess the checklist and the English teacher will
evaluate the summaries/abstracts.
 The resources discussed are:
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CQ Researcher – The CQ Researcher is available as a print or online
resource. The print resource is normally located in the East Room of
the library in the Reference section. The online version is available in
the Library Internet folder. The CQ Researcher is a weekly periodical
that discusses timely topics facing the U.S. Congress. Each magazine
contains a thorough discussion of the topic including historical
information on the topic and pro/con points of view. Check with a
librarian if you want to use it from home.
Tremper Online Catalog – KUSD libraries share the same online
cataloging system. It is available as a shortcut in the Library Internet
folder or can be accessed on the school network through the KUSD
homepage. At the KUSD homepage, delete the address and type
imcweb. Press enter to access the catalog. A link to Kenosha Public
Catalog is available from the THS Catalog. You can access this from
your home.
SIRS Knowledge Source – SIRS is an online database that contains fulltext articles collected by professional researchers. It is available as a
shortcut in the Library Internet folder or can be accessed from your
home, if you have an online service provider. See a librarian for
information on home access.
EBSCOhost – EBSCOhost is an online database that indexes and
provides some full text of most magazines published in the United
States. The articles and abstracts can be e-mailed to your home. It is
located in the Internet folder and can be accessed from your home,
depending on your online service provider.
ProQuest – ProQuest is an online database which contains abstracts
and full-text articles from newspapers. It is located as a shortcut in the
Library Internet folder and can be accessed from your home, depending
on your online service provider.
Internet (WWW) – Internet Explorer is available as a shortcut in the
Library Internet folder. The Internet is to be used for assignments
only. Surfing and game playing are prohibited by the School
Board. Students caught doing so will have their computer
privileges suspended.
Research Checklist Instructions
 If you have any questions while doing your research, please see your English
teacher or a librarian.
Choosing a Topic:
1. Choose a topic to research. Check with your English teacher first to make sure
s/he hasn’t assigned one to you. If not, pick a social issue for a topic. Examples
include gun control, death penalty, abortion, drugs, or gay rights.
2. Write down your topic on the checklist in the space provided. This is the topic
you will be researching for ALL resources (#1-6)
Instructions:
1. CQ Researcher (ONLINE VERSION)
1.1 CQ Researcher is located in the Library Internet folder on the library
computers. Double click on the shortcut labeled “CQ Researcher.”
1.2 Type your topic in the Quick Search bar and hit Enter
1.3 The articles are arranged by relevancy. Double click on the article you want
to look at and a new window will open. The information you need to fill out
on your checklist is located at the very top of the article. Cross out the spot
for page numbers; this is only used for the print resource. The date of access
will be today’s date. When accessing an Internet resource, you must always
write down the date you looked at the site. CQ articles may be e-mailed.
Title 
Date
Author 
2. Tremper Online Catalog
2.3
2.1
The online catalog is located in the Internet folder on the library
computers. Double click on the shortcut labeled “Tremper Book Catalog.”
2.2
There are various ways to search the catalog (general keyword, title,
author, subject keyword). For this assignment, search by subject keyword
(your topic). Click on “GO.” If you get too many hits, click on advanced or
power search to narrow.
A list of 10 books per screen will appear. You may sort the entire list by Title,
Author or Publication Date. For some subjects you may want the latest
information and thus would sort by publication date. The red circle with a check
means that Tremper owns the book. Click on the title to see the complete
records and whether the book is on the shelf or not.
2.4
Fill out the required information on your checklist from this screen.
Place, Publisher, and Date are all listed on one line in that order. The
call number is located under the “Copy /Holding Information” banner.
Notice that you can click on the subjects listed to see more specific
books or you can go back to return to the original list.
Place: Publisher, Date
Call Number
Status
Additional
Help
C
I
Remember that KUSD libraries share the same online catalog. THS will borrow
books from other KUSD schools upon request. To view items at all schools,
click on the button “Other Locations” or edit search.
A PRIMER IN BOOLEAN LOGIC
Adapted from University at Albany Libraries
Available http://library.albany.edu/internet/boolean.html
Any computer database, including the Internet, will follow the rules of
computer database searching, which is based on the principles of Boolean logic.
Boolean logic refers to the logical relationship among search terms, and is named for
the British mathematician George Boole.
On Internet search engines, the options to construct logical relationships
among search terms extend beyond the traditional practice of Boolean searching.
This will be covered in the section below, Boolean Searching on the Internet.
Boolean logic uses three logical operators:
 OR
 AND
 NOT
OR
college OR university
Query:
I would like information about college.
 In this search, we will retrieve records in which AT LEAST ONE of the search
terms is present. We are searching on the terms college and also university since
documents containing either of these words might be relevant.
 This is illustrated by:
 the shaded circle with the word college representing all the records that
contain the word "college"
 the shaded circle with the word university representing all the records that
contain the word "university"
 the shaded overlap area representing all the records that contain both
"college" and "university"
OR logic is most commonly used to search for synonymous terms or concepts.
Here is an example of how OR logic works:
Search terms
Results
college
university
college OR university
17,320,770
33,685,205
33,702,660
OR logic adds the results to retrieve all the unique records containing one term, the
other, or both. The more terms or concepts we combine in a search with OR logic,
the more records we will retrieve. ALWAYS DO THIS SEARCH FIRST TO BROADEN
YOUR SEARCH BEFORE YOU NARROW IT WITH ANOTHER TERM.
AND (+)
poverty AND crime
Query:
I'm interested in the relationship between poverty and crime.
 In this search, we retrieve records in which BOTH of the search terms are present
 This is illustrated by the shaded area overlapping the two circles representing all
the records that contain both the word "poverty" and the word "crime"
 Notice how we do not retrieve any records with only "poverty" or only "crime"
Here is an example of how AND logic works:
Search terms
Results
poverty
crime
poverty AND crime
783,447
2,962,165
1,677
The more terms or concepts we combine in a search with AND logic, the fewer
records we will retrieve.
For example:
Search terms
Results
poverty
crime
poverty AND crime
poverty AND crime AND gender
783,447
2,962,165
1,677
76
NOT (-)
cats NOT dogs
Query: I want to see information about cats, but I want to avoid seeing anything
about dogs.
 In this search, we retrieve records in which ONLY ONE of the terms is present
 This is illustrated by the shaded area with the word cats representing all the
records containing the word "cats"
 No records are retrieved in which the word "dogs" appears, even if the word "cats"
appears there too
Here is an example of how NOT logic works:
Search terms
Results
cats
dogs
cats NOT dogs
3,651,252
4,556,515
81,497
NOT logic excludes records from your search results. Be careful when you use NOT:
the term you do want may be present in an important way in documents that also
contain the word you wish to avoid.
TRUNCATION
Most electronic or online databases allow a symbol to be used, such as * or ?, at the
end of a word to retrieve variant endings of that word. This is known as truncation.
For example, the word “teen” is the root of the following words:
teens, teenage, teenager, teenagers.
Most of the online resources that Tremper subscribes to use the asteric (*) for
truncation. By typing teen*, broadens the search to include all words that have
“teen” as its root. Like or, truncation broadens an electronic search. You may use
the * in all electronic sources, including the Internet, that we ask you to search. For
other databases you may search in the future, check “help” to see what truncation
term is used.
3. SIRS Knowledge Source
3.1 SIRS Knowledge SourceSI
is located in the Library Internet folder on the library
R on the shortcut labeled SIRS Knowledge Source.
computers. Double click
Select “Begin a New Session” and choose “SIRS Knowledge Source” when it
appears.
3.2 There are three different ways to search SIRS: Quick Search, Advanced
Search and Topic Browse. Additional Databases provides access to such
resources as printable maps and current news articles. Select the tab labeled
“Advanced Search” for this project. You must use Boolean logic in this
search, combining at least two search terms using AND. You do not have to
use an OR or NOT. Type in your Boolean search and click on Search.
3.3 Many of the articles contain abstracts or summaries and graphics as well.
Click on the title of an article to reveal the full text.
3.4 Choose one article to write down on your Research Checklist. A legend at
the top of the page details the contents of every article. All of the articles
provide source (works cited) information and descriptors (subject
headings). The “Source” button will reveal the works cited information.
SIRS articles may be e-mailed.
4. EBSCOhost
4.1 EBSCO Host is located in the
Library Internet folder on the
library computers. Double click
on the icon labeled EBSCOhost.
Select EBSCOhost Web to begin
a new session.
4.2 A list of databases will
appear on the screen.
MasterFILE Premier is
automatically selected, but
all of the databases can be
searched simultaneously if
selected. For the purposes
of this assignment, you
can just click on Enter to
search only MasterFILE
Premier.
4.3 Type in your
Boolean search and
press Enter.
Remember to type
an AND between
your search terms.
The most recent
articles will appear
first. Some of the
articles are full text,
but all will have
summary or
abstract
information
available. If the
article is full text, it
will appear
underneath the works cited information of each article. Click on the title and
copy down the works cited information.
Title of Article
Magazine Title
Author
Date of Volume Page
Magazine & Issue Number
5. ProQuest
5.1 ProQuest is located in the Library Internet folder on the library computers. Type in
your Boolean search and press enter. Please note that there is a way to search
Historical New York Times back to 1851.
Historical News
5.2 The most recent articles will appear first. Most of the articles are full text, but
all will have summary or abstract information available. Click on the title to
read both full text and abstract.
Title
of
Article
Author
Name of
Newspaper
(Include City &
State)
Date of
Article
Edition
Page Number
SEARCHING THE INTERNET

ANYONE can put ANYTHING on the Internet. Keep this in mind while you’re doing
research. It is very important that you carefully evaluate web pages for content and bias.
You should use the following guidelines for this assignment and whenever you search the
Internet.
INTERNET RELIABILITY OF CONTENT
Please use these questions to judge whether to use the information you find on the Internet in your research.
Is the title of the page clearly labeled as to origin of the information?
project.
Does the address indicate is originating from: .com (commercial), .gov (governmental), .edu
(educational), .org (organizational), .net (internet), .mil (military)?
Is an author clearly credited? Why is she/he an expert on this topic?
Is the material original information or reprinted from another source?
What is the purpose of the document - information giving, advocating a position or stimulating
discussion?
Is the information useful for your purpose?
Is the information current - when was the document created?
Does up-to-date information matter for your purpose?
Is the information presented as fact or opinion?
Is any bias clearly recognizable and the information is still useful to you?
Does the information appear to be well-researched and valid?
Are assumptions and conclusions well documented?
Are the words/pictures designed to raise emotions or sway the reader’s thoughts or feelings?
Did the information lead you to other sources on the internet or in print that were useful?
Does the information contradict something you found in other sources?

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There are two different tools for searching the Internet: search engines and directories.
Search engines electronically search for information that it gathers into an index. Google
is an example of a search engine. Directories, however, are web sites accumulated and
organized by people. The most famous directories include Yahoo and MSN. You can
search more web sites using search engines rather than directories, for it can
electronically gather information quicker than human compiled directories.
You can do a Boolean search on the Internet, but the method is different. On the Internet,
AND generally a + and NOT is a -. The + and – signs must be placed before each word
that they impact. See below for examples. OR is often automatically inserted between
search terms by search engines. If you want to search for a phrase (two words or more),
use quotation marks. Examples of phrases include “George W. Bush” or “gun control.”
Search engines will locate web pages that contain the words in the exact order that they
appear. For this assignment, you must combine two terms using +.
LAST MINUTE TIPS!
Adapted from Search Engine Watch
Available at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/math.html
REMEMBER:




BE SPECIFIC!
Use the + symbol to combine terms. You must put a + before each word you want to
include. For example:
+drugs +legalize
 Pages that contain both words will appear in your results first.
Use the – symbol to subtract terms. For example:
+drugs -marijuana
 This tells the search engine to find pages that mention “drugs” and then to remove any
of them that also mention “marijuana.”
Use quotation marks to search for phrases. For example: “yosemite camping grounds”
 Pages that have all the words in the exact order will be listed first.
 Combine symbols (+ - “ ”) to create targeted searches.
6. Internet
6.1 Internet Explorer is located in the Library Internet Resources folder on the
library computers. Double click on the icon labeled “Internet.” The Tremper
High School web site is the home page:
6.2 Type in the address of a search engine in the address box and hit enter:
google.com, yahoo.com, altavista.com or your favorite. You may NOT use Ask
Jeeves for this assignment. You must use (+) twice to get full credit for this
assignment. Remember, you must use a + in front of each term and quotes
(“”) around each phrase to get full credit for this assignment. Type in your
search and hit enter. See the following example for a sample search.
Address
Box
(URL)
Advanced
Search
Search
Box
6.3 Choose a web site from the compiled results. Citing web sites can be difficult
because, unlike print materials, there is no “title page.” Typically, the title of a
web site is found at the very top of the page. The author may be located
clearly at the top or sometimes at the very bottom. The author is not the same
as the webmaster. The most important to record completely and accurately is
the address or URL. Addresses are case sensitive, so copy it down exactly as
you see it.
6.4
The following example is a personal web page. . Do not use personal web
pages. They may be a student’s page or a professor’s page and often
contain personal opinions or reports that are not endorsed by the
University. Although the root of the address [http:userpages.umbc.edu] is
from an educational institution, you can tell it’s a personal page because of
the ~bdanie1 listed in the address. A ~ indicates a personal web site if listed in
the address.
Personal
Website
indicated by ~
or “userpages”
Address
(URL)
Address (URL)
Title
of Article
No author given
This date has been updated at
the bottom of the page
Source
Date of
document
Revised February 21, 2005
What organization,
government office,
company or educational
institute is responsible for
the content.