Social Studies
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7th Grade Service Learning Project:
Getting Set to Serve!
(Tips for Researching and Note-Taking)
Mr. Litz
Mrs. Gorton
Mrs. Herniter
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Table of Contents
Reseach Tips and Guidelines……………………………………………………..3
Note-taking Tips…………………………………………………………………….4
Citing Sources in a Works Cited Page…………………………………………...5
How do I Search the Electronic Catalog for a Book I Want?...........................6
e-Sources Available Through the Media Center Webpage…………………….7
To Access E-Sources from the Media Center Webpage……………………..11
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Research Tips and Guidelines
1. Use this packet to help you learn how to search the Card Catalogue, use databases
and e-books, cite sources, and take notes.
2. Research at least 3 sources.
3. Research a variety of sources. As tempting as it is to use the Internet all the time,
books, magazines, newspapers, journal articles, videos, surveys and interviews with
people can all be good sources of information.
4. If you find conflicting information on all 3 sources (in other words, each source gives
different facts about the same topic), consult more sources.
5. If you use the Internet, look for reliable sources. In general—but not always—a
source ending in .org, .gov, or .edu is more reliable than a source ending in .com.
(NOTE: Wikipedia is not a source!)
6. Depending on your chosen Community of Need, you may need to narrow or broaden
your search terms when you look for sources. Follow the guidelines below:
 If your topic is very general (such as “People lacking clean water”), consider
narrowing your search term. Focus on a specific area (such as “Water Shortages
in Africa” or even “Water Shortages in Ethiopia”).
 If your topic is very specific (such as “my sister who has Type I Diabetes”),
consider expanding or broadening your search (ex: “Children with Diabetes”).
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Note-taking Tips
1. Before you even start taking notes from a source that you have chosen to use,
record that source’s complete works cited information. (See “Works Cited” in this
packet.) This information will be used in the Works Cited of your Choice Rationale
Report, as well as on your final project.
2. Organize your notes on each source by question or topic. (In your Choice Rationale
Report, these topics/questions have already been created for you.) Also, for each
topic/question, use bullets, dashes, or some other system that works for you.
3. DO NOT print out pages and use them as your notes. Printouts don’t count as
evidence of research!
4. Do not write complete sentences, but also don’t write down one- or two-word facts;
write enough to understand what you mean without having to look back at the
original source.
5. As you read the source, paraphrase the information. This means to put it in your
own words. DO NOT copy a source word for word. There are a few exceptions:
 If you plan to cite a specific quote or statistic from a source, you may copy it word
for word, but be sure to put quotation marks around this quote/citation. This way,
when you look back at your notes, you can cite the source of the quote/citation.
 When appropriate, write key terms word for word, but explain them in your own
words.
6. As you take notes, do things that “good note-takers” do. This includes…
 Using abbreviations for long words (ex: gov’t. for government) and also for
common words (ex: w/ for with). If necessary, create a key of abbreviations.
 Writing neatly.
 When in doubt, taking more notes, rather than fewer notes.
7. In general, use your notes—not the original sources—to write the information in the
final product. When you create your final product, paraphrase what you wrote in your
notes and elaborate on it completely. (You will be condensing information in your
notes and then expanding on that information in your final product. Your final product
will thus contain information that has been paraphrased twice.)
8. Do not be afraid to ask the librarian or teacher for help with locating sources and
taking notes. It is their job to guide your research efforts!
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Citing Sources in a Works Cited Page
1. A “Works Cited” page lists all of the sources from which you got specific facts that
you have chosen to include in your final product.
2. Your sources will appear in 2 parts of your report/project: an abbreviated version of
the source within the report/document itself (typically the author and year of
publication, plus the page number if it is a direct citation), and complete works cited
information at the end of the report/document, on a separate page.
3. Do not number the items in your list of sources.
4. Double-space the entire list.
5. Use “hanging indentation.” You can do this on a Word document by going to
“Format,” clicking on “Paragraph”, and clicking on “hanging” under the “Special” tab.
6. Arrange the list alphabetically, using the author's last name. If there is no author, use
the first word of the title, (not including "a," "an," or "the"). If more than one source by
an author is used, alphabetize those entries by title.
7. Do not include page numbers for books, but do include them for magazine and
newspaper articles. For those sources, don’t write "p." or "pp." before the numbers.
8. Use a “Works Cited” generator tool from the Internet, such as “Citation Machine”
(http://www.makecitation.com/mla_book.php) or “Works Cited Generator”
(http://correctclick.com/biblio/)
9. For database sources through our Media Center, most databases provide the
bibliographical or works cited information for individual articles or e-books. You may
simply copy that information onto your sheet.
10. There are different formats for creating a bibliography or works cited page. Our
school district uses what is called “MLA” format.
Source:
Herniter, Carla. “Preparing a List of Works Cited.” Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Media Center. 17
March 2004. Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools. 21 March 2009
<http://www.spfk12.org/park/media/survivalkit.htm#www>.
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How do I Search the Electronic Catalog for a Book I Want?
Whether you are in the “Basic” search or the “Power” search, when searching
the Park Middle School Media Center catalog, it is best to search
KEY WORD.
In the “Basic” search window:
1.
in the “Find” window type the search term you are using; it is not case
sensitive.
2.
click the “Keyword” button and you will have the best results.
In the “Power” search window:
1.
make sure “Keyword” is in the pull-down window to the left of the
window for your search term.
2.
in the window next to the window where you have selected “keyword”
type the search term you are using; again, it is not case sensitive.
3.
Once you have entered your search term, click the search button.
Examples of search terms
For this assignment, your search terms will depend on your chosen Community
of Need. For instance, you can use words like: “poverty”, “polar bears”, or
“leukemia”. You can also truncate your search term by using a few of the
starting letters and instead of finishing the work, end it with an asterisk.
A few definitions
A search term is an element of a search or query. A search term is the basic
building block of a Boolean search.
Boolean search: a search for specific data using the Boolean operators AND,
OR, and NOT
Truncate: to shorten, in this context, a word; for example, prejudices can be
truncated to prejud*, increasing the number of words the catalog will search
(prejudge, prejudice, prejudices)
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eSources Available Through the Media Center Webpage
eBooks
Gale Virtual Reference Library
100s of newspapers provided through the New Jersey State Library
Reference collection published by GaleGroup
Biography
UXL encyclopedia of world biography
UXL newsmakersw, vol. 1-6
Environment
*Endangered species
Grzimek’s student animal life resource
*Our living world: earth’s biomes
*UXL encyclopedia of biomes, 2nd ed.
UXL encyclopedia of biomes
UXL encyclopedia of landforms and other geologic features
*UXL encyclopedia of water science
History
American Civil War reference library
American home front in World War II
American Revolution reference library
American social reform movements reference library
Ancient civilizations reference library
Bowling, Beatniks, and bell-bottoms: pop culture of 20th
century America
Cold War reference library
Colonial America reference library
The crusades reference library
Development of the industrial U.S. reference library
Early civilizations in the Americas reference library
Elizabethan world reference library
Fashion, costume, and culture: clothing, headwear, body
decorations, and footwear through the ages
French and Indian War
Gilded age and Progressive era reference library
Great Depression and the New Deal reference library
Harlem Renaissance
Industrial revolution reference library
Korean War reference library
Mexican-American War
Middle Ages reference library
Middle East conflict reference library
Prejudice in the modern world reference library
Reconstruction era reference library
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Renaissance and Reformation reference library
Roaring Twenties reference library
Shaping of America, 1783-1815 reference library
The Sixties in America reference library
Spanish-American War
Supreme Court drama: cases that changed America
Television in American society reference library
UXL encyclopedia of U.S. history
U.S. Immigration and migration reference library
UXL American decades
Vietnam War reference library
War in the Persian Gulf reference library
War of 1812
Westward expansion reference library
Witchcraft in America
World War I reference library
World War II reference library
Law
Checks and balances: the three branches of the American
government
Constitutional amendments: from freedom of speech to flag
burning
Crime and punishment in America reference library
Supreme Court Drama: cases that changed America
Literature
UXL encyclopedia of world mythology
UXL graphic novelists
Medicine
*UXL complete health resource
*UXL encyclopedia of drugs and addictive substances
Multicultural Studies
*Junior worldmark encyclopedia of world cultures
UXL encyclopedia of Native American tribes
Nation and World
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of foods and recipes of the
world
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of physical geography
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of the Canadian provinces
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of the Mexican states
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of the nations
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of the states
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of world cities
Junior worldmark encyclopedia of world holidays
Terrorism reference library
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Religion
World religions reference library
Science
*Alternative energy
Biotechnology: changing life through science
CDs, super glue, and salsa
Chemical compounds
Chemical elements: from carbon to krypton
*Grzimek’s student animal life resource
Space exploration reference library
UXL encyclopedia of biomes, 2nd ed.
*UXL encyclopedia of weather and natural disasters
UXL complete life science resource
UXL encyclopedia of biomes
UXL encyclopedia of science
Social Science
American social reform movements reference library
Marshall Cavendish Digital
Explorers and exploration
Exploring American history: 1550-1877
Exploring ancient civilizations
Exploring the Middle Ages
Inventors and inventions
Databases
*BrainPOP
*GreenFILE
*HealthyNJ
*Jersey Clicks
*Academic Search Premier
Biography Collection Complete
Business Source Premier
Career Transitions
Contemporary Authors
ERIC
Frost and Sullivan
*GreenFILE
*Health source: consumer edition
Health source: nursing / academic edition
History reference center
Informe
Job and Career Accelerator
Library, information science & technology abstracts
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Literary reference center
Magazine article summaries Ultra School Edition
*MasterFILE premier
*Middlesearch plus
Novelist K-8 plus
Novelist plus
Points of view reference center
*Primary search
Professional development collection
Reference USA
Referencia Latina
Regional business news
Salud en Espanol
Science reference center
Small Business Resource Center
*TOPICSearch
*Teen Health and Wellness
*World Book Encyclopedia
World Book Science Power
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To Access e-Sources from the Media Center Webpage
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Go to the District webpage: http://www.spfk12.org
Put your cursor over “Our Schools” and scroll down to “Park Middle
School
Put your cursor over “Our School” and scroll down to “Media Center”
Click on “Databases and eBooks”
In the “Sign-in Name” box type raiders
In the “Password” box type raiders1
Click Sign in button
Once you do this, you will come to a page that looks like this:
Welcome to the Park Middle School Media Center
Online Database and eBook Subscriptions
eBooks
Search all of the Thompson-Gale reference eBooks
at the same time; as well as the custom newspaper
and Spanish language database at the same time.
If needed, the password is: library
At home use:
Gale Virtual Reference
Library
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/park986
Password: remote
Search Marshall Cavendish eBooks by subject: geography,
sciences, social studies, or world cultures; or book title.
User name: parkms
Password: raiders
Marshall Cavendish Digital
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Databases
BrainPOP is an educational program, providing content
spanning 7 main subjects including: Science, Math, English,
Social Studies, Health, Arts and Music, and Technology.
Username: parkms
Password: brain
Brainpop.com
A bibliographic database of information about environmental concerns.
GreenFILE
HealthyNJ is a product of the University Libraries at the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey. The Consumer Health Information Task Force, comprised of
librarians from each of the four UMDNJ Campus Libraries, developed the content of the
Web Site to meet the health care information needs of consumers, particularly the citizens
of New Jersey.
Healthy NJ
Jersey Clicks
Full text of thousands of magazines, newspapers, reference books
and biographies as well as indexed images including photographs,
maps and flags – all from licensed databases purchased
for you by the New Jersey Library Network.
Code: 26917
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Search for information about individual authors and books.
If needed the password is: spfk12
TeachingBooks.net
A comprehensive database that allows teens to research
health-related issues important to their well-being.
It’s both a research/report tool and a self-help resource.
If needed the username is: parkms
If needed the password is: raiders
Teen Health and Wellness
General encyclopedia.
At school: if needed username is: parkblue and
password is: parkmiddle
At home: if needed username is: park2 and
password is: pms580
World Book Encyclopedia
SciencePower
Science encyclopedia.
At school: if needed username is: parkblue and
password is: parkmiddle
At home: if needed username is: park2 and
password is: pms580
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You will notice that there are two links that will take you to the eBooks you can
access through the Media Center, and then there are links to access our
databases. This page has the links to our ebooks and databases, as well as the
user-names and passwords as needed.
Gale Virtual Reference Library gives you access to many national and
international newspapers as well as 84 reference books published by the Gale
publishing house.
Marshall Cavendish Digital gives you access to 5 reference books published by
the Marshall Cavendish publishing house.
Both Gale Virtual Reference Library and Marshall Cavendish Digital give you
access to e-books, everything you access through these two sites is the same as
looking in a print book.
For “Databases”, we recommend that you start with JerseyClicks to access,
among other sources, magazines. There are more than 20 databases you can
use from this site, and you can search more than one database at a time from
this site.
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Click on “Custom search”
You will be asked for a library card number and PIN number. The
library card number is: 29523000416402; and the PIN number is: 4445.
Once you get to all the databases, you can search all of them
together, or any combination of databases you choose.
Review the list of e-books and databases that are starred (*), italicized, and in
bold-face type on pages 7-10 of this packet. These are most likely the most
useful sources for this particular assignment.
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