‘Introduction to the Library
Research Process’
Gilbert Bede, BA, MLIS
Communication Liaison
Librarian
Okanagan College Library
"The Librarian", Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1556”
Today’s Outcomes
Developing, Executing and
Evaluating your Research
Strategies
Recommended Materials
Library Services
Getting Additional Assistance
Questions
BIAS
Bias is an inherent aspect of all information
You need to review all information that you try
and understand its bias

Scholarly Communications Does One of the Best
Jobs of Minimizing Bias
Remember that you to have your own personal
biases
Reviewing, analyzing and citing the information
that you discover is important
“I’d like some information please.”
Your Department of Information
has the technology and solution to
meet this very need. Suddenly, you’re
dropped in the middle of a vast ocean of
information, thrashing to keep
your head above the waves. Information,
information everywhere … but after 3 hours of searching you discover that it is
doesn’t contain the information that you
need and you are quickly running out of time
to complete your assignment!
Adapted from
Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage in a World of More, Better, Faster
Bill Jensen
2000, Perseus Books, NY, p.21
Image http://www.raysofhealinglight.com/images/fear.gif
Retrieved January 8, 2007
Information, Information Everywhere
2004: It was estimated that 5 million Terabytes of Information Existed
1 Terabyte = 10¹²
5,000,000 x10¹²
170 Terabytes are considered to be indexable
Library of Congress contains about 30 Million Books roughly equal to 30 Terabytes
2005: The Web was estimated at 11.5 billion pages – 40 terabytes of textual content
1993 130 Websites
2005 64,800,000 Websites
Ulrich’s estimates 300,000 periodicals of all types are in print — academic and
scholarly journals, Open Access publications, peer-reviewed titles, popular
magazines, newspapers, newsletters, etc.
Bowker’s estimates that there are currently 9,000,000 titles in print
81,000 Publishers
195,000 New Titles In 2004
79% Of All New Books Sold In North America in 2004 Sold Fewer Than 99
Copies, With 16.91% Of All Books Selling Between 100 – 999 Copies
95.91% Sold Under 1,000 Copies
$40 Billion Worth Of Books were sold in North America in 2004
Multimedia
Developing, Executing and
Evaluating your Research
Strategies
"Knowing the right question to
ask is half the answer."
~ Lord Byron
Designing Your Search
Strategy
Time Management
Identify Your Research Topic
Understand the requirements of your research assignment



Speak to your instructor
Read your assignment carefully
Create a written research plan
When is your assignment due?
Do not take on more than can be accomplished within your identified
research timeframe
Dangers of a Broad Focus
Too Much Information to Process
Pearls of a Narrow Focus
Too little Information to Process
Challenge of emerging issues
The Subject so recent that it is not yet appearing in the literature
Limitations of Local issues
Rare in the literature

Private vs. Public companies
Things to Do and Think About
Before You Start
What do you already know about this
topic

Consult your textbook, lecture
notes, etc.

Speak to your instructor

Speak to your liaison librarian

Discuss it with your classmates
State your topic idea as a question

Identify the main concepts ,
keywords and keyword phrases
What format(s) of information are you
looking for i.e. Book, Article,
Multimedia, etc.
Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly vs.
Trade/industry/Professional
Establish a coverage timeframe for
your research i.e., date of publication
Decide on your geographical focus

Local

Regional

National

International

Combination of some or all of the
above
Do I want Citations or Full Text

OC Library doesn’t have the full
text of all journals published

Inter Library used to borrow or
obtain copies of material not
owned by OC Library
Typically takes less than a
week to get an article that we
don’t have

What if the material that I want is
at another campus
Request function in Library
Catalogue
Typical Research Cycle

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Test your Research Strategy
Refine your Research Strategy
Retest your Research Strategy
Repeat or Select a new Topic
Learn as you Search
Opportunity is missed by
most people because it is
dressed in overalls and looks
like work.
~Thomas Edison
How Do I Know When I am Done my
Research?
Set a benchmark of how many
information sources you want
to read based on the time you
have available
Your assignment provides
guidelines
You have to position yourself
somewhere between a
minimalist approach of
‘satisficing’ and falling into the’
‘paradox of choice’s’ black
hole’ of too much information
that results in analysis
paralysis
You need to find the balance
Image retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://tadd.weather.gov/images/turnDrownWarningSign.jpg
My Kingdom for the Correct
Keywords
Research is predominately carried out by
searching using keywords and keyword phrases
The English language changes overtime,
sometimes very quickly
The subject analysis performed by indexers and
abstracters doesn’t always keep pace
Controlled vocabularies

Each discipline has its own lexicon
Developing a Realistic Search Strategy
State your topic idea as a question:

‘What is the market for organic products ?’
Identify the main concepts or keywords


Market
Organic Products
Synonyms
Market
Marketplace
Economy
Sector
Synonyms
Organic Products
Organic Food
Organic Farming
Organic Stores
Now What?
Image retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www.breakingthetape.com/tri-polar-express/yellow_brick_road-thumb.JPG
Where to Start Searching
Identify where to Search
Do I want a
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Book?
Encyclopaedia, Handbook, Directory, Almanac etc.?
Periodical
Magazine
Scholarly Journal
Trade Journal / Industry Publication
Media


Video/DVD
Sound Recording
Internet?
Books
Scholarly (academic)

domain based
scale, purpose and ideology



specialized press
peer reviewed by subject
experts
structured
language
citations
references
bibliography


often only available through
academic libraries
can be an intimidating place to
start if you are unfamiliar with
the subject area
General (trade)

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
profit driven
author may not be an
acknowledged domain expert
focused at a broader general
audience
widely available

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written in lay persons
language
good starting point if you are
unfamiliar with the subject
area
Encyclopaedia, Handbook,
Directory, Almanac etc.?
Very useful when you don’t have much insight into the
subject you are investigating
Historic background, brief articles, concise in depth
information, good source for keywords, related topics,
etc.
Source for Quick Facts and Statistics
Check the imprint information

Timeliness can be an issue
Wikipedia


Lacks Authority
You will have to verify and validate any information that you use
from this source
Periodicals
Newspapers, Newsletters, Digest and Magazines
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Not Created Equal
Editorial Point of View
Content is there in order to sell advertising
Magazines

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Trade
Industry
Professional
Digests
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Edited versions of the original article
Often lack citations
The are exceptions i.e., Congressional Record is the Daily Digest
Journals (Print)

Predominately Scholar in Nature
Journals (Electronic aka ‘E-Journals’)

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Online, Internet based versions of print journals
E-Journal only publications
Scholarly Communications
Scholarly Journals
Books
Annotated Bibliographies
Databases / Web Sites
Data Sets
Conference Proceedings
Symposia
Technical Reports
Presentations
Scholarly Literature
Highly structure

Each discipline has its own language
Peer Reviewed

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Subject Experts
Editorial Boards
Properly Documented
Publishing it submits to the scholarly community
for critical scrutiny
It is collected and access to it is facilitated by
libraries
Government Publications
Government is major information producer
Over the past 10-years they have shifted
the majority of the material to the Internet
Can be time consuming to locate
Good source of statistical information and
data
Information on virtually everything
Online Databases
Aggregate content from multiple sources
into a single searchable database

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Thousands of journal titles
Both scholarly and non-scholarly articles
Other types of content, case studies,
videos/audio clips, statistical tables and data
sets, etc.
Complex but powerful native search engines
Media
Video
Audio Recordings
Micro Fiche
The Internet is a growing sources of this material
Citation of such material can be problematic
especially if discovered on the Internet
The Library has an growing collection of this
type of material
Internet
Surface Web vs. Deep Web
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Surface Web (search engines)
Deep Web (database driven web sites)
The Deep Web is roughly 600x the size of the Surface Web
User friendly search engine
Quantity vs. Quality
Validation of information

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Good for Government Publications
Google's Scholarly Content Search Engine
http://scholar.google.ca/
Caveat Emptor – Let the buyer beware
Library Web Page
http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library.html
Recommended Staring Points
Search Engines & Multitasking
Don't assume you know what you want to
find. Look at search results and see what
you might use in addition to what you've
already identified in your search strategies
Switch from Internet search engines,
Online Databases, E-Journals, etc.
Don't bog down in any strategy that
doesn't work
You Know Little or Nothing
About the Research Topic
Book Reviews - Book Review Index Plus
http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/kelo91364?db=BRIP
Canadian Encyclopedia
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
Encyclopedia of British Columbia
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://www.knowbc.com/IEBC/IEBCLogin.asp?Action=LogIn&username=okanagan&password=AUWUFCGUD
Canada Info Desk
http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://circ.greyhouse.ca/search/quicksearch
Oxford Reference Online
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/
World Almanac (FirstSearch - OCLC)
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://firstsearch.oclc.org/autho=100232486;fsip?dbname=worldalmanac
Encyclopedia of International
Media and Communications
http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780123876706
Encyclopedia of Information Systems
http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780122272400
Encyclopaedia of Social Measurement
http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780123693983
Librarians’ Index http://www.lii.org/

Over 16,000 web sites.
Compiled by librarians in information supply
business. Highest quality sites only. Great,
reliable annotations.
Infomine http://infomine.ucr.edu

Over 120,000 web sites.
Great, reliable annotations.
Cooperatively compiled by university &
college-level, academic librarians of the UC
campuses
OC Library Catalogue
http://library-1.okanagan.bc.ca/
Searching the Catalogue
Basic Search
Search Builder
Truncation ?
Patron Login
Request
Help
Subscription Databases
Business Source Premier
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=buh
ABI/INFORM
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTE5M0M@
Academic Search Premier
http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=aph
Recommended Databases
Academic Search Premier

http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=aph
CBCA Complete – Canadian Content

http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTM4OTAmSU5UPTA
mVkVSPTI=&clientId=7018
Business Source Premier

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=buh
CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index)

http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/kelo91364?db=CPI
Canadian Reference Centre

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=rch
Canadian Social Investment Database

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://csid.jantziresearch.com/HTML/login.asp
Hoover's Company Capsules & Profiles

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=SU5UPTAmVkVSPTImREJTPTJEM
zI@
Hospitality & Tourism Complete

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?profile=ehost&defaultdb=hjh
Canadian Newstand

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=U01EPTQmSU5UPTAmREJTPUcy
MUQ@
America: History and Life

http://ezproxy.ouc.bc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=ahl
Where can I get this article?
Seamless Connection
E-Journals
http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CJDB/BKOC/browse
Data & Statistics
http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/research/data.html
Statistics Canada
StatsCan Summary Tables

http://www40.statcan.ca/
Resources Information On A
Company
Canadian Company Histories

http://library-1.okanagan.bc.ca/cgibin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&DB=local&Search_Arg=canadian+company+histories&Search_Code=TKEY&CNT=15
Financial Post Survey of Industrials

http://library-1.okanagan.bc.ca/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v1=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=survey of
industrials&Search_Code=TKEY&CNT=10&SID=4
Annual Reports
Canadian Company Annual Reports

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Assets/Departments+(Administration)/Librar
y/PDFs/cdnreports.pdf
Sedar

http://www.sedar.com/
Sedar is a site that provides access annual reports
and also to documents released to stock holders and
the general public. These are extremely useful
resources that tell you what organizational activity is
going on within a company.
Industry Profiles
Industry Canada Profile Search

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/app/cio/search-recherche/portfolio.do?language=eng
Industry Canada Webster

http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/ic1.nsf/en/home
Government of Canada –
Mass Media
Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/welcome.htm
Canadian Heritage

http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/sujets-subjects/arts-culture/index_e.cfm
E-Books
Google Books
Open Content Alliance
Evaluating Your Search Results
Corroborate Your Information
To strengthen or support with other evidence; make
more certain
Make sure that the source has a good reputation



Does it have a web page
Editorial Board
Peer Review Process
Are other authors citing the article
Date of Publication matters (sometimes)


Information is ephemeral in nature i.e., is valid for a brief time
only
Scholarly Literature is constantly changing
If in doubt, ask librarian and/or your instructor

Always make sure that you include a proper citation
Read the ABSTRACT
An abstract summarizes, in one paragraph
(usually), the major aspects of the entire paper
in the following prescribed sequence:
Articulates the question being investigated (or
purpose)
Identifies the research methodology employed
Report on major findings including key
quantitative results, or trends
Summaries the findings of the research process
Saved you from reading the entire article
Some Journals also include a listing of keywords
and/or subject headings applied to the article
Not Sure About the Source?
Prometheus
Who is the Author(s)
Review who the author(s) of the article is



Have you seen or heard them referenced in
lectures, required textbooks, other articles or
books that you have found
Check out their personal and institutional web
pages
Look them up in “Canadian who’s who”
Kelowna Reference Collection Call Number
FC25 .C37
Authority
Subject Expert vs. the Noble
Amateur
References and Bibliographies
Built in Research Assistance


Review the Cited References found typically
at the end of the article
If there is a Bibliography (sometimes referred
to as “Further Reading”)
MLA Style
http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/help/guides/style.html
APA Style Guide
http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/help/guides/style.html
Citing Statistic Canada
Information
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/12-591-XIE/2006001/examples.htm
Library Services
Remote Access
Library Services
In Person Reference Service
Inter-Library Loan

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/services/ILL.html
Research Guides by course & subject

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/help/guides.html
Help

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/administration/students/library/help.html
Askaway

http://www.questionpoint.org/crs/servlet/org.oclc.home.TFSRedirect?virtcategory=12372
My Contact Information
Gilbert Bede
Room L101
Email gbede@okanagan.bc.ca
Telephone 250-762-5445
Local 4751
Fortune favors the bold!
Keep your mind open!
Learn while you search!
Questions
Thank You