Research Resources
& Search Strategies
C. Castell, Instructor
2010 February 11 - L. Dobson, Librarian
2
Ashtonbee Library
►2
group study rooms
(in the computer lab across the hall from the Library)
► Book
these rooms
Room A-105
at the Library Service Desk,
5
6
Global Citizenship SUBJECT GUIDE
8
Research & Writing Help – RefWorks
bibliography & citation manager
9
Research & Writing Help – APA Style
Examples of APA style – 6th ed.
(Source: Seneca College Library website)
Note: DOI = Digital Object Identifier (“new” in 6th ed)
Library Classes Handouts Blog
► Did
you attend a
library class?
► Check
the
blog for copies of
the handouts
and possibly
some extra
advice from
the librarian who
taught your class.
GNED 500 library classes
handouts & presentation
material
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Research Sources
Proposal for Social Change
Assignment
What newspapers offer…
e.g. in Lexis Nexis, CPI.Q databases, etc.
►
Current info – news!
►
Hot topics
►
Debates, different viewpoints & opinions
►
Analysis & background info
►
Tips on research studies, government policies & other publications
E-resources at Centennial Libraries
► Over
100 databases
for newspaper & journal articles
etc. from reliable sources
► Search
 One at a time
 Many at one time using
vendor aggregators –
see list to the right…► ► ►
 Almost all at once
through BIG search
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A word about e-resources…
►
Licensed electronic resources that let you search hundreds
of thousands of articles at one time
►
Offer tools for precision searching (can save you time)
►
Content is commercial free and more consistently scholarly
& reliable than the Internet
Journal articles: scholarly or general level?
Scholarly articles
► are documented (in-text citations, footnotes or
endnotes).
► Most are peer reviewed = highest research quality
General articles
► are not documented
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Internet sites
► Government
sites – including Statistics
Canada
► Non-profit community organization sites
► University & college sites
► Etc.
See handout for some examples
of reliable websites
What’s your source?
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Trustworthy websites?
1. Authoritative?
2. Accurate?
3. Current?
4. Objective?
Evaluate websites tutorial…
► Wolfgram
Memorial Library, Widener
University (Chester, Pennsylvania) –
► a 10-minute av program, Evaluate Web
Pages
►
http://www3.widener.edu/Academics/Libraries/Wolfgram_Memorial_Library/Evaluate_We
b_Pages/659/
Evaluate websites tutorials…
Ithaca College Library (Ithaca, New York)
Website evaluation exercises
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think7.html
A word about Statistics
► ESTAT:
an e-resource (database)
popular data from Statistics Canada
► Statistics
Canada (Internet website)
Much is free, some are fee-based. Do not pay for
Stats Canada data –ESTAT or other sources may
provide free data
► Many
other sources…
Ask the Library staff for help
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York University Libraries offer a lot of help on using Canadian statistical sources.
York University Libraries homepage: http://www.library.yorku.ca/
Click on “Resources” ---Statistical data…
Books & Encyclopedias…
Provide …
► Background
information
► Overview (“the big picture”)
Use…
► Library
catalogue
► Encyclopedia
Britannica Online & Credo
Reference databases
► Etc.
Strategy
..
Map out a keyword search strategy
► Identify
the key concepts in your topic
► Think
of additional keywords and phrases
for these concepts that you may need to
use when searching. For example:
Example: keywords to describe the concept, global
warming?
Global warming or greenhouse effect or air pollution
(etc.)
AND
(Boolean operator that combines)
e.g. communication AND business
AND
Your 1st Term
Your 2nd Term
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OR
(Boolean operator the collects)
Your 1st term
OR
Your 2nd term
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Plagiarism