COMP 100: Composition

Research Resources, Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta, Fall 2009
Professor Fiske, Professor Rice

Steps in library research: Overview

  • Background information on a topic can often be found in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources. There are encyclopedias in the reference area on the first floor of Milne Library that cover most topics. 
  • Find books. Books often treat a topic more comprehensively than journal articles. Books can be a good place to find an overview of a topic. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of a chapter.
  • Find articles.  Since journal articles are often more focused than books, they may provide more specific information than books. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of an article. Information in journal articles is usually more current than information in books.
  • Consider supplementary materials such as internet sites. Since articles found on the internet have rarely gone through the peer-review process, they must be carefully evaluated.  It may be possible to find peer-reviewed journal articles by using Google Scholar; however, some of these articles may be author preprints and therefore may not be exactly the same as the final version.
  • Organize the findings.
  • Use the information to address the research topic.

Reference Sources

Reference books can be a good way to get background information on a topic. Examples include:

 

Environmental Encyclopedia Milne Library Reference GE10 E38

Oxford companion to global change Milne Library Reference GE149 .C84 2009

Encyclopedia of global warming and climate change   Milne Library Reference  QC981.8.G56 E47 2008

 

Children with disabilities in America : a historical handbook and guide  Milne Library Reference HV888.5 .D57 2006

Encyclopedia of education & human development  Milne Library Reference LB 15 E473 2005

Early childhood education : an international encyclopedia  Milne Library Reference LB1139.23 .E272 2007

Although Wikipedia can be a good starting point for basic information, it is not necessarily 100% reliable as most articles can be edited by anyone (see YouTube video of a  Wikipedia timelapse). (Some Wikipedia articles on controversial topics are "locked down" to prevent vandalism.)  Make sure you verify the information in Wikipedia with several other sources.

Finding books

Library Catalog (link on the Milne Library home page)
Milne Library online catalog gives the location and availability of  books, videos, compact discs, reserves, and other materials. It does NOT have information about individual journal articles.
 
To view detailed information about an item, click on the number link on the left of the entry.
 
Availability is shown by numbers to the right  (e. g. 1/0). The first number is the number owned by the library; the last number is how many are checked out.
 
Subjects are listed at the bottom of the detailed entry. These subjects will link to other materials on the same exact subject.
The BASIC SEARCH allows you to search by fields such as (Words Anywhere, Words in Title, Words in Author, Subject begins with).
 
"Words Anywhere" searches are useful if you do not know the precise subject, title or author. If you are unsure of the ending of a word or wish to search the stem of a word, use the wildcard symbol  * .
 
The ADVANCED SEARCH allows limiting by language, collection, document type, year.
 
 Hartwick College  (link on the Milne Library home page)
SUNY Oneonta students may borrow materials with a valid SUNY ID card.
 
WorldCAT (link the Milne Library home page)
A catalog of books owned by libraries world wide. Good for in-depth research of a topic.  Most of the books can be acquired through Interlibrary Loan.  ILL usually takes a few days but occasionally can take longer. Be sure to allow plenty of time!

Finding articles:

Like the index in the back of a book that helps you locate specific content within the book, journal and newspaper indexes make it possible to find an article on a specific topic without leafing through numerous issues. For academic research, it is often important to use peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals rather than popular magazines. Peer-review is the process by which a journal article is evaluated by experts in the field before publication, ensuring that only scientifically valid research is published. An example of a peer-reviewed journal is the American Dietetic Association Journal. An example of a popular magazine is Time.
 
Discussion: Scholarly Journal Articles vs. Popular Magazine Articles
 
The Milne Library home page lists databases alphabetically as well as by subject:
Databases by Name A-Z (link on the Milne Library home page)
Databases by Subject (link on the Milne Library home page)
 

Where to begin a search for journal and magazine articles:

 

Academic Search Complete  (a link on the Milne Library home page)   
Provides full text for about 6,100 periodicals including over 5,100 peer-reviewed journals across most areas of academic study as well as indexing and abstracts for more than 10,000 magazines and journals.

Where to begin a search for newspaper articles:

 
Lexis-Nexis
Includes full text from state, national, and international news sources (without illustrations). Also provides full text from selected legal, medical, and business sources.
 

Where to search to find which databases have the most information on a topic:

 
Central Search (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z).
Central Search is designed to search many databases at once. It is a good choice when you wish to find which databases have the most information on a topic or after other possibilities have been exhausted  Fine-tuned searches are best conducted in individual databases.

Finding the full-text of online articles

When the full text does not appear on the computer screen, click on the 360 Link to Full Text icon.  This links to a menu that indicates other databases where an online full text copy of the article might be found. Often there is a direct link to the full text of the article. If not, search the indicated database by the title of the article. If you see a link to SUNY-Oneonta print holdings, the issue of the periodical may be in the Milne Library print periodicals collection: enter the periodical title in the search box on the library home page under the red Find Journals tab on top of the search box.
 
If the library does not subscribe to the periodical, the article can usually be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan/ILLIAD. Articles are usually delivered to you electronically in your College at Oneonta mailbox.  If you order a book, you will be notified when it has arrived so that you can pick it up at the library.  Interlibrary loan usually takes a few days but may take up to three weeks in unusual circumstances, so be sure to allow plenty of time to receive your materials before you need to write your paper.

Citations

Microsoft Office Word 2007 has a tab for managing references including endnotes, footnotes, and bibliographic citations. Not all types of citation are included. Also, take care to make sure the formatting is correct.

MLA has recently updated their guidelines.  Please check the following site for the most recent information: MLA 2009 formatting http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

 
How to Write a Bibliography. Covers both APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) styles.

Evaluating Internet sites

*Anyone* can publish on the Internet. Therefore, it is important to learn to evaluate any information found on the net.

Five points to consider in the evaluation of a web site:
 
1. AUTHORITY: Who is responsible for creating the page? Does the URL contain .edu (education), .gov (US government), .org (organization) .int international organization)? Or does the URL contain  .com (commercial) or .biz (business)? Is it a personal site (.name)? (Country codes also may be part of a URL. See Domain name registries around the world for a listing of country codes that can be used with a search engine such as Google: Advanced Search.)

 
2. CURRENCY: Is there a date indicating when the page was created or updated? Is the information up to date?
 
3. COVERAGE: What is the purpose of the site? Does it address your research topic? Is it detailed or broad? 
 
4. OBJECTIVITY: Is the site expressing a slanted point of view or trying to sway your opinion?
 
5. ACCURACY: Can you verify that the information is correct? Are the facts consistent within the page?
 
Examine these web sites. Which information is accurate?
Splenda/Sucralose Homepage
Sucralose Toxicity Information Center

Plagiarism

When you use information from a book, article, or web site, don't forget to cite it in proper fashion!  Remember to paraphrase and use your own language. For further tips see:

 

Plagiarism-  What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It

 

College at Oneonta: Academic Honesty policy

 

Turnitin.com is often used at the College at Oneonta to detect plagiarism.

Need more help?

Research/Information specialists are available to help you in person at the Research/Information Desk most hours the library is open.  Research  librarians can be reached by email(libref@oneonta.edu or  http://www.oneonta.edu/library/help/contactus.asp) or telephone 607-436-2722).  In addition, Research Consultations  (a link on the Milne Library home page) are available for in-depth research assistance. It is also possible to chat with a librarian (usually not from Milne Library) through the Ask Us 24/7 Reference Service (a link on the Milne Library home page).


Nancy Cannon (cannonns@oneonta.edu)
OFFICE HOURS by appointment