library research. what were going to cover what is research? internet research looking for books...
TRANSCRIPT
Library Research
What we’re going to cover
What is research? Internet research Looking for books
Here and at Dominguez Hills Looking for magazine and journal articles
Library Databases
Do you have an assignment to write a research paper but you’re not sure where to start? Begin by carefully reading the assignment requirements. This will help you understand the work you need to do. Ask your teacher about anything you’re not clear about before you get started.
First, let’s think about what we mean when we say “research.”
Research
Gathering information from authoritative sources:
pertinent books, encyclopedias, and articles in magazines, journals, and
magazines.
The research process:1. Have a topic2. Focus on your topic by :
Asking yourself: how much do I know about the topic? Making a list of terms related to the topic Making a list of questions related to the topic.
3. Form your hypothesis or guess answers to the questions you made;
4. If you are ready to find out whether your guesses are correct, then you are ready to start your research.
Approaches to Research
Question: How does divorce affect children?
Topic: Effects on violence on TV on children
Hypothesis: Birth order affects personality
Words to use in searching
Children Children Teens Teenagers
Divorce Broken homes
Relationship of the parts of the topic to each other
Agriculture orFarm* orCrops orOrchards
Pesticides orInsecticides
Soil orGroundwater
Use OR to group synonyms together
Use AND to combine the parts of the topic
Using the * will ask the computer to search for farm, farms, farming, farmers…
To gather information about your research
You have your
topic and you
know what you
do not know In other words you have identified what things you must find out
Resources
Information from the Internet –
The Internet Provides a Good Place to Begin… But… Are published instantly without anyone checking or validating the correct information; Anybody can write a webpage
You yourself must evaluate the authority of the author or the source of information;
Information from the Internet is useful only if it matches what you found from a reliable source.
Guide to evaluating information from the
Internet
Wolfgram Memorial Library at Widener University
Best move:
Use BOOKS first for research
Works of known experts• The publisher validates
the qualification of the writer;
• Consultants study the information in the material
• Editors to check the material before publication.
But which book should I use?
Things to consider
Make sure the book you use is recent enough to provide reliable information – in politics and some sciences, things change FAST
You don’t have to rely on the Compton Library only for your books Public libraries are great for some topics You have borrowing privileges at Long Beach
State and Dominguez Hills
Databases
Provide information about and sometimes links to: Newspaper articles – for current events Magazine articles -- for popular opinion Scholarly journal articles -- for academic
analyses
Which databases?
Proquest SIRS CQ Researcher
Putting them all together
Your collection of information from various resources needs to be written …
Writing your paper…
INTRODUCTION
BODY OF THE REPORT
CONCLUSIONS
Work Cited List
Work Cited List
This is a listing of all the materials you used to get the information you have included in your research paper.
Visit : http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
Writing the final paper
The first draft
The final draft
EDIT YOUR
PAPER
Good luck!
Created by :
Eleanor Liwanag Sonidoand Anita Colby
Librarians Compton Center library