M I S S E U B A N K , M R. LO U I S

SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

FRESHMAN YEAR…

WHY ARE DATABASES AWESOME?

• They provide a variety of information• From Batman to Shakespeare--if you want it, it’s there.

• They help you find information by tags• It makes sure your information Is relevant

• They (usually) contain full-text items online• No buying books or trips to the library; it’s all right there!

STILL, YOU MAY BE THINKING…

THEY’RE PRACTICAL TOO!

• It helps with credibility• While wikis are nice, nothing says “fact” like an essay

written by a PhD.

• It can give you Ideas• See who the authors cite.• Sometimes, authors work together.

They’re just necessary. There’s no avoiding it when you get to college.

• They also help prevent you from sounding like this…

BACK IT UP WITH PROFESSIONALS

Producer for his own show. How professional do you think this guy is?

GOOGLE SCHOLAR VS. OTHERS

• Scholar searches for a word in the article

• Other databases search by “keywords”

• This can be useful in some situations, but misleading in others.

• Like searching for scholarly information on Batman

THE SEARCH FOR BATMAN

Google Scholar Ebsco Host

COULD MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:

Dr. “Batman”ghelidj “Batman”

Health Writer. Masked Vigilante

TIPS BEFORE YOU START

• Choose something interesting• You’ll be researching this for a while; don’t choose

something you’ll hate in an hour or two.• Sometimes this is unavoidable.

• Think of some keywords• What do you think of when you think of your topic?• Are there synonyms, antonyms, etc.?

• Get ready to read• You’ll be reading for a bit.• Get the highlighter ready, get comfy, and buckle down.

HOW TO USE IT

• You can use this RIGHT NOW at AHS.• Go to www.infohio.org• Click on grades 9-12• Click on the Ebsco Host icon• Click on the all database search icon• Enter username: infohio• Enter password: power• Click the first link “academic search premier”• Type in a keyword and hit enter

FULL TEXT VS. ABSTRACT

• Abstracts: • Summarize the main points.• Does not tell you “Why,” just “What.”• Sometimes this will be all you have. In which case you

should most likely move on. An abstract is just a summary. No meat on the bones.

• This is the appetizer

• Full Text: • Where you can really get your information.• Ideas are explained, so they make sense.• This is the meat and potatoes.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

• Scholars write differently. It takes some time to get used to.• They use words that won’t even fit in Scrabble (Words with

Friends)

• You won’t like the first one you read.• Be picky• Don’t “quote shop”

You’ll always be able to use Ebsco Host as long as you have the password and username, but the college you attend may have other options available to you that they would prefer you to use instead.

TIPS

• Always read the abstract first. It will tell you if the article you’re reading contains the information you need or not.

• Use ctrl+F to look up key words or phrases in the article. Especially if it’s long.

• Stick to PDF Full Text and HTML Full Text files. These are the only ones you can access immediately.

• Not everything you find on a database is credible. You’ll have to weed out the good and the bad. Some may be opinion writing etc.

• For your bibliography, just use the citation it has already made for you.

NO FOOLING AROUND WITH UNRELIABLE BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERATORS

Just copy, paste, and add a hanging indent. Clean, easy, and professional.

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS IN COLLEGE