Online Library Research Skills for Non-Traditional Students

Archbishop Ireland Memorial LibraryCurt Le May: Library Director / Theological Librarian The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity &The University of St. Thomas Libraries

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Online Library Research Skills for Non-Traditional Students

Archbishop Ireland Memorial LibraryCurt Le May: Library Director / Theological Librarian The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity &The University of St. Thomas Libraries

UST Libraries

UST has four libraries: 

-O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library (Undergraduate library - includes Philosophy books)

-Charles J. Keffer Library (Graduate Level - Education and Business)

-Schoenecker Law Library - AND…

ARCHBISHOP IRELAND MEMORIAL LIBRARY

The graduate theology library of University of St. Thomas and

The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity

Staff Curt Le May, Library Director, Theological Librarian & Reference

Betsy Polakowski, Serials and Cataloging (Reference Back-up)

Conie Borchardt, Circulation Department Supervisor, is your first point of contact

Facilities

Reference Room:

-Quiet Study -Wireless -Outlets for laptops -Scanner and Photocopiers -Reference books -Current Periodicals

Stacks: -Circulating book collection and periodical back files on five tiers

-Call number ranges are on signs near elevator and each stairwell

LOWER LEVEL

     Meeting Room

(meetings, lectures)

  Group Study (sign out at desk or register online)

  Bathrooms

Second Floor  

New: Quiet Study Room

Where do I start?

http://www.stthomas.edu/

University of St. Thomas Home Page

***UST Libraries Have a New Web Page

Where do I start?

With a good Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

Clearly expresses the central argument of your paper

Usually a single sentence in your first paragraph

Must be concise and well-written

Tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper

BRAINSTORMING: Developing a thoughtful thesis statement

• TOPIC: Interfaith Marriage• Focus: Jewish-Christian Marriage from the Jewish Viewpoint

• Brainstorming Questions:• Can they have a religious wedding if the other spouse doesn’t convert?• Are there rules about the religion in which they must raise their children?• How many couples leave their religions altogether because they don’t

worship together?• Can they have two different wedding ceremonies?• What does Canon Law say about a Catholic party in this situation?

BRAINSTORMING: The process for developing a thoughtful thesis

statement

Sample Persuasive Thesis Statement:

Interfaith marriage is not acceptable in several branches of Judaism.

[For example it is forbidden in Orthodox Judaism and although Conservative Judaism does not approve of intermarriage, it encourages acceptance of the non-Jewish spouse within the family, hoping that such acceptance will lead to the spouse's conversion to Judaism.]

BRAINSTORMING: The process for developing a thoughtful thesis

statement

Sample Persuasive Thesis Statement:

Almost half of all American children must cope, at some point in their lives, with the disintegration of their parents' marriage.

(e.g., Some favor joint physical custody because they say it allows both parents to remain involved in their children's lives. But others say that forcing a child to live in two homes is disruptive and makes an already difficult situation worse.”

Be Flexible!It is perfectly okay to change your thesis.The evidence may lead you to a conclusion you didn’t think you’d reach.

Is it clear and understandable?

UST Center for Writing

http://www.stthomas.edu/writing/

The Nitty Gritty: Where do I start?

• Think about your topic

• Focus your topic

• Develop a Research Strategy

Developing a Research Strategy

You need to know how to:

Brainstorm Terms = finding the right keywords

Build a Keyword Search = stringing the right words together to pull out information (articles and books)

Keyword Searching is, well, KEYYYYY

Advanced Keyword Searching Tips

Skip insignificant words: e.g., "of” – ‘an”-- “to” –”the”

Phrase search: when two or more terms are always used together, put them in quotes e.g. “Family Planning“ or “Marriage Preparation”

Advanced Keyword Searching Tips

BRAOADENDING YOUR SEARCH WITH KEYWORDS

 Very broad term = a single term, e.g. Marriage

Truncation = Christ* or Christ? = Christ, Christian/s, Christianity

Broader yet = add the term "or" between synonyms, e.g., Marriage or Wedding or Matrimony or Nuptials

Use an “and” or “not” search:

and:

domestic and violence and spousal and abuse

not:

spousal and abuse not emotional

Focus your topic using “and” / “not” searches.

Topic: Battered Spouses

Christian Marriage – Library Research Guide

Using the Summon Search Feature

One search: searches books, journals, articles, films, etc.

Use the limits on the left side to narrow your search.

keywords

Caveat: To broaden your search, sometimes you don’t want to click FT Only as there may be journals in the stacks that aren’t indexed in some databases)

Finding Books

Use CLICnet to find books and AV materials

Example Keyword Search

Add to keyword “marriage”

Possible Keywords

Canon LawSacramentChurchCommitmentTheologyPreparation Civil CeremonyLawsCivil UnionSecularCourt House

Church

Secular

Church Wedding

Civil Marriage

Sample keyword search

Keyword Search

Author Search in CLICnet

Blue hyperlinks are LC Subject HeadingsClick on them for more books like this one.

Subject Search in CLICnet

Subject: see blue hyperlink above Click on it

Subject Search in CLICnet

Reference Books don’t leave library

Oops – and this one is not housed at Ireland Library …

SCU Circ Collection

Request from another library – comes in 48 hours

Where do you want to pick it up?

Articles, Databases and E-Resources

Magazines vs. JournalsCurrent.

Scholarly Journals vs. Magazines.

Scholarly Journals are for scholars and researchers = you….

Newspapers /News Magazines: NYT; WSJ

Refereed Journals Scholarly peer review (also known as

refereeing)

Finding articles using our library.

We use databases for this.

To find articles you use databases

Databases for Theological Study Academic Search Premier

Multidisciplinary. full-text articles.

ATLA Religion Database

Theology articles, essays, reviews / Scripture Search 

Catholic Periodical Index

Catholic articles, book reviews, documents 

JSTOR

Full text articles from over 30 religious studies periodicals

Family Studies Abstracts

On Families and Family Studies

CQ Researcher Plus Archive

Two sides of an issue

Good Starting Place

Using Databases Off-campus via Ezproxy

Top Theological Database

ATLA Religion DatabaseTheology articles, essays, reviews / Scripture Search 

Keyword Search in Academic Search Premier

Topic:Single parent family

Obtaining Periodical Articles from other Libraries 

Articles can be obtained by visiting the library in person and making copies (periodicals cannot be checked out.) 

Articles NOT available through the UST libraries can be requested through interlibrary loan.

Do not pay for any articles you find on the Internet

Obtaining books in person from other libraries 

CLIC Consortium Libraries:

Present your UST I.D. to check out books.  

Interlibrary Loan  Books:

○ Check CLICnet before submitting. ○ CLICnet requests are faster.

Journal articles: 

○ No charge.○ Again do not pay for articles you find on the Internet.○ Come as a pdf file in your email.

ILLiad System – use this for Interlibrary Loans:

○ Electronic delivery of journal articles.○ Get an email your book is in.○ Don’t pay for articles on the internet – get citation and get○ them free through ILL.

Use WorldCat to search beyond our area and to initiate an Interlibrary Loan

To find course reserves…

Style Manuals & Citation GuidesThere are several different "styles" to use to write a citation for your bibliographies.  Here are some examples:

MLA Style, Turabian Style, APA Style

CYBERSPACEBe careful what you quote…

Better Google Searches…..

Google Books…..

Search in Google Books

Google Scholar (for Journal Articles, Academic Papers, etc.

So, what can I take home?

Borrowing Information

Periodicals and reference materials cannot be checked out. 

Borrow books with a valid UST ID. 

Books are checked out for six weeks; they can be renewed twice.

Research Guides by Subject

Theology And

ReligionGuides

Library Research Guides: Theology and Religion

Scroll downeven more..

Guide for your classFiled by course number

Reference Service Help with papers and

research projects

Help with Electronic Resources

Teach library skills on an individual basis

Consultations by appointment

Telephone and email