Introduction to Research

1. Introduction to Research Instructor: Eric Riley

2. What we’re going to cover… • The Research Process • Searching for Information • Books, Databases and the Internet • Evaluating what you find • Citing your sources

3. The Research Process • Choosing a topic • Developing a thesis • Searching for information • Evaluating what you find • Citing the sources you use

4. Searching for Info: Reference • Provides overviews on a subject • Gives you important terminology • Bibliographies for further study Examples: CQ Researcher, Opposing Viewpoints, Matter of Fact, Encyclopedia of Social Issues

5. Searching for Info: Internet Internet • Broad and general • Anybody can publish a webpage • Quality and reliability can be very suspect http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/cclib/

6. Searching for Info: Databases Periodical Databases • Provides indexing for articles in periodicals • Not controlled by the library • Indexes material the library doesn’t own http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/cclib/

7. Searching for Info: Catalogs Catalog • Indexes titles of books and periodicals • Library creates and updates catalog • Indexes only material the library owns http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/cclib/

8. Evaluating what you find • Authority • Currency • Accuracy • Scope/Coverage • Objectivity

9. Citing your sources • Other people want to know what you used • Citation provides a standard format • There are many styles Example: Book by one author Lemann, Nicholas. The Promised Land, the Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. New York: Knopf, 1991. http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/cclib/

10. Where we’ve been • The Research Process • Searching for Information • Books, Databases and the Internet • Evaluating what you find • Citing your sources