Introduction to Research at UBC Library for WMST 100

1. Introduction to Research at UBC Library for WMST 100 Tara Stephens September 10th 2008

2. What do you need to know? How to: • Connect to library resources from home • Distinguish between primary and secondary sources • Find print and electronic materials for your topic • Evaluate search results for appropriate content

3. Connect from home • UBC subscribes to thousands of journals, hundreds of databases and much more • UBC students get access to these subscriptions through our Virtual Private Network (VPN) • VPN=Library at home • How do I connect from home?

4. Five Steps to Finding Books and Articles Women’s Studies Research Wiki • Step 1: Choose a topic • Step 2: Identify key concepts and search terms • Step 3: Look for books and articles • Step 4: Review your results • Step 5: Cite what you find

5. Choose a topic: Part 1 • Broad topic: Representations and experiences of immigrant women • Consider narrowing the group “immigrant women” to a particular subset based on race ethnicity age class religion nationality

6. Choose a topic: Part 2 • Consider materials you may have studied in class: • e.g. Joy Kogawa’s Obasan • What themes are present? • e.g. silence • Research Question: How does Kogawa’s treatment of the theme of ‘silence’ reflect the social, cultural and historical context of Japanese immigrant women in World War II Canada?

7. Step 2: Identify key concepts and search terms • What are the main ideas in your topic? • Women and silence in Joy Kogawa's Obasan • Japanese women and internment • Japanese Canadians and internment • Internment during World War II in Canada • Japanese immigrant women in Canada • What search terms could you use? • japanese canadian internment • japanese women "world war ii" canada

8. Step 3: Look for letters, books, articles, etc. • Primary and Secondary Sources

9. Find primary sources • Primary Sources are the direct evidence or first hand accounts of events without secondary analysis or interpretation • e.g. Find Joy Kogawa's Obasan; letters, diaries and oral histories from Japanese Canadian women. • Search 1: japanese canadian internment

10. Find secondary sources • A secondary source is a source that comments on, analyzes, or otherwise relies on primary sources. • e.g. an article in a newspaper that reports on a scientific discovery or a book that analyzes a writer’s work is a secondary source. • Search 1: japanese canadian internment • Google Scholar • MetaLib

11. Get Started • OneSearch • From UBC Library • Books, videos, newspapers • Google Scholar • Articles, book citations • MetaLib • Articles, book citations

12. Go Pro Boolean searching (and, or, “phrase”) • Library Catalogue • Subject Guides • Indexes & Databases

13. Step 4: Review your results • Who is writing? • Who is the audience? • What type of language is being used? Is it biased in any way? • Is there a bibliography? • Is this the best resource for my paper?

14. Step 5: Cite what you find • APA, MLA, Chicago • A few words on plagiarism Don’t do it!

15. Evaluation Student and faculty feedback is invaluable in keeping instruction sessions relevant and current • Women’s Studies Library Tutorial Evaluation

16. Tara Stephens tara.stephens@ubc.ca 2nd floor, K219 Koerner Library 1958 Main Mall University of British Columbia Tel: (604) 822-2160

17. Thank you! Any Questions?