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Locating Information Resources

Locating Information Resources. ENG 120 Mortola Library. Session Objectives. Use reference tools to locate background information and statistics Locate books pertaining to your topic using the Pace Library Catalog. Find articles on your topic in library databases.

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Locating Information Resources

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  1. Locating Information Resources ENG 120 Mortola Library

  2. Session Objectives • Use reference tools to locate background information and statistics • Locate books pertaining to your topic using the Pace Library Catalog. • Find articles on your topic in library databases. • Cite resources correctly using MLA documentation style.

  3. Questions to Consider • Can you phrase your research topic in terms of a question or thesis statement? • Do students who are home schooled have a good social life? • What are the key concepts in your research question or thesis statement? • Home schooling • Students • Social life • What kinds of information will you need to answer the question you are asking, or support the thesis you are proposing? • Journal articles, books, newspaper articles, research reports

  4. Reference Tools • Can provide you with basic information. • Can help you focus your research topic. • Can lead you to other useful books and articles. • Can sometimes provide statistics.

  5. Finding Relevant Reference Sources • Gale Virtual Reference Library • Search the Pace Library Catalog… • …by keyword for “[subject area] and encyclopedias” • …by keyword for “[subject area]” with location limited to “Mortola Reference” • If you are unsure of the subject area that your topic falls under, try a general source like Encyclopaedia Britannica.

  6. Search Tip: Boolean Logic • Most electronic search tools allow you to combine concepts using the Boolean operators AND and OR • Use AND to combine concepts • home schooling AND socialization • Use OR to search for a single concept using synonyms or related terms • home schooling AND (socialization OR extracurricular activities)

  7. Finding Books Using the Pace Library Catalog • Use the library catalog to find out what we have and where to find it. • To find materials on a given topic, perform a keyword search. • To find books about a person, perform a subject search for “last name, first name.” • i.e., Hemingway, Ernest

  8. Subject vs. Keyword Searching • Keyword searches target entire records in the library catalog. • “history of education” • Subject searches target only the Library of Congress subject headings that have been assigned to materials. Search terms must match subject headings exactly. • education, history • curriculum change

  9. Finding Articles Using Pace Library Databases • Databases provide access to articles (citations, abstracts and/or full text) published in periodicals. • Use a database that is appropriate to the subject area you are researching. • Databases are subscription products available on campus or from home with your MyPace Portal username and password.

  10. Databases to try • Academic Search Premier • Research Library • Many full-text articles • May need to use to locate articles not immediately available • OmniFile • All full-text articles

  11. Citing Your Sources • When you build upon the ideas of others, you always need to give appropriate credit for those ideas. • Failure to do so is considered plagiarism!

  12. MLA Citation Style • MLA (Modern Language Association) style is generally used in the humanities. • See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (on reserve at the Mortola Library Reference Desk) for more information, or visit the guide to Citing Resources on the Library home page.

  13. Components of an MLA Citation (Article from a Library Database) Author, “Article Title.” Publication Title Volume#.Issue# (Year of Publication): page#-page#. Database Name. Database Vendor. Subscriber, Location. Access Date <Database URL>. Lessig, Lawrence. “Privacy as Property.” Social Research 69 (2002): 247-269. Academic Search Premier. Ebsco. Pace Univ. Library, Pleasantville, NY. 27 Jan 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>.

  14. Questions? Mortola Library Reference Desk: (914) 773-3505 Library Home Page: http://library.pace.edu

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