Lesson 2: Finding Sources

1. Lesson 2: Finding Sources Topics Internet Sources vs Library Sources Search Terms Finding Varied Sources Evaluating Source Quality

2. Consider Your Sources When considering a source, keep in mind: • Check for often-cited authors. • Ask yourself if it is a primary or secondary source. • Is the author is an acknowledged expert in the field? • Is the information carefully documented? • How was the book received by peers and critics?

3. Pyramid of Library Resources

4. Scholarly Articles • Scholarly articles • Can appear in a magazine, newspaper, or journal. • In general, offer more reliable evidence than popular magazines • Citation searching can help evaluate sources. Three citation indexes include: • Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) 1977-date • Science Citation Index (SCI) 1961-date • Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) 1966-date

5. Journals vs. Magazines • Journal articles are better than magazine articles for several reasons: • They are generally written by an expert • They are more narrowly focused. • They are carefully documented. • They are subject to peer review.

6. Scholarly Books • Scholarly books, including textbooks, treat academic topics with in-depth discussions and careful documentation of the evidence. • Resources for scholarly books include: • Book Review Digest. • The Booklist • Book Review Index • Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities • Index to Book Reviews in the Social Sciences • Current Book Review Citations

7. Biographies • Biography resources include: • The Biography Index • Current Biography Yearbook • Contemporary Authors • The Dictionary of Literary Biography

8. Sponsored Web Sites When using information from web sites, always question: • Is it appropriate to my work? • Is it reliable and authoritative? • Is it sponsored by an institution or an organization?

9. Newspapers • Print indexes can help locate newspaper articles. • Popular print indexes include: • Newspapers.com • Bell and Howell's Index to the Christian Science Monitor • The New York Times Index • Official Index to the London Times • Wall Street Journal Index

10. Newspaper Databases Popular newspaper databases include: • National Newspaper Index • Proquest National Newspapers • Newspaper Source • Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe • Newspaper Abstracts

11. Library Research Techniques • Despite the ease of the Internet, your campus library will probably be your greatest asset for academic research. • To be effective at library research, you must become familiar with: • Using call numbers to locate books • Searching for magazine, journal, and newspaper articles

12. How Books are Classified Two main systems for classifying books: • Dewey Decimal • Divides all knowledge into ten parts, then subdivides each of these parts into one hundred additional classifications. Adding decimal points gives librarians the ability to subdivide things even farther. • Library of Congress • Uses both letters and numbers. It is much more common in college libraries and is the one you should become most familiar with.

13. Finding Books in a Library • Examples of how books are arranged on the library shelf: • Books with the classification LA are arranged before LB • Books with the classification .B22 are arranged before .B27 • Books with the classification .M are arranged before .N • Books with the classification 1995 are arranged before 1997

14. The Library of Congress System • The Library of Congress system is complex, but not difficult to use. • Each call number starts with one or two letters, which signifies a category of knowledge. The letters are followed by a whole number between 1 and 9,999. • Read call numbers from top to bottom (or left to right if they’re written horizontally). • The alphabetical and numerical order help sequence the book.

15. Citation Information • During research, gather this information for each entry (based on the MLA style). •  Call Number • Author(s) • Title • Place of Publication • Date of Publication • Include a two- or three-sentence summary of the article and it’s relevance to your topic.

16. Finding Articles • Tips for finding articles • Start search with a general subject database, then move to a more subject specific database. • Use the MLA format for recording citations and note articles to research further. • Be aware that many electronic databases include popular magazines and scholarly journals. • Some indexes are very subject specific.

17. Finding Articles using Databases Examples of General Subject Databases include: • MasterFile Premier • InfoTrac One File • General Reference Center Gold • MasterFILE Premier • Reader’s Guide Abstracts • UnCover (fee for article) • Expanded Academic ASAP • Academic Research Library • Proquest Direct • Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe • Ebsco

18. Check the Bibliography • Use the bibliography of the sources you find to locate additional resources. • Never set aside a promising book until the bibliography is reviewed. • Document the complete bibliographic information from books to research later. • Keep a running list of all interesting or relevant sources.