Here’s a brief list of the things we covered in the instruction session today.

Central Search – A large, quick database which searches both books and articles.  Will work for most topics.

Biography Reference Bank – A specialized database for biographical information.  Contains both regular articles and encyclopedia articles.

Evaluation Activity

For the following sources below, use the handout to help evaluate the sources below.  For each source, answer the following questions as a group: 1) Is the information presented in the source useful?  Why or why not?  2) Would you cite the source for your paper?  Give 2 reasons for your decision.

Note: For a few of the links, be sure to open the full-text of the article.

Source #1

Source #2

Source #3

Souce #4

Souce #5

This is Ona Britton, your friendly Campus Librarian! Several library databases contain articles and other materials pertinent to literary criticism. These databases should fulfill the requirements for Dr. Hayes’ assignments.

Getting Started

All of these sources are in the Literature in English subject guide on the Library website.

Gale databases are excellent places to start when exploring a literary work.  They contain overviews of various works, biographical information, and overviews of literary movements and themes.

Gale Literature Criticism Online. Contains full-text/full-image of most of the Gale Literature Criticism series.  Best place to start to get a sense of critical literary interpretation.

TIP: Use the Browse Topics and Browse Works tabs to explore a literary theme or a particular work respectively.

Gale Literature Resource Center.  Contains literary overviews, biographical information, and articles about authors and their works.

Databases for Finding Articles

MLA International Bibliography.  Comprehensive database for all aspects of literary criticism.  Includes citations to journals, books, book chapters, and dissertations.

Humanities International Complete.  Contains articles and citations on all humanities subjects.

TIP: You may search databases on the Ebsco platform simultaneously.  Watch this video for a demonstration.   Including Academic Search Complete in a search may yield a few more articles.

More Useful Databases

JSTOR.  Full text of back issues of many periodicals.  Usually does NOT contain current holdings.

Project Muse.  Full text of several journals from university presses covering many disciplines, including literature.

Coming Soon …

Central Search.  A new searching tool which will allow searching among most library databases and the library catalog.

Book Catalogs

Books are useful for finding in depth treatment of a topic. Consult the following catalogs to find books inside and outside the library.

UCO Library Catalog. Searches for all the materials held at Chambers Library.

WorldCat. Searches 54,000 library catalogs worldwide. Use for interlibrary pertinent materials from other libraries.

My name is Paul Stenis, and we met on Wednesday, November 2nd to talk about finding articles on a current topic. The following databases and catalogs will help you complete Dr. Chew’s assignments.

Article Databases

Lexis-Nexis News. A subsection of Lexis-Nexis containing full text of articles from major newspapers, newswires, and periodicals.

Academic Search Complete. General database containing scholarly and popular articles from various disciplines, often with very current articles.

Newspaper Source Plus. Includes 1,520 full-text newspapers, providing more than 28 million full-text articles.

New York Times (Historical). Full-image archive of the entire historical run of The New York Times. It provides every page of every issue, with full-page and article images in downloadable PDF, from 1851-2002.

CQ Researcher Global. Provides in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.

Book Catalogs

Books are useful for finding in depth treatment of a topic. Consult the following catalogs to find books inside and outside the library.

UCO Library Catalog. Searches for all the materials held at Chambers Library.

WorldCat. Searches 54,000 library catalogs worldwide. Use for interlibrary pertinent materials from other libraries.

Government Information

Government publications will cover a lot of information, depending on the topic.  Search the library catalog and the library’s Government Information website to find publications from the U. S. government.

Good luck with your research. As always, please feel free to Ask Us! should you have any questions.

Paul

My name is Paul Stenis, and we met on Tuesday, October 26th, to talk about Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests In Print.

The more important of the two is Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY). If MMY is Batman, Tests In Print(TiP) is Robin.

The Mental Measurements Yearbook is a reference book comprised of evaluative test reviews written by experts in selected fields. The MMY is published with the overarching goal of promoting and encouraging informed test selection. the yearbooks in the MMY series are not cumulative; instead each new yearbook covers “tests that are new or significantly revised since the publication of the” previous edition. There are currently 18 MMYs.

MMY norms a test. Norming assesses a test’s validity and reliability:

• Validity: The test measures what it is supposed to measure
• Reliability: The test returns consistent results

MMY entries usually include 2 reviews of the test.

Tests in Print is a comprehensive bibliography of all known commercially available tests, with *references* to the test reviews in MMY. Unlike MMY, Tests in Print is cumulative with each new edition. There are currently 7 editions of TiP. The latest version of TiP covers the first 16 MMYs.

*References in TiP come in two forms:

1. T5:539

2. 9:729

The first reference (with the T) points to a previous entry in TiP volume 5, test number 539. The second reference (without the T) points to the ninth MMY, test number 729.

Both are available in print in our First Floor Reference Collection. Search our Library Catalog to locate them.

The MMY and TiP database is available in the Library’s online subject guide for Education. Look under Top reference works for Education. They’re both EBSCOHost databases.

MMY and TIP in EBSCOHOST

MMY reviews tests, but it doesn’t provide the actual test. Chambers Library, however, keeps a few tests for your class to view. To look at a list of available tests, search the library catalog by call number with  “test” in the search box.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email me at pstenis@uco.edu. As always, please feel free to visit our Ask Us! page to ask for guidance. We’re happy to help.

Paul

The purpose of this blog post is to serve as an electronic handout for the library instruction session.  Much of what we cover in class will be summarized here, along with other information we might not have gotten to cover.

Choosing Keywords

When searching for articles for this class consider using broad search terms as well as narrower terms.  If you are searching for math grades, for example think about the topic’s broader concepts.  You are doing a literature review, and using broader concepts will allow you to be as thorough as possible.

Education Databases

ERIC (Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse). Comprehensive database for all aspects of education, including higher education.

TIP: ERIC contains many materials that are not articles, called ERIC documents. To remove ERIC documents, go to the Limiters or Update Results screen and use the Journal or Document limiter.

Professional Development Collection. Contains approximately 500 journals pertaining to education.

TIP: This database covers a smaller set of materials than ERIC, but it is useful if an assignment requires only one or two journal articles. The limiters and Update Results screen contain a limiter for scholarly journals.

Education Research Complete. A database containing copious full text for education journals at all education levels.

More Useful Databases

PsycInfo. Contains articles and other materials on all aspects of psychology. Functions for psychology as ERIC does for education.

SocIndex. Contains articles from scholarly and popular journals pertaining to sociology.

Searching Multiple Databases

You may search several Ebsco databases at once. Watch this video for a review.

Book Catalogs

Ulrich’s Periodical Directory.  Tool which allows you to determine if a journal is scholarly.

Book Catalogs

Books are useful for finding in depth treatment of a topic. Consult the following catalogs to find books inside and outside the library.

UCO Library Catalog. Searches for all the materials held at Chambers Library.

WorldCat. Searches 54,000 library catalogs worldwide. Use for interlibrary pertinent materials from other libraries.

APA Style

The Chambers Library APA Style handout is a great, condensed resource for creating citations in APA style.

OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue) offers examples of citing sources and other helpful information for writing academic papers.

KnightCite is an example of web sources you can use to help format your reference or bibliography page. It should be used only as a guide because they may not be 100% accurate. Always check your entries against the manual.

Popular vs. Peer-reviewed Exercise

Open and scan the popular and peer-reviewed article examples.  Take mental note of the characteristics of each.  Then, using what you’ve seen from the examples, examine articles 1-4 and try to determine if they are popular or scholarly.

Popular Article Example

Peer-reviewed Article example

Now, are the following articles popular or scholarly?

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

That’s all, folks.  Remember, if you ever have any questions when doing research for your paper, you can always Ask Us!

Special Note: Much of the information in this guide was originally created by Ona Britton.

Exercise Worksheet

I hope the instruction session was helpful and you are able to better find the resources you need. Below is a break down of what we discussed. As always, if you have any questions, you can contact Dana Jackson in Gov Info at 974-2904 or via e-mail at govdocs@uco.edu. Our very smart Reference Librarians also know what you are looking for and you can contact them here: Ask US!

Good Luck with your research!

Dana

Searching Techniques

Simple Searching:

AND: used to narrow your search

OR: used to find similar terms and to expand your search.

NOT: used to exclude terms

Truncation and Wildcards:

Asterisk (*): used to truncate words in many databases. It provides for all variants on a word stem. Most databases use this, but question marks and exclamation points can also be used. Check the “Search Tips” section in each database for hints. The UCO Catalog uses a question mark for truncation. Place quotation marks around a phrase to search for an entire phrase.

Use a variety of keywords in your searching too. Try Visuwords for helpful hints for keywords. Also, use this handout to keep track of your keywords. You will use them a lot in your research.

For an in-depth description of advanced searching techniques, look at this helpful guide from Duke University.

Library Catalogs and Databases

UCO Library Catalog: Searches materials owned in the UCO Library. We have a lot of sources for Holocaust materials. Be sure to use keywords to look at what we have in Reference and in the main book collection.

World Cat: Searches the contents of 60,000 libraries worldwide including Archival materials, but you will need to contact those Archives directly to obtain that information.

Databases at UCO: This is the subject guide for History and lists all the databases we discussed. For primary sources and contemporary articles, I recommend using New York Times Historical, Christian Science Monitor Historical, Reader’s Guide Retro, and JStor. For secondary sources, use Historical Abstracts and American History and Life.

Sources at Other Libraries and Around the Web

Other libraries subscribe to databases that UCO does not, so be sure to check those libraries’ homepages to see what is available. Many of the large research universities (like OU, OSU, Wisconsin, etc) have subject guides that have a break down of subscription sources and those free on the web. Here is an example from Washington University Libraries.

Selected Online Sources

• Google Books:
• OpenLibrary.org
• British and Irish Sources via the University of Washington
• Sources for Jewish Studies via the University of Washington
• Repositories of Primary Sources via the University of Idaho
• Literature of the Holocaust via the University of Pennsylvania
• British Library Holocaust Recordings
• Yale European History Sources
• The Librarians Index to the Internet: Go to Resources by Subject, Arts and Humanities, and then look at History. Also you can utilize the search function too.
• Yale Fortunoff Video Archive For Holocaust Testimonies
• H-Holocaust Links
• U.S. Holocaust Museum
• USC Shoah Foundation Institute Testimony Catalog (you will need to contact the archive for access)

To find additional digital sources, you can use a Google site search using the following form: your keyword search site:.edu. For example, to look for primary source guides online from various universities, your search will be: primary sources site:.edu.

Remember, use caution when looking at sources on the web. Here is a guide that will help you with evaluating web sites.

I am Ona Britton, your friendly Reference/Instruction librarian! Chambers Library has several databases that contain articles and other information to help you complete your engineering assignments and projects. This instruction uses Smartphone design as an example.

Getting Started

ENGNetBase is a great place to start for background information on any Engineering topic. ENGNetBase contains over 190 current full text engineering books.

Comprehensive Engineering Databases

Inspec. Citations from 3500+ materials in electrical and electronic engineering, physics, information technology, and computer and control systems.

Tip #1: Limit the search to “Journal Paper” in the Publications pull-down menu to retrieve journal articles rather than conference papers

Tip #2: Use the Advanced Search page to search at once for synonyms

Compendex Engineering. Abstracts 5000+ engineering journals, conferences, and technical reports. Covers chemical, computer , electronics, civil, mechanical, and materials engineering.

Tip: Use the “Refine Results” options on the right to target a result after completing a search if there are too many search results

Want More?

Other databases may be pertinent for you to consult depend on the topic. Consult Databases by Subject on the Find Articles page on the library website to see what is available in each subject.

The Chemistry, Computing Science, Engineering (obviously!), and Physics subject headings are logical places to start.

Book Catalogs

Books are useful for finding in depth treatment of a topic. Consult the following catalogs to find books inside and outside the library.

UCO Library Catalog. Searches for all the materials held at Chambers Library.

WorldCat. Searches 54,000 library catalogs worldwide. Use for interlibrary pertinent materials from other libraries.

Need Help?

Please contact us using the ASK US! page on the website.

I am Ona Lou Britton, Reference/Instruction librarian at Chambers Library. Please consult this blog for assistance with Dr. Bounds’ assignments.

Popular or Peer-Reviewed?

Below are examples of a popular and a peer-reviewed article.

Popular article example

Scholarly article example

Try to determine whether the following articles are popular or peer-reviewed.  Answer the questions on your worksheet.

Article #1

Article #2

Article #3

Article #4

Database Searching

This section provides and overview of database searching.  These databases retrieve many scholarly articles.

Primary Article Databases

These databases are the best places to start for your topic.  All are located at the Kinesiology/Physical Education subject guide.

SportDiscus.  Articles and other material on sports sciences and sports medicine.

Healthsource Nursing/Academic.  Selected articles on various health topics.  Includes scholarly and popular articles.

Medline.  Articles for physicians and health care professionals on all health topics.

ERIC — Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse.  Articles on all aspects of education.  Useful if the topic pertains to education in primary and secondary schools.

TIP:  Need help finding synonyms for searching?  Try the Visuwords Graphical Dictionary.

More Article Databases

These databases may contain useful articles depending on the nature of the topic.

SocIndex — Articles on the impact of gender, ethnic, and economic factors.

PsycInfo — Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of psychology

You may choose several databases to search several database simultaneously.  Watch this video for a demonstration.

Information Cycle

This session discusses where popular literature fits in with scholarly literature.  Sites Consulted:

The Claim: Gargling With Salt Water Can Ease Cold Symptoms

Childhood Viral Infection May Be a Cause of Obesity

Study: Breast, ovary removal cuts cancer risk in high-risk women

Are Sports Drinks Part of a Healthy Teen Lifestyle?

Parents Can Make A Difference With Anorexic Teens

More library tools to note:

Library Website:  Journal Titles

Library Website:  Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory

Handouts

The Basics library guide — Consult to review searching techniques, locations, call numbers, etc.

APA  Style Guide — Consult this guide for correct information on citing sources.

Need Help? Just Ask Us! for more assistance!

A good way to start your research on an artistic movement, artist, or culture is with the Dictionary of Art, available in print or online.

Print: http://librarycatalog.uco.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=489765

Online: http://library.uco.edu:2050/login?url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com

You can also search for books from the circulating collection to give you an overview of a topic or artist. You can access the catalog anytime without loging in here. http://librarycatalog.uco.edu/vwebv/searchBasic

For articles on a topic we suggest you use a database that only searches art or education topics, such as Art & Architecture Complete or ERIC. All our our databases are located alphabetically from the library website here. http://library.uco.edu/databases/

To access the databases off-campus you will need to login with your UCOnnect user id and pin number.  Here are some examples of ways to search the databases.

For articles in ERIC, remember, keywords are just the beginning. For instance, you can start with a search like “egyptian pyramids and lesson plan*” to find relevant articles, then narrow further from there.

Finally, don’t forget about Interlibrary Loan, or ILL. You have to create your account first, then simply follow the links–Find It button and ILL to order an article from another library. Leave at least a week to have the article delivered, though it often comes much faster.

Have fun searching and remember, contact the reference desk by phone, email, chat or in person if you need any help! Gwen.

My name is Ona Lou Britton, and this blog post reviews some of the sources highlighted in your library instruction session.  These sources should assist you in completing your country report.

We looked at several web and print resources and sorted them into the categories below–you’ll probably recognize them from your assignment. Each resource listed there covers the area it falls under, but it probably covers other areas too, so be sure to explore each of them thoroughly.

Many of the web resources are also available in our Country Information Subject Guide.

All of the print resources (in italics) are available in our Reference Collection on the 1st Floor.

Geography, Typology, and Climate

CIA World Factbook – Fairly complete profiles of every country.

U.S. State Dept. Background Notes – Very good general country info updated yearly.

Economic Environment

Business Source Complete – Mainly periodical info covering all areas of business plus company, industry, and country information.

Lexis Nexis – Includes international newspapers and other materials.  Choose Power Search to search international publications and limit to region.

World Development CD-ROM ( available on the 2^nd floor of Chambers Library in Gov. Docs) – World Bank product with country profiles, social indicators data and population projections.

Illustrated Book of World Rankings Ref. HA 155 .K87 2001 - Arranged by topic (26), this reference resource provides international rankings in cultural, social and economic areas.

Population Demographics

U.S. Census Bureau IDB – Has basic demographic data for countries including population projections.

Demographic Yearbook Ref. HA 17 .D45 2005 - Basic population stats put out by the United Nations.

Political and Legal Environment

World Bank’s doingbusiness.org – Main product is a set of objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 181 economies and selected cities at the sub-national and regional level.

Europa World Yearbook - Provides mainly economic and political data on 250 countries.

Corporate Environment

International Marketing and Data Statistics Ref. HA 42 .I56 2009 – Covers the rest of the world outside Europe

Cultural Environment

Craighead’s Ref. HF 5549.5 .E45D56 – Craighead’s International Business, Travel, and Relocation Guide to 84 Countries. Title says it all.

Culturegrams Ref. GN345.6 .C8 – Contains concise information about countries and their customs, including business customs.

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands Ref. 5389 .M67 2006 – Covers cultural differences and business protocols for more than 60 countries.

Strategies for Doing Business with ___________

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands Ref. 5389 .M67 2006 - (See description above.)

Culturegrams Ref. GN345.6 .C8 – Contains concise information about countries and their customs, including business customs.

Miscellaneous

GlobalEDGE – Created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University, this website covers a wide range of topics and resources. It is almost a one-stop shop. Very handy.

Reference Collection

Finally, don’t forget to search the library catalog and limit your search to “Reference.” The reference collection is always a great place to begin your fact-based research.

Please feel free to Ask Us! questions when they come up. We’re always happy to help.