Hi everyone! Here are my responses to the questions and comments you submitted at the end of Friday's library research class. I'll also be coming to your English 190 class today, so you can also ask me any other research questions that you have later today. -- Jamie Schmid (your ENGL-190 Librarian)
"Are newspapers scholarly sources?"
No, newspapers are not considered scholarly sources. They're written for the general public and they have many of the same characteristics as popular magazines. For example, they contain a lot of ads and photos, the articles are not written by scholars, and there are no bibliographies or abstracts.
"I'm still unsure of how to go about getting a book if it's at another library (ex. WashU)."
You can order books from 69 other libraries in Missouri via the MOBIUS Library Catalog. MOBIUS includes almost every academic library in Missouri and 2 public libraries. Here are instructions for ordering books through MOBIUS.
If a book you need isn't available at any MOBIUS libraries, you can place an Interlibrary Loan request, via the library's ILLiad service. You need to first set up a free account, but then you'll be able to fill out a "Request a Book" form and we'll get the book from another library for you. We'll email you at your SLU email account when it comes in and you can pick it up at the circulation desk on the 1st floor of Pius.
I'm still unclear on "how to get the article if it's not online or in the library."
If an article isn't available in print or electronically via SLU, you can place an Interlibrary Loan request for it via the library's ILLiad service. You'll need to set up an account and then fill out the "Request a Photocopy" form. We'll get the article for you from another library and email it to your SLU email account.
"I might need help searching for my individual topic eventually."
I'm always happy to help with this! Please email me if you'd like to set up an individual research counseling appointment.
I'm still unclear about "scholarly articles."
In addition to looking at the Popular vs. Scholarly Journals handout I gave out in Friday's class, you might want to watch this short tutorial on the difference between Popular vs. Scholarly Periodicals from Vanderbilt University's Peabody Library.
"How do you decide which articles to use?"
The University of Madison-Wisconsin Libraries have some good tips on how to evaluate sources on their Web site. Cornell's library Web site also has some good information on Critically Analyzing Information Sources.
"Some of the navigation aspects of the databases and the online journals are too complicated and sometimes unusable."
It can be difficult to navigate different databases and online journals. They're produced by many different companies and the interfaces are all different. With practice, you'll learn what kinds of features tend to be common among them and you'll become more adept at navigating them. Before long you'll be as comfortable navigating them as you are regular Web sites.
"I'm still unclear on how to find scholarly journals in print. How do you locate them in the library and find them."
Here are instructions for finding a specific article in a print journal in the library.
1. Search by journal title in the SLU Libraries Catalog.
2. If you find a print journal record (it won't say "online" after the title), check to see which library has the journal, what dates are available, what the call number is, and which floor it's located on. (Click on the link under "Location", not the call number link.)
3. Go find the journal on the shelf. Find the volume you need, then the issue, then the right page number.
4. Photocopy the article, because journals can't be checked out of the library.
If you're using a database to find articles on a topic and an online version is not readily available, you can click on the FIND IT AT SLU button. It will bring up an Article Linker page, which will tell you if the article is available online in any SLU database. If it's not available online, go down to Step 2 on this page and click on the Journal Title link. It will do a journal title search in the catalog for you, and you can follow the same process detailed above.
"I would still like to know how to better locate a book/article in the library. Maybe a demonstration?"
You could always review our Finding Books in the SLU Libraries and Finding Articles on a Topic tutorials. I'm creating a tutorial on how to find a specific article, but it's not finished yet. In the meantime, here are the basic steps you need to follow to find a specific article in the library.
1. Search by journal title in the SLU Libraries Catalog.
2. If you find a print journal record, check to see which library has the journal, what dates are available, what the call number is, and which floor it's located on. (Click on the link under "Location", not the call number link.)
3. Go find the journal on the shelf. Find the volume you need, then the issue, then the right page number.
4. Photocopy the article.
5. If the journal is available electronically, click on the "SLU Online Journal, click to access" link.
6. Check to see which database has the year that you need.
7. Click on the name of the database.
8. Browse the journal by year, volume, and issue.
9. Browse through all articles in the issue to find the one you're looking for.
If you have any trouble locating an item in the library, please stop by the Reference Desk on the first floor and let us know. We'll be happy to to with you to find your item on the shelf.
"I just think it's a little confusing getting to your actual article because it seems like there are a lot of links you have to click and continue to search on and on... It's easy to get lost."
You might find it easier to search the entire journal for your article instead of browsing by year, volume, and issue. That's often an option. You'll just need to look around the online journal page to see if that option is available. Otherwise, I'm sure that you'll get used to finding specific articles online once you get a little more practice.
"Finding articles still kind of confuses me."
Do you mean articles that you have citations for or articles that you've just found using one of the databases? The latter is covered in the Finding Articles on a Topic tutorial.
I'm actually creating a new video tutorial on how to find a specific article, but it's not ready yet. Here's the best I can do in the meantime.
1. Search by journal title in the SLU Libraries Catalog.
2. If you find a print journal record, check to see which library has the journal, what dates are available, what the call number is, and which floor it's located on. (Click on the link under "Location", not the call number link.)
3. Go find the journal on the shelf. Find the volume you need, then the issue, then the right page number.
4. Photocopy the article.
5. If the journal is available electronically, click on the "SLU Online Journal, click to access" link.
6. Check to see which database has the year that you need.
7. Click on the name of the database.
8. Browse the journal by year, volume, and issue.
9. Browse through all articles in the issue to find the one you're looking for.
"If I have different topics and ideas I want to cover, how can I combine or limit my research topic to one particular idea."
I think I'm going to have to defer to your instructor on this one. Lisa - Would you mind posting a response to this question in the comments section of this post? Thanks!
Monday, November 10, 2008
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1 comment:
When you have several ideas or topics you want to cover in your research paper, one of the first things you'll want to do is make sure those ideas are closely related. If many of your ideas seem to circle around one big issue, techniques like idea mapping, brainstorming, and outlining might help you see the connections. Think about not only how each idea relates to your main topic, but also how the ideas relate to one another. Often this is a great way to get started planning your paper's structure and organization. It can also yield some new search terms and keywords that can help you with your research!
If you have several ideas that don't seem related, unfortunately you might have to let a few go. Try to figure out the most effective combination, an approach that lets you connect many ideas to the main topic and to each other. Sometimes as writers we have to file great ideas away for later.
And, as always, let your own interests guide you. The more you are interested in and care about the topics on which you write, the more vivid and engaging your essays tend to be!
Lisa Fischer
English 190-11
Fall 2008
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