Sarah Schwab - Section 39 - Fall 2009

Hi everyone! Here are my responses to the questions you submitted at the end of our library research class yesterday. I'll do my best to explain things, but if you still have questions, please email me and/or post a comment below. -- Jamie Schmid (Your ENGL-190 Librarian)

"Can we cite the online full-text version (of an article) the same way as if it were the print version?"

There is a special way to cite articles that you find in online databases. This information can be found on the OWL at Purdue's MLA 2009 Formatting & Style Guide pages. Look for the section on citing an Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service).

"Another thing that might be confusing is navigating Pius."

It can be challenging to navigate a large library. Please let library staff members know if you're having trouble finding anything. We're happy to help! You can also go to the Reference Desk on the 1st floor if you have any questions.

"How do you navigate between the search engines and the SLU library catalog?"

I'm assuming that by search engines you're referring to the library's subscription databases. Is that right? When you're in the databases and looking for the full text of an article, you'll find buttons that say "Find It At SLU." This button will take you to an Article Linker page which will link you to other library databases and the library catalog.

There are also links in the library catalog to online journals that are available in library databases. So really, both kinds of resources link to each other. Of course you can always search them separately or have two browser windows open while using them. Does that answer your question?

"Would you suggest using the journal and magazine sources for finding more up-to-date information (as to using books)?"

You will find more information about very recent events in newspapers, magazines, and journals. However, the library is constantly adding new books to the collection. You'll be able to find books that have been published very recently, so I wouldn't rule out looking at books. Your best bet is to look at both. Also, articles tend to be very focused on narrow topics. For a general overview of a topic, I would look for books.

I'm still unclear on "how to judge if something is a scholarly or popular source from the SLU database."

In the database Academic Search Premier, you can limit your search results to those published in Academic Journals. Here's an Academic Search Premier screenshot that illustrates this.

I'm still unclear on "identifying different tabs on the main page, memorizing layouts and locations of main tabs."

Are you referring to the Freshman Writing Program Research Guide? You really don't need to memorize anything that's on this guide. It's broken down into different types of resources that you may want to use in your research - Reference Sources, Books, Articles, etc. You could also use the SLU Libraries Web site and explore the Finding Books and Finding Articles sections.

I'm still unclear on "Google Scholar vs. library databases."

Google Scholar is a search engine that's freely available on the Web. It does a very broad search of scholarly information available on the Web. Usually, though, to access the actual content, you'll need to click on a "Full Text Options at SLU." This button will allow you to access articles via SLU Library Databases (subscription resources paid for by the library). So, you're still using the library databases, just not the search interface. Sometimes you'll also see references for books in Google Scholar and you'll need to search the SLU Library Catalog to see if the SLU Libraries have the book that you need.

"I still have trouble finding the books in the library. What does the S.82 mean? I understand how to do it in the computer, just not finding it."

I'd recommend that you take a look at this site which covers how to read call numbers in an academic library. This Library of Congress classification guide will also show you how the collection is arranged by subject and these subjects are represented by different letters.

"The online articles I think will be most useful. There will be no need to carry another book back and forth."

I'm glad that you think the online articles will be useful, but that does mean that you won't need to use books anymore! Articles tend to be very narrowly focused. You'll definitely want to access the kind of broad coverage that books provide on your topic.

I hope this blog post helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I'm happy to help you!