LIsa Fischer - Section 24 - Fall 2009

Hi everyone! Here are my responses to the questions you submitted at the end of our library research class on Thursday. 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)

I'm still unclear on "how to cite."

I'd recommend that you consult The OWL at Purdue's MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide. We also have the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. at the Pius Library Reference Desk. You can stop by and consult it and ask any specific questions you have. We'll be happy to help you!

"I found a relevant article. How do you cite it if I open it with a database and as an article?"

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).

"Can we send ourselves the MLA citation along with the newspaper article we email?"

Some library databases offer this option (Academic Search Premier) and some do not (LexisNexis Academic). In Academic Search Premier, this option is included on the Email Manager page. Please take a look at this short video about the Academic Search Premier Citation Tool created by Pius Library Reference Librarian Martha Allen. Please note that you'll want to use MLA style, not APA, for your ENGL190 assignments.

I'm unclear on "how to obtain an issue of a scholarly journal available at the storage facility."

If you'd like to request an entire volume of a journal that's at the Locust Street Library Facility (LSLF), you can use the Request button in the Library Catalog. The volume will be delivered to Pius Library for you to use there. If you only need the article, you can click on the link in the catalog that says "SLU Patrons Request Digital Article via ILLiad Document Delivery System." You'll fill out a request form, we'll scan it for you at the LSLF, and email it to you at your SLU email account.

I'm still unclear on "finding reliable sources via EBSCOhost."

There are plenty of reliable sources in EBSCOhost databases such as Academic Search Premier, which we used in class. Just because a source is not considered scholarly, it doesn't mean it's not reliable. If you'd like to limit your search results to scholarly sources, you can click on the Academic Journals link on the left of your results page. Here's an Academic Search Premier screenshot that illustrates this.

"Using the search databases by certain subjects (psychology) is confusing to use."
AND
"This wasn't addressed, but I have trouble using databases like PubMed and Ovid. Any suggestions or pieces of advice would be helpful!"

I'm going to combine my response for these questions, because I think you're both referring to the difficulty of using Ovid databases like PubMed and PsycINFO. These databases contain different articles, but they're both produced by the same company and have the same interface. I've created a short video to demonstrate how to use Ovid databases.

"What happens if I am still having trouble finding information because my topic is a fairly new issue."

Library databases like LexisNexis Academic and Academic Search Premier include really recent articles. You should be able to use them to find information on your topic, even if it's very current. Would you mind emailing me information about your topic? Then I can get back to you with some concrete suggestions.

I'm still unclear on "a research guide that talks about medical issues and effects of procedures such as CPR on patients."

Do you mean that you'd like to find articles on this topic? I'd recommend that you search Academic Search Premier or a health and medicine database like MEDLINE to find articles. You could try searches like these.

CPR AND effects AND patients
CPR AND first aid AND effects AND patients
resuscitation AND effects

You also might be interested in these CPR books which are available at the Medical Center Library.

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