Sarah Schwab - ENGL 190 Section 20 - Spring 2010

Hi everyone! Here are my responses to the questions you submitted at the end of our library research class last week. 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 sure I'll still get lost on the Web site. There are too many places from which to research and each has its own rules!"
AND
I'm still unclear on "maybe using the different databases, but with practice I'll get better."

It's true that there are many resources available on the library's Web site and that they don't all work exactly the same way. Different companies produce the various databases that the library subscribes to and we don't control of their functionality and interfaces. There are definitely similarities among these products though and as you become a more experienced researcher you'll learn what features to look for. You can usually do a keyword or subject search, find at least information about an article or book (or other material) including publication information, subject information, etc. and you should be able to find either the full text or a Find It At SLU button. You can usually email yourself the information that you find too (or save or print it). If you have questions about any resources that you find on the library's Web site, please let me know. I'd be happy to help you!

"What is the best way to look for specific content in books - not just keywords."

Hmm.. I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Do you mean search the full text of books? Unfortunately that feature isn't available in the library catalog. You could try searching Google Books. It lets you search the full text of a collection of books. We also have some ebooks that you could search the content of. They can be found in the library catalog. You could also search an ebook reference collection like Gale Virtual Reference Library or Oxford Reference Online if you wanted to search within reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.). Otherwise, you just have to rely on the keywords and subjects included in library catalog records to ascertain a book's content. When you look at the actual book, you can then check the table of contents and index for more specific information.

"Which database would be able to get the most specific topics?"

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Do you want to know which database would have the best articles on your topic? If so, it depends what your topic is. Please email me and let me know what you're researching. I'll send you some database recommendations based on that.

"In class I understand how to find articles but when I get home or back to my dorm I am unable to get back to what I was doing before. I still have trouble finding exactly what information I need using keywords."

I'd recommend that you use our Freshman Writing Program research guide when doing your research. That way you'll have convenient links to the various resources we talked about in our library classes, including article databases. If you have trouble finding information using keywords, please remember that most important thing to do is be flexible! If you try one search and you don't get any results, try something else. The research process involves a lot of trial and error. Also, if you need advice about a specific search strategy, please email me.

"Is there more than one data research base online?"

The SLU Libraries subscribe to over 200 research databases. They're all linked from this page.

I'm "still fuzzy on what search engines deal with what magazines, journals, etc."

One thing that I forgot to mention during our classes, is that every database the library subscribes to has a database description link that you can click on. For example, take a look at this list of databases. Each database has a question mark icon on the left that you can click on to get more information about the content of the database, dates of coverage, etc. This should help. Also, if you want to search within a specific magazine or journal you can search for the title in our e-journal portal. This search will only show you what kind of online access the library has. It won't show you what's available in the library in print. If you'd like to see both you'll want to search the library catalog.

"The library website is confusing to navigate."

I'm sorry that you're finding the Web site confusing. In general, I'd recommend focusing on the Finding Books and Finding Articles sections for most things. You may also want to start out by just using our Freshman Writing Program research guide. The resources included on this guide were selected especially for English 190 students. That should help. We also have many other research guides on different topics.

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