ENSC 105: PROCESS, FORM, AND CONVENTION IN PROFESSIONAL GENRES Spring 2012 Jenna Walsh Engineering and Computing Science Librarian, Surrey Campus [email protected].

ENSC 105: PROCESS, FORM, AND CONVENTION IN PROFESSIONAL GENRES

Spring 2012

Jenna WalshEngineering and Computing Science Librarian,

Surrey [email protected]

Library Research Workshop

A few questions we’ll answer …

Where can you find the best places to search for information on your topic?

How can you use one relevant article (or book) to find more useful sources on your topic?

How can you get research help?

The research process

a) Choose a research topicb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your resultse) Write your report

The research process

a) Choose a research topicb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your resultse) Write your report

Choosing a topic

The topic you select must: be related to engineering, science, or

some aspect of technology have an aspect that relates to society,

ethics, or the environment have an associated area of controversy

Topic Example:Electronic monitoring of employees

The research process

a) Choose a research questionb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your resultse) Write your report

Brainstorm

In small groups, brainstorm keywords and concepts that could be used to find information for an informative essay on:

Electronic Monitoring of Employees

The research process

a) Choose a research questionb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your resultse) Write your report

Search and cycle your search Don’t worry if you don’t know the best

places to search for information on your topic. The ENSC 105 Research Guide includes

a list of key resources Efficient and effective research is

about using resources wisely. Cycle your keyword searches using

subject headings, references, new keywords, etc.

Where to search for informationBackground

information: Books†

Including reference books (e.g., encyclopedias)

Websites Newspaper

articles Magazine articles Etc.

Specific information:

Books† Scholarly articles Government

reports Etc.

† Note: We have a large collection of electronic books.

Where to search for informationBackground

information: Books†

Including reference books (e.g., encyclopedias)

Websites Newspaper

articles Magazine

articles Etc.

Specific information:

Books† Scholarly

articles Government

reports Etc.

† Note: We have a large collection of electronic books.

What is the difference?

Popular publications

Informs or entertains

Sells products Aimed at general

public Written by

writers (rarely subject experts)

Brief articles Simple, non-

technical language

Rarely cites sources

Scholarly publications

Reports on original research

Written by (and for) academics, researchers

Longer articles Technical

language, jargon Always cites

sources PEER REVIEWED or

REFEREED

Where to search for informationBackground

information: Books†

Including reference books (e.g., encyclopedias)

Websites Newspaper

articles Magazine

articles Etc.

Specific information:

Books† Scholarly

articles Government

reports Etc.

† Note: We have a large collection of electronic books.

What is the difference?

Where to search for informationBackground

information: Books†

Including reference books (e.g., encyclopedias)

Websites Newspaper

articles Magazine articles Etc.

Specific information:

Books† Scholarly articles Government

reports Etc.

† Note: We have a large collection of electronic books.

Considering websites

Brainstorm: How can you tell if a website is

authoritative and credible? How reliable are Wikipedia entries?

Evaluating websites (some questions)

Who is the author? What are the author’s academic or

professional credentials? Does the author cite his/her

sources? Can you verify the information elsewhere?

What is the purpose of the website? Who seems to be the website’s intended

audience?

Evaluating websites (some questions*)

How current is the information? How can you tell?

Does the information seem credible based on the other sources you’ve read?

*There is a more extensive list of questions included on the ENSC 105 Research Guide.

Where to search for informationBackground

information: Books†

Including reference books (e.g., encyclopedias)

Websites Newspaper

articles Magazine articles Etc.

Specific information:

Books† Scholarly articles Government

reports Etc.

† Note: We have a large collection of electronic books.

Background information

A good place to find background information on your topic is in the ‘Finding background information and books’ section of the ENSC 105 Research Guide.

Finding books (including e-books)

The Library Catalogue or Fast Search.

Finding Articles

A few reasons to use databases: Better for cycling a search

Subject searching vs. keyword searching There are many subject-specific

databases Not all database articles are included in

Fast Search

There is a list of key databases listed on the ENSC 105 research guide.

The research process

a) Choose a research questionb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your results (Reliability,

Recency, Relevance)e) Write your report

The research process:

a) Choose a research questionb) Brainstorm keywordsc) Search and cycle your searchd) Evaluate your resultse) Write your report

Write your paper & cite your sources

APA guides and plagiarism tutorial

APA guides

Plagiarism tutorial

IEEE guides

Writing and avoiding plagiarism If you don’t know how to correctly cite a

document, feel free to ask a librarian for help.

If you want help with writing/structuring your paper or quoting/paraphrasing documents, see the Student Learning Commons.

Workshops One-to-one appointments Drop-in consultations

Is this plagiarism?

Direct quotation: “When a significant violation of public trust

has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838).

Student A’s paper:If a serious violation of public trust occurs,

lying is often the result because this action invites concealment (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Is this plagiarism?

Direct quotation: “When a significant violation of public trust

has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838).

Student A’s paper:If a serious violation of public trust occurs,

lying is often the result because this action invites concealment (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Is this plagiarism?

Direct quotation: 

“When a significant violation of public trust has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838).

Student B’s paper:

Organizations often feel compelled to lie about their actions when they are discovered to have taken advantage of the public (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Avoiding plagiarism

If you include any ideas or sentences in your paper that come from elsewhere (e.g., articles, books, websites), you need to acknowledge those sources.

Citing a document incorrectly is always better than not citing it.

Leave yourself time to cite your sources.

Getting help

Getting help

Ask anyone at the reference desk in any of the three campus libraries

Use our Ask a Librarian services (via the Library home page) to contact a librarian (by phone, IM, or email).

Contact : Jenna [email protected]

Class? Due Date? Where have you searched? How have you searched? Found anything close to what you need?

A few questions we covered … Where can you find the best places to

search for information on your topic? How can you use one relevant article (or

book) to find more useful sources on your topic?

How can you get research help?