1. Information literacy is a survival skill in the Information
Age (ALA, 1989). SOC 111 Research & Library Skills Ron Janyk
Web Services
Librarianhttp://www.slideshare.net/okanagancollegelibrary
2. OutlineIntroduction to Information Sources Academic vs.
Popular Sources Peer review processResearch Skills Using Sociology
DatabasesKey Library Resources APA Citation Style Library Research
& Course Guides
3. Information Sources Wikipedia is considered an academic
source. False A book found in an academic library (i.e. college,
university) is an academic source. False Sources: True or
False?
4. Sources: Do they matter? Academic sources: Pass through peer
review process. Authoritative and sourced. Objective and written
for academics. Carry more weight. Popular sources are often related
to general interest and do not require writers to provide research
to support their stories.
6. Source Type ExamplesAcademic Sources Popular Sources
Academic Journals Newspaper Articles Periodicals, Magazine Articles
Serials Trade Magazines Academic Books Organizational Profiles
Media Reports Edited Books Reports from Other Anthologies
Organizations Conference Websites (usually) Proceedings Grey
Literature Encyclopedias, Institutional Reports Dictionaries
Brochures Published Reports Press Releases
7. Evaluating Sources Critically evaluate information sources
Criteria and methods of evaluating information resources:
Comprehensiveness, relevance, author, purpose and audience,
accuracy and currency, objectivityIn academia we are looking for
sources that are reliable, accurate, objective, and up-to-date.
Evaluating Websites
8. Research: Step 1 Define a topic Identify assignment topic or
research question Plan for research Look for command words (argue,
critique, discuss) Develop focus (area of topic/assignment you will
concentrate on) Take your focus, develop thesis statement
9. Research: Step 2Finding information Information seeking
strategies Identify keywords & synonyms Identify investigative
tools (library catalogue, research guides, key databases) Locate
and gather resources Using search expressions, Boolean operators
(AND, OR, NOT) Broaden or narrow your research question/focus
10. Function Search Strategy DefinitionNarrow AND Retrieves
only records that contain both words NOT Eliminates material you
dont want. Careful to not lose valuable info.Broaden OR Retrieves
matches for either term, more records. Use with terms with the same
meaning. Wildcard Search variations of a word. Use 1 or Colo?r more
symbols within a word to replace Global (w5) Warming 1 or more
letters Truncation Use a symbol at the end of a word to Using
opera* to search replace any number of letters for operations =
opera, operant, operable, etc.Combine Combine AND and OR in a
single search. Divide your terms into units like an equation.
Nesting NO: media AND politics OR election retrieves records that
match "media that also match politics" OR retrieves records that
match "election. YES: media AND (politics OR election) retrieves
records that match media that also match either politics OR
election
11. NOT AND OR NestingTruncation (University of Idaho, 2012)
Creating a Search: Boolean Operators
12. Narrowing & BroadeningResults Too much information?
Examine irrelevant records in search results Where did your search
term match in search results? (Subject, title, etc.) Use limiters
(Boolean, field searching, database limiters) Too little
information? Spelling Eliminate long phrases or natural language
Use alternate terms, try broadening your terms
14. Library Databases: SociologyFind Articles Sociology
SocINDEX Academic Search Premier JSTOR Social Sciences Abstracts
Project Muse Ebrary OCtopus
15. Search! Find sociology articles for the topic: Construct an
argument about how gender stereotypes promote gender
inequalities.
16. Library Catalogue Books, e-books, media, journals Use
subject headings, call number browsing, author searches Limit by
location (Kelowna, Online) Request items from other campuses Renew
items and place holds
17. More Ways to Find Articles Reference list & article
citations, bibliographies Examine the reference lists of resources
identified as being useful, and find other similar resources.
Subject headings in databases & catalogue Terms used to
describe resources, controlled vocabulary, assigned by indexers
Known authors Search for other items by same author(s) Books or
resources on similar topics In-person or virtual shelf browsing
Searching journals directly More direct and focused than
databases
18. Using Library Resources: Get Help Library Reference Desks
Hours vary, phone, email, or in-person Citation assistance,
research help AskAway Online, live chat reference service Open
longer hours than library ; Manned by librarians from
post-secondary institutions across BC Chat boxes on website &
within databases Library Guides (Guides by Course & Subject)
E-mail Response received within 24 hours Sept April
19. Research Skills: Citing Sources Identify elements of the
citation you will need for each item (i.e. Title, author, date)
Cite your sources as you go! Compile list of database citations as
a working document throughout research process Try a numerical
system for in-text citations Write key author names with notes
Formatting rules provided by APA style guide Do not trust MS Word
or auto-formatting