Research Strategies

1
Research Strategies

• Vista Murrieta High School Library
• Mrs. Jacobs
• Library Media Teacher

2
Key Word Searching

• Brainstorm words that will describe your topic
• Check spelling and typing
• Balance
• Information overload
• Information deficit

3
Keyword Strategies

• Print
• Use Broader terms
• Environment
• Table of Contents
• Index
• Global Warming
• Causes
• Effects

• Online
• More specific terms
• Going Green
• Pollution
• Broaden or narrow with use of
• And
• Or
• Not
• Air, Water, Weather
• Use quotations for specific phrases

4
Key Word Strategies

• Combine phrases into single or word
• Draw the line limit
• What should be done? solutions
• way of the future alternative
• Should be taught controversy
• How can it be changed? solution
• Should continue? ethics

5
Key Word Strategies

• Look for alternative words that describe your
  topic
• Civil Rights civil disobedience
• Atomic nuclear
• Racial profiling race discrimination
• Stem cell cloning
• America United States
• Illegal immigration immigration
• Violent crimes violence
• What is the question really asking?
• Nuclear power plants alternative energy sources

6
Online Encyclopedia

• Welcome to Wikipedia,
• the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
• 1,413,387 articles in English
• Who is responsible for the articles on Wikipedia?
• You are! Actually, you can even edit this very
  FAQ! As there are more than 2.34 million
  (2,340,000) other Wikipedians, this is a
  collaborative effort. Thousands of people have
  contributed information to different parts of
  this project, and anyone can do so, including
  you. All you need is to know how to edit a page,
  and have some encyclopedic knowledge you want to
  share. The encyclopedia provides users with a
  certain amount of freedom.

7
Evaluating Web Sites

• Anyone can publish on the Web
• It is unfiltered
• Internet sources are much more fluid- the
  information they provide can change in an instant
• Content not evaluated before posting

• Focus on
• Authority
• Coverage
• Currency
• javascriptalert(document.lastModified)
• Accuracy
• Objectivity
• Intended Audience?

8
Searching The Online Catalog

• E-Catalog
• Catalog of all holdings books, periodicals,
  internet sites, audiovisual
• Search several ways
• Author Authors full name
• LAST NAME 1st
• Title Provides a list of all works the library
  has with that title
• Subject Produces a list of works about the
  subject
• Keyword looks for individual words regardless
  of their location in a name, title, or subject
  heading.
• Boolean Using and, or, not to refine
  search

9
Periodical Research

• What is a Periodical?
• Something that is printed on a regular basis
• Monthly or weekly magazines
• Daily newspapers

10
Types of Periodicals

• Popular
• People
• US Weekly
• Sports Illustrated
• Car and Driver

• Scholarly
• English Journal
• Scientific American
• U.S. News and World Report

11
Online Database vs. Google
12
DATABASE COMPARISON
13
Full Text Databases

• EBSCO
• Articles from periodicals
• Newspapers- 200 United States and International
• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Magazines 2000
• Time
• Newsweek
• Scholarly Journals over 3000 journals
• Oxford University Press
• Cambridge University Press

14
Access EBSCO

• Internet
• Web Address http//search.ebscohost.com
• User ID vmhs
• Password bronco
• Find login information
• Library Brochure
• Link on Library Web Page (password concealed,
  click and drag mouse)

15
SIRS Online Database

• http//www.proquestk12.com/
• Researcher is a highly acclaimed reference
  resource containing thousands of full-text
  articlesmany accompanied by charts, maps,
  photos, diagrams, and illustrationsexploring
  current and enduring topics. 

16
E-Books

• Quality Reference Books Online accessible to
  unlimited number of students at one time
• Arts and Humanities Through the Eras,
  Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, History
  Behind the Headlines, St. James Encyclopedia of
  Popular Culture, and Science and Its Times
  Understanding the Social Significance of
  Scientific Discovery, Encyclopedia of Religion,
  Encyclopedia of World Biography, American
  Decades, American Decade Primary Sources,
  Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia of
  Food and Culture, Major 21st Century Writers,
  Countries and their Cultures, Gale Encyclopedia
  of Science and Encyclopedia of Bioethics.

17
E-BOOKS - ACCESS

• http//infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/murr50533
• Location ID murr50533
• Password bronco
• Find login information
• Library Brochure
• Link on Library Web Page (password concealed,
  click and drag mouse)

18
CITATION MAGAZINE

• Authors Last Name, First Name ___________________
  _______________.
• Title of Article _____________________
• Name of Magazine___________________.
• Date of Magazine____________________
• Pages_________. for example 57-59

19
Online Citation Resources

• http//www.easybib.com/
• http//www.noodletools.com/login.php

20
VMHS Library Web Page

• Resources, Links, News, Upcoming Events, MLA

21
Works Cited

• Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of
  Research Papers. New York Modern Language
  Association of America, 2003.