Small Group Communication

1
-Small Group Communication-

• research resources
• presented by Megan Lowe
• Reference Librarian, University Library

2
Session Overview
3
Initiation

• Dont procrastinate
• Get organized
• Dont forget about keywords
• Remember failure to plan on your part does not
  constitute an emergency on mine
• Dont hit this

4
More on keywords

• Keywords represent the most important parts of
  your idea
• They are what you use to conduct your searches
  make lists! Include synonyms!
• In the case of this class, one of your keywords
  will necessarily be policy
• They can be combined when you search using
  operators such as AND, OR, NOT

5
Example keyword breakdown
6
Exploration what are resources?

• Books Encyclopedias Dictionaries
• Essays Chapters
• Print Electronic
• Articles
• Journals, magazines, newspapers
• Print Electronic
• The Internet
• Where do
  you begin?

7
Where do you begin?

• Need a crash-course in your topic? INTERNET
• Need an overview and/or general info?
• Books
• Need specific and up-to-date info?
• Articles

8
Evaluation Not All Resources Are Equal

• Scholarly

• Popular

• written by experts
• audience is other experts, students,
  practitioners, researchers
• jargon technical language
• peer-review process
• no ads
• relevant graphics
• REAL RESEARCH

• written by journalists
• audience is anybody and everybody has mass
  appeal
• everyday language (slang)
• editorial process (not peer)
• lots of ads
• lots of eye candy
• news, opinions, entertainment

9
Examples of Scholarly Popular

• Scholarly

• Popular

• Journal of Nutrition
• Journal of ER Nursing
• Shakespeare Quarterly
• American Journal of Psychology
• Family Consumer Sciences Research Journal

• Real Simple
• Good Housekeeping
• People
• Soap Opera Digest
• National Enquirer
• Sports Illustrated
• Seventeen

10
Application the Librarys Resources

• The Librarys resources are ideal theyve been
  selected by professionals are appropriate for
  research and are all located in one place
• The Library also has librarians who can help you
  if you get stuck or cant even get started
  doing research

11
Looking for Books?
12
Books Catalog
13
Looking for articles?
14
Articles Databases
15
Working Off-Campus?
ID Social Security number, no dashes or spaces
PIN MMYY
16
Navigation the Internet Research

• Evaluation is essential when using the Internet
  for research
• Accuracy
• Authority
• Coverage
• Currency
• Objectivity
• The search engine you use can and will affect the
  quality of your results

17
Bonus Resources from the Web

• The Gallup Organization
• Gallup International
• The Pew Research Center for the People the
  Press
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Statistics Demographics (University of Texas _at_
  Austin)
• United Nations Statistics Division
• Statistics Demographics (Robert Teeter,
  Librarian)
• Free Scholarly Electronic Journals

• New York Times Opinion Page
• Washington Post Opinion Page (will require free
  login)
• The Boston Globe Op/Ed Page
• Times-Picayune Opinions Index (may require some
  info)
• Consumer Search (Product Comparisons)
• Some Scholarly Journals (Chicago Press, by
  discipline)
• Directory of Open Access Journals

18
Question Answer Time

19
FYI

• Presentation URL http//www.ulm.edu/lowe/small
  groupcom.ppt
• Internet Research
• http//www.ulm.edu/lowe/internetresearch.htm
  l
• My Website
• http//www.ulm.edu/lowe
• My Contact
• lowe_at_ulm.edu
• 342-3041

20

• Remember, if you need help,
• just ask at the Reference Desk!