SenecaYork Learning Commons Mara Bordignon, Jane Foo

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Seneca_at_York Learning CommonsMara Bordignon, Jane
Foo

• EAC 150Guide to Research

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Overview

• What is information?
• How to start research
• Using the Learning Commons to find good sources

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Information Formats

• Available in print, electronic or other types of
  media
• For example, an article could be
• ? published in a magazine like Macleans (paper)
• ? duplicated in a periodical index (electronic)
• ? made available on the magazine's website
  (electronic)

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Research Tips

• Who
• Is the source reputable or authoritative? Is the
  source primary or secondary?
• What
• An article from a newspaper, magazine, journal,
  encyclopedia?
• Where
• Found in a library catalogue, a subscription
  database, or on the Internet?
• When
• Do you need current, up-to-date, or historical
  information?
• Finding more information
• Good sources of information will lead you to
  other sources, e.g. a bibliography or references
  at the end of an article.

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Starting your research...

• What kind of information am I looking for?
• Where and how do I search for this information?
• Once I have found some information, how can I
  tell if it is useful? How do I find more similar
  information?

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Researching an Author

• The TOPIC would be
• Farley Mowat and his literary works
• The SUBJECT areas would be
• English, Literature, Humanities, Social Science
• What are the best keywords to use for your
  search?

Have alternative KEYWORDS ready Never Cry Wolf,
A Whale for the Killing, Owls in the Family,
etc. Criticism, criticisms, biography
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Using Boolean Operators

• OR - broadens a search
• Never Cry Wolf OR A Whale for the Killing
• AND - narrows a search
• Farley Mowat AND criticisms OR biography
• Farley Mowat AND Never Cry Wolf
• narrows a search even more
• Farley Mowat
• (wildcard) simplifies a search
• biograph
• NOT excludes specific terms
• Farley Mowat and NOT Never Cry Wolf

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Published Sources

• Books
• Periodical articles
• Newspaper articles
• Film
• TV recording
• Interview
• Where can you get these types of sources?
• How will this affect how you cite your source?

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Reliable Information Sources

• At Seneca, we offer
• The Learning Commons / Library
• http//learningcommons.senecacollege.ca
• Published information and research help
• Learning Centre (tutors)
• In-depth help in several subject areas (Don
  Mills)
• Seneca Student Helpdesk
• Quick technical trouble-shooting

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Accessing Learning Commons Online

• http//learningcommons.senecacollege.ca
• At Seneca
• From your home computer using
• Seneca as your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Any other ISP
• gt use your e-mail username and password to
  remotely access the electronic research databases

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http//learningcommons.senecacollege.ca
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Library Catalogue

• The Library Catalogue allows you to
• Search or Browse for our print books and
  periodicals
• Search for magazines journals by limiting
  material type to serials in Browse search
• Sort search results by author, title, subject,
  material or date
• Place holds or renew books online (library PIN
  required)
• Some good sources for literary information
• The Canadian Encyclopedia REF FC 23.C36 1999
• The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature REF
  PS 8015.093 1997
• Canadian Whos Who REF FC25 .C35

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Online Published Articles

• Find Magazine Newspapers
• Library catalogue (BIBCAT)
• Electronic research databases
• Alphabetic
• Canadian
• Some good sources for literary information
• Canadian Encyclopedia Online
• Current Biography
• Discovering Authors Canadian Edition
• GaleNet Literary Database
• MagillOnLiterature
• Virtual News Library

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Research by Subject

• 62 Senecas program-specific subject areas
• customized research resources online
• research databases
• full-text magazine and journal articles
• full-text Books
• direct access to the Library Catalogue (BIBCAT)
• Internet sites
• quick reference
• other online resources (e.g. course-specific
  resources)
• For this assignment, try Literature

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Plagiarism and You
According to the Seneca College Student Handbook,
plagiarism is the inclusion of anothers
words, phrases, sentences or entire passages in
work which you claim as your own. Consult LCO
-gt Getting Started -gt Plagiarism (Information
for Students)
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Citing your Information Sources

• When conducting research, you must properly
  acknowledge the sources of information you have
  used...
• This is commonly referred to as a
• Works Cited Page/List or Bibliography.
• LCO -gt Quick Reference Tools -gt Bibliography
  Style Guides -gt
• Seneca College Library MLA Style Guide
• Seneca Guide to Integrating Quotations (MLA Style)

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Quick Reference Tools

• Dictionaries
• Directories
• Encyclopedias
• Government Resources
• Grammar Guides
• Map Atlases
• Periodic Tables
• Quotations
• Reference Metasites
• Statistics / Demographics
• Thesauri
• Time / Calendars
• Weather

• Acronyms Abbreviations
• Almanacs Factbooks
• Associations Societies
• Bibliography Style Guides
• Biography
• Calculators, Converters Measurements
• Canadian Citizenship Resources
• Career Employment
• Clip Art/Graphics
• College/University Information

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Getting Started
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Online Lab

• Please use your Research/Documentation Exercise.
  
• If at any time you need any help with your
  research, come and talk to us at the Reference
  Desk!