Introduction to Information Literacy: Week 6

1
Introduction to Information Literacy Week 6

• Books, Bias and Print Periodicals

2
From Reference to Regular

• Use the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) to
  find circulating books
• There are two Santa Rosa Junior College
  Libraries Plover Library at the Santa Rosa
  campus and Mahoney Library at the Petaluma campus
• Students can borrow books from either library. If
  a book you want to read is checked in but at
  another campus, it is possible to have the book
  sent to JC library of your choice.
• The SRJC libraries contain materials and access
  to information that supports the curriculum of
  the college however, students have access to
  other local libraries.

3
Sonoma County Libraries

• The Sonoma County Library District is a unified,
  county-wide library system. Branches extend as
  far north as Cloverdale, south to Petaluma, and
  west to Sebastopol and east to Sonoma.
• No matter which branch of the library system you
  use regularly, you can have materials sent to you
  from any other branch in the system.
• In addition, the Sonoma County Library
  participates in resource sharing with many other
  North Bay area libraries. You may make requests
  to borrow those materials yourself through the
  library's "Super Search" program.
• The Sonoma County Library also provides access to
  online databases for its patrons (users).
• The Sonoma County Librarys web address is
• http//www.sonomalibrary.org

4
Sonoma State University

• The University Library serves the academic
  program of the Sonoma State
• University. While the Santa Rosa Junior College
  is a two-year college serving the needs of
  students in their first two years of higher
• education, the University is a four-year
  institution which also offers master degrees in a
  wide array of subject areas.
• This means that the information needs of SSU
  students include resources which go into greater
  depth than those you might find at SRJC.
• At the SSU library you will find the same types
  of information resources as the JC, but you will
  also find more material (or more in-depth
  material) on more specific subheadings of various
  research topics.
• Sonoma State University and the Santa Rosa Junior
  College have reciprocal lending agreements. This
  means you can borrow books from the SSU Library
  using your SRJC student ID.
• The SSU librarys web page is located at
• http//libweb.sonoma.edu/default.html

5
Assignments for Next Week

• Using the Library Catalog (OPAC) worksheet.
• Book Source Assignment.

6
Detecting Bias in Periodical Sources

• Bias itself is not inherently evil. In fact,
  the Opinion and Editorial (Op. Ed.) page in
  newspapers thrive on it.
• Bias is not always deliberate. However, the
  background or attitudes of the writer can
  influence the news.
• Biased reporting is mostly found in news and/or
  popular periodicals and Internet sources.
  However, bias can sometimes be observed in
  scientific or social science research what is
  studied or researched may be the result of
  cultural bias.

7
Detecting Bias in the News

• The Center for Media Literacy identifies six ways
  in which bias can creep into news sources
• Bias through selection and omission.
• Bias through placement.
• Bias by headline.
• Bias by photos, captions, and camera angles.
• Bias through use of names and titles.
• Bias by choice of words.

8
Characteristics of Periodical Literature

• The term periodical refers to publications such
  as
• Magazines
• Journals
• Newspapers.
• Periodicals are usually published relatively
  frequently and in an ongoing manner year after
  year. Periodicals typically are soft cover
  publications with simple bindings.

9
Periodicals, continued

• Periodicals are not limited to print format. Some
  periodicals are published online, or as digitized
  information residing in a remote database or in
  CD-ROM or other optical disc format.
• The periodical publishing cycle is very timely,
  second only to the Internet in speed of
  publication.
• The bulk of published information (either online
  or print) appears in periodical format.
• The content of a periodical article reflects
  opinions that are the most contemporary
  treatments of an event or issue. If you are
  interested in reviewing the evolution of opinion
  or thought on a particular topic, periodical
  literature is the best place to look for this
  change over time.
• Periodical literature may also be the only source
  for information on some topics. Those topics may
  have been too faddish or too fleeting (in terms
  of interest to a readership) for those topics to
  have appeared in book form.

10
Popular vs. News vs. Trade vs. Scholarly

• Magazine" is a term usually used to refer to
  popular (or general) periodicals, the periodicals
  that appeal to broad groups of readers. Articles
  in popular periodicals tend to be shorter in
  length and do not usually contain highly
  specialized or technical language.
• News sources can refer to some periodicals and
  newspapers. Newspapers consist of short articles
  and are also non-technical in nature. They tend
  to cover current events and issues. They are
  excellent "primary information" resources because
  they provide firsthand reports or accounts of
  events.
• News periodicals such as Time and Newsweek are
  current event oriented literature in magazine
  format.
• Trade periodicals refer to magazines that are
  targeted at specific occupational groups and
  businesses. They contain shorter articles but
  tend to be aimed at those who share an occupation
  or business goal in common, and offer insights
  into trends and thought on particular aspects of
  commerce and service industries.

11
Popular vs. News vs. Trade vs. Scholarly

• As we discussed in Week 2, Scholarly periodicals
  are more highly specialized, contain a higher
  level of technical terms and tend to follow a
  more complex conversational pattern that recalls
  earlier treatments of a topic or research area.
• The intended audience for the scholarly
  periodical article is usually a more specific and
  limited segment of the population. Scholarly
  articles frequently contain many references and a
  lengthy bibliography.
• Scholarly journals frequently have rigorous
  submission standards. Articles are usually either
  peer-reviewed (also know as refereed) and can
  also be "blind-refereed."
• Scholarly periodicals can be divided into three
  general areas humanities (such as art,
  literature or journalism), sciences (medicine,
  computer and information sciences, agriculture)
  and social sciences (sociology, anthropology,
  business).

12
Finding periodical articles (print and online)

• The periodical index is a list of citations that
  refer to full periodical articles. An article can
  be indexed by subject headings that describe the
  article content. Articles are also indexed by
  author names and broad or specialized subject
  areas.
• The index will always include the full citation
  for the article, including author(s), article
  title, the name of periodical in which the
  article appears, the volume and issue number of
  the journal, the date and page numbers of the
  article.
• Some indexes include abstracts (brief concise
  summaries) of the article itself.
• Print indexes will contain the article citation
  and sometimes abstracts, depending upon the
  index.
• An online index may also contain the full text of
  the periodical article itself.
• Indexes can be specific to a single periodical or
  a group of periodical articles from many
  different periodicals. These can be arranged by
  academic areas such as the Humanities, the
  Sciences, and the Social Sciences. Or, these
  indexes can be targeted at general populations
  such as public library users. Other indexes exist
  which only target medical professionals.
• The SRJC libraries carry a variety of print
  indexes. They are located near the Reference
  Desk in the Reference Area.

13
Choosing a Periodical Index

• Knowing where to find relevant periodical
  articles for your research means exploring the
  resources of the library.
• Different institutions (colleges, universities,
  public libraries) offer different types of
  indexes and different types of technology for
  locating information they should be geared to
  the librarys users.
• At this time, the SRJC OPAC does not contain
  article citations or full text periodical
  articles. You need to use an index to find
  periodical articles.
• Choosing which index to use can be a challenge.
  Ask yourself where the resource youre
  considering (database, search engine, print
  periodical index, etc) will look when you do
  your search.
• What materials and/or formats are included?
  Excluded?
• Will the resource you choose lead you to an
  article citation? Will the full text of the
  article be there? What is the date range or the
  index?
• You can then search for titles of periodicals on
  the OPAC or use the blue Periodicals listings
  book

14
Step-by-Step Process for searching the Print
Periodical Indexes

• Choose your search terms get help from the Big
  Red Books or the OPAC if necessary.
• Choose the index that best suits your needs (the
  Readers Guide. AKA the green books you used in
  High School, the Humanities Index, Biography
  Index, etc.)
• Look for your search terms in the index. Search
  multiple years if necessary.
• Find citations for articles that cover your topic
  in the index.
• Check the blue book that lists SRJC Periodicals
  and their formats for your source.
• Use the green card to request articles from the
  Periodicals desk in the library.
• Note the format is your source available in
  microform, bound or paper issues?
• Read your source make copies or take notes if
  you need to. Dont forget to note complete
  citation information!

15
Assignment for Next Week

• Print periodicals worksheet.