BIS 3320BIS 3320Nature of Intellectual Nature of Intellectual

InquiryInquiry

Hillary CampbellHillary Campbell

September 22, 2003September 22, 2003

Types of Research ResourcesTypes of Research Resources

• Reference Books

• Scholarly Books

• Periodical Articles

• Databases of Information

• World Wide Web

Reference Books – A Great Place Reference Books – A Great Place to be Inspired…Just the Factsto be Inspired…Just the Facts

• Reader’s Guide to the History of Science

• Chronology of Science

• American Men and Women of Science

• Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Scholarly Books – You have Scholarly Books – You have chosen your topic…now, hit the chosen your topic…now, hit the

catalog!catalog!• Biographical• Historical• Scientific• Critical• Government Publications

*These resources often contain valuable indexes and/or bibliographies

Periodical Articles & EssaysPeriodical Articles & Essays

• Some are published in popular magazines or journals

• Some are published in scholarly journals

• Some are only published electronically

Popular / Trade JournalsPopular / Trade Journals

• Intended for a general audience.

• Articles written by journalists who may or may not have special training

• Articles do not have footnotes

• Magazines have advertising, photographs, and glossy pages

• For Profit

• Not Peer-reviewed

Scholarly JournalsScholarly Journals

• Intended for an audience knowledgeable in the field

• Articles are written by scholars, who’s names are listed along with credentials

• Articles are footnoted and list sources used• No advertising, few photographs, and usually

printed on plain paper• Usually not for profit• Peer-reviewed

How Can I Tell if the Journal is How Can I Tell if the Journal is Scholarly?Scholarly?

• Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory – Located at Library Reference Desk

• Serials Directory – Located at Library Reference Desk

• Ulrich’s Online – Accessible via Library Reference webpage

• Some databases allow you to limit searching to peer-reviewed pubs only

Beginning Your ResearchBeginning Your Research

• Select a topic

• Identify keywords

• Identify synonyms

• Group concepts and add connectors (Boolean)

• Use truncation and/or wildcard keys if available

Select a TopicSelect a Topic

• Broad Topic – Research a scientific discovery, within the last 100 years, that had a significant impact on our society

• Narrow Topic – The discovery of a hole in the ozone layer and its impact on society

Identify KeywordsIdentify Keywords

The discovery of a “hole in the ozone layer”and its “impact on society”

Identify SynonymsIdentify Synonyms

• Take your keywords and find other words that also describe your topic. Also write down narrower and broader terms to help refine your search.

Identify SynonymsIdentify Synonyms

Ozone layer• Ozone, Ozonic• Atmosphere,

Atmospheric Layer• Ozone hole, hole in

the ozone layer• Environment,

Environmental

Depletion

• Deplete• Decrease, Decreased• Thinning, Thinned• Diminish, Diminishing,

Diminished

Identify SynonymsIdentify Synonyms

Discovery• Discover, Discovered,

Discovery• Find, Found,

Founding• Invent, Invented,

Invention, Inventor

Impact• Consequence,

Consequences, • Influence, Influences,

Influenced, Influential• Repercussion,

Repurcussions• Significance,

Significant

Group ConceptsGroup Concepts

Group concepts together by parentheses or quotation marks

• “ozone layer” (ozone layer)

• “impact on society” (impact on society)

Add Connectors - BooleanAdd Connectors - Boolean

• AND - both terms must appear together in the record (narrows search)

• OR-either term appears in the record (broadens search)

• NOT-placed before term omits all records featuring this term in them

Add Connectors - BooleanAdd Connectors - Boolean

• Example : ozone AND depletion

• Example : “ozone layer” OR “atmospheric layer”

• Example: (“ozone hole” OR “atmospheric layer”) AND depletion

Add Connectors - ProximityAdd Connectors - Proximity

• w or w5 (“with”) – searches for two terms in the order typed

• n or n5 (“near”) – searches for two terms in any order

• “ “ quotation marks – groups terms together as a phrase

*Not all databases support these

Add Connectors - ProximityAdd Connectors - Proximity

• Example : ozone n4 layer (… “hole in the Earth’s ozone layer”…) (… “a hole in the Earth’s layer of atmospheric ozone”…)

• Example : atmosphere w/5 pollution (… “problems in the Earth’s atmosphere as a result of pollution”…

• Example: “atmospheric pollution”, “the Greenhouse Effect”

Use truncation and/or wildcard keysUse truncation and/or wildcard keys

• Both use a special key (*, ?, #, $) depending on the source used

• Truncation - When key placed at end of term, all variations of word (from “trunk” onward) found.

• Wildcard key – Replaces a single character and makes it a “wildcard” for any letter in the alphabet.

Use truncation and/or wildcard keysUse truncation and/or wildcard keys

• atmospher*

atmosphere, atmospheric

• invent*

inventorinvented

invention

• f??nd

findfound

• wom?n

womenwomanwomyn

ThesaurusThesaurus

• List of standard subject terms used for indexing the documents in their files

• Also known as controlled vocabulary

• Example: Use “CFC” for “chloroflourocarbons”

Use “sun protection factor” for “SPF”

Selecting Your Database(s)Selecting Your Database(s)

• Choose by subject http://www.utdallas.edu/library/reference/subjectdata.html

• See descriptions on Alphabetical List – http://www.utdallas.edu/library/reference/database.html

• Ask a Reference Librarian – we know what’s best!

Sample Databases – Scientific Sample Databases – Scientific Discovery ProjectDiscovery Project

• Sociological Abstracts – Full Text

• Web of Science – Citation Only

• Historical Abstracts or America: History and Life – Full Text and Citations

Sample Databases – Information Sample Databases – Information about Scientistsabout Scientists

• Academic Search Premier – Full Text

• Biography and Genealogy Master Index – Index, no full text

• PAIS – Citation only, no full text, includes government documents

Find Full TextFind Full Text

• Search Catalog for Library Periodical Title and Holdings

• Use call number in catalog to access the print/microform

• Access electronic coverage from catalog record

• Use InterLibrary Loan Service

WWW Resources – Evaluate Them WWW Resources – Evaluate Them with the ABCswith the ABCs

• Audience• Authority• Bias• Currency• Scope

*Remember, ANYONE can publish on the WWW!

Citing your sourcesCiting your sources

• MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, and other citation manuals available at the Reference Desk.

• Copies may be available in Main Stacks

• Need help citing? The writing lab can help.

Want to See This Presentation Want to See This Presentation Again?Again?

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September 22, 2003