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Core 157 Research guide |
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Librarian: Nancy Young |
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E-mail: nyoung@uidaho.edu |
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UI Library Website: www.lib.uidaho.edu |
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If you need additional help with your research, try:
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Reference Works |
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The reference section can be the best place to start your research. Use reference works to: Get an overview or background information on a topic
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The reference section is located on the 1st floor of the library. Because it is a fairly small area, browsing the shelves in the general area of your topic is a quick way to look for relevant material. Books are shelved using the Library of Congress classification scheme. Reference works (both print and electronic) can also be found by searching the library catalog. Remember to make your search terms general, as reference works tend to have broad coverage. For example, a keyword search using "mexico" and "encyclopedia" finds several multi-volume works that could be helpful. See the list of “General Resources in the University of Idaho Library” on your class WebCT site. They are all located in the Reference area. |
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Books |
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Books may contain a broad overview of a topic or an in-depth exploration of a topic. Books range from popular to scholarly and, as with all sources, you should be aware of the author's credentials. Keep in Mind:
Books located at the UI Library, the UI Women's Center (in Memorial Gym) the UI Law Library, NIC (North Idaho College, Coeur d'Alene), and LCSC (Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston) can be found by searching the Library Catalog. For help with searching the catalog, see the Searching for Books Library Guide. For this assignment a keyword search usually works well. Examples of keyword searches are:
Note: Capitalization is not necessary. Also, make sure to look at the detailed record or, if available, the Table of Contents for a book. This will give you a clearer idea of whether the book contains information that will be useful to you. For instance, the book entitled Latino/a
popular culture has the following contents, which is not
apparent unless you click on
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Articles |
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Articles are found in periodicals. Examples of periodicals are magazines, journals, and newspapers. Scholarly (also called peer-reviewed or refereed) journals are one of the primary means of disseminating ideas in academic scholarship. If you are unsure how to differentiate between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine, two helpful websites are: |
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Articles
are located by searching for your topic in an article database (sometimes
called an article index). First, select an appropriate database from the Library Find Articles page.
The |
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Newspapers To find newspaper articles, search the following newspaper indexes.
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Internet Resources |
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Information on the Internet ranges from the free web to electronic books, journals, etc. that the library pays for. The Internet is a wonderful source for many different types of information. It is important to remember that anyone can publish something on the web and it is critical to evaluate your source carefully. The library's Website Evaluation Criteria can help you choose reliable information. |
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For some tips on the difference between search engines, subject directories, and the invisible web see this UC Berkeley tutorial Types of Search Tools. Here is a good place to search for reliable websites: Internet Scout Project http://scout.wisc.edu/ An Internet site that reviews and lists authoritative and useful Websites. You can create an account, but don’t have to. You can search the archives simply by clicking on the “archives” link at the top of the page. Try using broad search terms such as “latino” or “Hispanic.” All Scout Project sites have been vetted by ”academics and professionals from Library Science and Computer Science, along with graduate and undergraduate students studying the sciences, social sciences and humanities” so you know they’re reliable!
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Sometimes, you will be required to use primary and/or secondary sources in your research. It can be difficult to know the difference. The same source might be a primary resource for one topic and a secondary resource for another. The two websites below will help you to locate and understand the difference between the two types of sources. |
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Plagiarism |
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The ease of cutting and pasting from electronic resources can lead to putting your name on a work that is not really yours. This is both illegal and unethical. The following websites will help you understand how to avoid plagiarism and how to properly cite the work of others. The University of Idaho has a webpage devoted to its policy on plagiarism: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/english/comp/plagiarism.htm The University of Idaho Library's online tutorial on information literacty has a section dealing with plagiarism. See Modules 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 beginning at: Duke University Libraries, Citing Sources, Documentation Guidelines for citing sources and avoiding plagiarism: http://library.duke.edu/research/guides/citing/OWL, Purdue University Online Writing Lab, Avoiding Plagiarism: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
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Citing Sources |
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You will need to properly cite your sources. The University of Idaho Library's information literacy tutorial can help. Modules 6.2 and 6.3 cover citation styles and usage: http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/modules/module6/6_2.htm |
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How
To Use The Reference Section
in
the online catalog record for this book:
How
To Find Articles
next
to the database title gives information about the coverage of the
database. 
How
To Find Internet Resources