BIS 3320 Nature of Intellectual Inquiry Hillary Campbell

BIS 3320 Nature of Intellectual Inquiry Hillary Campbell September 22, 2003

Types of Research Resources • • • Reference Books Scholarly Books Periodical Articles Databases of Information World Wide Web

Reference Books – A Great Place to 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 chosen your topic…now, hit the catalog! • • • Biographical Historical Scientific Critical Government Publications *These resources often contain valuable indexes and/or bibliographies

Periodical Articles & Essays • Some are published in popular magazines or journals • Some are published in scholarly journals • Some are only published electronically

Popular / 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training • Articles do not have footnotes • Magazines have advertising, photographs, and glossy pages • For Profit • Not Peer-reviewed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 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 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 Research • • Select a topic Identify keywords Identify synonyms Group concepts and add connectors (Boolean) • Use truncation and/or wildcard keys if available

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

Identify 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 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 Synonyms Discovery • Discover, Discovered, Discovery • Find, Founding • Invent, Invented, Invention, Inventor • • Impact Consequence, Consequences, Influences, Influenced, Influential Repercussion, Repurcussions Significance, Significant

Group Concepts Group concepts together by parentheses or quotation marks • “ozone layer” (ozone layer) • “impact on society” (impact on society)

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

Add Connectors - Proximity • w or w 5 (“with”) – searches for two terms in the order typed • n or n 5 (“near”) – searches for two terms in any order • “ “ quotation marks – groups terms together as a phrase *Not all databases support these

Add Connectors - Proximity • Example : ozone n 4 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 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 keys • atmospher* atmosphere, atmospheric • invent* inventor invented invention • f? ? nd find found • wom? n women woman womyn

Thesaurus • 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) • 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 Discovery Project • Sociological Abstracts – Full Text • Web of Science – Citation Only • Historical Abstracts or America: History and Life – Full Text and Citations

Sample Databases – Information about 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 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 Inter. Library Loan Service

WWW Resources – Evaluate Them with the ABCs • • • Audience Authority Bias Currency Scope *Remember, ANYONE can publish on the WWW!

Citing 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 Again? http: //www. utdallas. edu/~hxc 024100/ presentations. html Links to this version, as well as an extended version (includes screenshots of examples)

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