ENG 102 Finding Information Martin J Crabtree MCCC

ENG 102 Finding Information Martin J. Crabtree MCCC Library

Agenda • The College’s Card Catalog • Electronic Searching – Keywords & Boolean Searching • Electronic Databases at Mercer – Accessing the databases – Databases available through Mercer Library • Using the Web & Evaluating What You Find • MLA resources

Using The Card Catalog • The catalog is available online. Used to find books, videos and other material both in the MCCC collection and the Mercer County Public (MCL) libraries. • You can have materials from MCL brought to the college. Deliveries arrive Tuesday and Friday afternoons. (DVD’s not available from MCL) • Link to the catalog is on the library’s web pages.

The link to the catalog is on the library’s web pages.

Big Changes at the MCCC Library

Big changes at the West Windsor Campus Library • Major renovations are being made to the library building. • The work is expected last until early summer 2009 • During the construction: – The library will be located in a temporary building next to the AD building – The computer lab has been moved to a separate location on campus – All of the library’s online resources are still available

The Library’s Computer Lab • During the library construction, the computer lab will be located in LA 232 • A second lab (with more limited hours) will be in ET 212 • Hours are generally: – 8 AM – 9 PM Monday-Thursday – 9 AM – 4 PM Friday & Saturday • Changes to these will be posted in the computer lab rooms

Searching Electronic Databases And The Web Too

Starting An Electronic Search Keywords • Keywords are used when searching electronic databases and web search engines • First step - Generate a list of words (keywords) that describes or is commonly used when discussing your topic. For example: – Ozone – Layer – Depletion – Atmosphere – Hole

Starting An Electronic Search Boolean Searching/Logic • Boolean searching - Connecting keywords with the terms – and – not – or • For example – eagles NOT football – (car or automobile) and exhaust • More Terms = Fewer “Hits”

Searching More Than Just Keywords Phrases & Truncations • To search for a phrase, use quotation marks – “survival of the fittest” • Truncations allow for searching related words all at once – The * is usually used. For example: • “child*” would include: child, children, childhood, childproof, etc.

Searching More Than Just Keywords Field Limiters • Field limiters allow you to specify your search within varied parameters for example: – Only full-text articles – Only peer reviewed (scholarly) publications – Date (or date range)

Let’s take a quick look at how Boolean searching can help

So what are scholarly resources?

Scholarly Information • Information that has been written by experts in a given field (scholars) using proven research methods. • This information can take many form both in print and electronically. • When doing college level work, you are expected to rely on scholarly information for your research.

Periodicals • Periodicals include: – scholarly journals – newspapers – magazines • Periodicals represent the bulk of published scholarly information. • The library has a number of periodicals available in print, on microfilm, and especially via electronic databases. • The library staff can help determine if a specific periodical is available from the library.

Electronic Databases at the Mercer Library

What is a databases? • A collection of electronically searchable information (frequently, but not limited to, periodical articles) that is accessible via the internet • Access to this information is by paid subscription only (paid by the library). • It is accessible via the internet, but it is not truly web information.

Electronic Databases At Mercer In General • Over 60 databases available • Not every article is available full text though many are • Abstracts (summary) is often available when full text is not

Electronic Databases In General • Accessible at any computer on the MCCC/JKC campus network • Most are available off campus, though you do need to use a password. • Can print/e-mail/download articles

Accessing Databases Remotely • You can access most of the databases from any computer with internet access. • Use your student ID number (no dashes) and your last name to log into the databases.

Remote Login Screen Use your student ID number & last name

Some Useful Databases • Academic Search Premier (EBSCOHost) – Broadest of the databases covering everything from science to the humanities including many scholarly journals – Not every article full text – Need Acrobat Reader for some articles • Literature Resource Center - Reviews, criticisms, and biographical info on a number of authors and their works.

More Databases • A number of subject specific databases are available covering: – Business (ABI/Inform) – Newspapers (Academic-Universe: News) – Sociology (Proquest Social Science Journals) – Education (Proquest Educational Journals) – more • Also other resources – Encyclopedia Britannica – Oxford English Dictionary

Searching the World Wide Web and Evaluating What You Find Brought to you by… &

Searching the World Wide Web How can I find what I want?

Some things to consider when searching the web • Everything is NOT on the web & may never be • No search engine covers the entire web • The “invisible web” is huge! • Though there has yet to be consensus, estimates put the size of the invisible web to at least 200% bigger than the “visible” (or surface) web. Source: The Invisible Web by Chris Sherman

Searching the World Wide Web Search Strategy • Searching the Web is much like database searching: – Use keywords and Boolean logic (and, not, or) to better define your search, use double quotes for phrases, etc. • When searching the web, also consider: – Different search engines yield different results. You may want to try using more that just your “regular” search engine – Use the search engine’s “advanced search” to select limiting parameters (language, date, domain, etc. )

Searching the World Wide Web Search Engines & Meta Sites • Become familiar with your search engines features. Some websites with more info about search engines are listed in your brochure. • Meta search sites (like Dogpile): – Allow you to search more than one search engines at once. – Can generate more “stuff” to sift through – Limited to only basic searches, can’t use advanced search features – Some results can be from “paid for listing” search engines

The Invisible Web Why is so much being missed? • When using a search engine, you are searching a database that represents what is known to be on the web – Spiders or crawlers roam the web from link to link generating this database – Works extremely well for static all text pages in the HTML language • Places information may hide include: – – – Databases, free & subscription Non-text information such as photos or audio Non-HTML formatted documents Very new web pages Password only access information

Finding the invisible stuff • The key is knowing when you need “invisible” information and then where to find it. • Not every web search requires looking in the invisible web. • Search engines work well when looking for a narrow, focused topic. • Some website that may help you find more info are in the brochure

Is this stuff any good? Evaluating Web Sites

Now Back to Our “Sponsors” &

Evaluating Web Sites • Quality varies greatly from site to site • YOU are the sole evaluator of the quality of information a site provides

Five Evaluation Criteria 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Accuracy - is it reliable? Authority - is author qualified on subject? Objectivity - is the information biased? Currency - is the information “new” enough? Coverage - does the info completely cover the topic?

Evaluating Web Sites Home Page & Site Extensions • Search engines may put you out of context, go to the home page or “about us” page to help you evaluate the site. • The site extension can help evaluate information – – – . gov - Governmental sites. edu - Educational institution sites. com - Commercial sites. org - Not for profit organization sites. mil - Military sites Others are being creates that are less clear cut, e. g. : . net or. co. uk

Evaluating Web Sites Other Considerations • Watch for information that is positioned to sell you something. • Altered web pages (either by accident or maliciously) • Links to other web sites DOES NOT necessarily mean that the site is credible. Evaluate each site separately.

Using Wikipedia

Using Wikipedia • Wikipedia is sometimes a useful source of information in some instances • But, the information contained here is not inherently scholarly information. • Wikipedia is probably best at covering pop culture topics as well as obscure subjects not well represented in scholarly publications.

Think about it… Would you want you doctor to base his/her diagnosis or your lawyer you defense in court bases on information they got from Wikipedia?

With web info, the Bottom Line is… Buyer Beware • The web contains a vast amount of information…but not everything • Anyone can put information on the web, hence the quality of web information varies greatly • YOU will often be the only person to decide if the quality of the info you find on the web is good Now let’s visit a site…

Still people can get fooled…

Using the information you find. . . and giving credit where credit is due.

Using the information you find. . . and giving credit where credit is due.

Using the Information You Find • Always give credit to the author or creator of the information that you use. • This includes not only the actual facts, conclusions, and ideas that an author presents but also the words that he/she has used.

Citing your sources of information • Scholars routinely list the sources of the information they use as part of their work • You will frequently need to include a list of the sources of information you have used for an assignment in college.

Using the MLA Format

Using the MLA format • You will be using the MLA (Modern Language Association of America) style. • The latest MLA manual is available in the library: – MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers at: LB 2369. G 53 2003 (in the reference collection & on reserve). • The manual is not available on line. • NOTE: A newly revised edition of the handbook will be out in April

Added MLA info is at the Research & Report Guides link

Now it’s your turn…