ENGL 1099 Library Research Class ALEXANDRA DOBRE MLIS
ENGL 1099 Library Research Class ALEXANDRA DOBRE, MLIS
Learning objectives 1. Learn to break down a research question and how to identify keywords used to search in a database 2. Find peer-reviewed academic articles using Academic Search Complete 3. Distinguish between academic and popular articles 4. MLA citation guide
Formulating a research strategy Phrase your topic as a question as it will help you identify what you’re looking for. Example research question: “How does the consumption of meat affect the environment? ”
Key concepts Identify key concepts/keywords that we can use to search in a database. "How does the consumption of meat affect the environment?
Activity #1 Breaking down a question What is the impact of social media on students’ academic achievement? What are the main concepts/keywords from the question below?
Answer: 1. Social media 2. Students 3. Academic achievement
Related terms/synonyms "How does the consumption of meat affect the environment? Consumption of meat Environment Meat consumption OR Meat eating OR Meat eaters Climate change Environmental impact
Activity #2 - Synonyms What are some related words/synonyms for the following words? Social media OR ? Students OR ? Academic achievement OR ?
Answer What are some related words/synonyms for the following words? Social media, Social networks, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Students, undergraduates, college students, university students, … Academic achievement, academic success, academic performance
Combining words AND: • Searches for both words together • Used to combine different concepts Concept 1 AND Concept 2” ie. Meat consumption AND environment OR: • Searches for any occurrence of either word • Used to combine related terms or synonyms Concept 1 OR Concept 1 a ie. environment OR climate change
Subject terms vs keywords Subject terms --they pull together articles on the same topic/theme regardless of what words the author used to classify that article --compensates for different spellings --your search will be more precise and focused and you will retrieve more relevant articles Keywords --searches for that word anywhere in the record (unless you specify a field to search in) --can retrieve thousands of results that can be irrelevant --use when there are no subject headings available
How to use subject headings 1. Start with using keywords 2. Once you have your results, find a few relevant articles and take a look at the subjects (found in each article record)
How to use subject headings 3. Go back to your search strategy and change your keywords to the new words (or not) you have found. From the drop down menu on the right hand side, make sure you select “Subject Terms”
Tips and tricks when using keywords Quotation marks search for words as a phrase: Ø “meat consumption" Truncation searches for multiple endings: Ø eat* will search for eat OR eating OR eaters
Putting it all together Concept 1: “consumption of meat” OR “meat consumption” OR “meat eat*” AND Concept 2: environment OR “climate change” OR “environmental impact” Enter search strategy into a database
Scholarly vs Popular sources Find this handout here: https: //library. douglascollege. ca/sites/ default/files/Scholarly%20 Journals%20 versus%20 Popular%20 Magazine%20 C hart. pdf
Activity: Scholarly vs Popular articles Using the criteria from the previous slide, decide which article is popular and which one is scholarly Step 1: Go to the Library homepage Step 2: In One. Search, type the title of the article, in quotation marks. Article 1 title: “Eating like there's no tomorrow: Public awareness of the environmental impact of food and reluctance to eat less meat as part of a sustainable diet” Article 2 title: “A burger every few days to keep climate change at bay” What proofs do you have?
Citing your sources & getting help! Finding the MLA guide: Library. douglascollege. ca Cite your sources MLA
MLA core elements The 8 th edition identifies and focuses on the nine core elements common to most sources: Author; Title of Source; Title of Container; Other Contributors; Version; Number; Publisher; Publication Date; Location;
MLA features to keep in mind re: Works Cited Abbreviations • n. d. for no date and n. p. for no publisher are no longer used • Common terms in the works-cited list like Editor, edited by, translator and review of are no longer abbreviated. The eight edition also provides a shorter list of recommended common academic abbreviations (pp. 96 -97) Authors • When a source has three or more authors, et al. is used after the first author. Previously this was done when a source had four or more authors. (p. 22) Books and Other Printed Works • In the works cited list, page numbers are preceded by p. or pp. Previously just the page numbers were given. (p. 46) • The place of publication is no longer given for books except in special circumstances (p. 51) • Provide the publishers full name. Omit business words such as Company (Co. ), Corporation (Corp. ), Incorporated (Inc. ) and Limited (Ltd. ). Replace University Press with UP. (p. 97)
MLA features continued Journals • Volume and issue numbers of scholarly journals are labeled as vol. and no. e. g. you would use vol. 73, no. 6 • Include the DOI (digital object identifier) if one is available (preceded by doi: ) rather than the URL. (p. 110) Online Works • The URL is given for a web source. Omit the http: // or https: //. Start with www. • Citing the date a webpage was accessed is optional. (p. 53) Miscellaneous • The medium of publication (e. g. Web, Print) is no longer provided unless it is needed for clarity. (p. 52)
Journal article citation in MLA, with 3 or more authors
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