Navigating Your Future Principles for Student Success By

Research Skills • Use the reference librarians • Understand how your library is organized • Begin the search using encyclopedias • Learn how to do a good online search • Evaluate the quality of your sources • Keep up-to-date on changes by using your reference librarians - they are the guides to the information highway Chapter 8 Copyright 2002 Houghton Mifflin Company - All Rights Reserved 2

How is a Library Organized? • The Stacks - Where most books are kept • The Reference Section - Items that can not be checked out as they are in high demand • The Periodical Section - Daily, weekly and monthly publications Chapter 8 Copyright 2002 Houghton Mifflin Company - All Rights Reserved 3

How is a Library Organized? • AV Section - Audio and video materials • Computer Section - Databases on CD, or access to Internet search engines • Maps or Document Section - Area where government documents or other research is held Chapter 8 Copyright 2002 Houghton Mifflin Company - All Rights Reserved 4

How do I conduct a library information search? • Search by keywords - You can combine keywords to narrow the search • Search by author • Search by title Chapter 8 Copyright 2002 Houghton Mifflin Company - All Rights Reserved 5

How do I evaluate the credibility of an Internet source? • Assess the quality and reliability of the article (is it well written and backed up by other relevant research? ) • Assess the source of the article (the background of the company or the author) Chapter 8 Copyright 2002 Houghton Mifflin Company - All Rights Reserved 6