SOCIOLOGY FINAL EXAM RESEARCH November 19, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments.add a comment
Here are the links for the web resources on the handout you received during your library visit. Students who were on Kairos can pick up a handout from Ms. Boe or from the library.
SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES
- Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com)
- Reader’s Guide Full Text Select (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/) Once you login, click on “Reader’s Guide.”
- Current Issues : Reference Shelf Plus (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/) Once you login, click on “Current Issues : Ref Shelf Plus.”
- Current Issues in Health (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/) Once you login, click on “Current Issues : Health.”
- Issues & Controversies (http://www.fofweb.com) If you are trying to decide on a topic, use the Subject Index along the left-side menu or the “Issues in the Headlines” section on the right side of the main page.
- Today’s Science (http://www.fofweb.com) If you are trying to decide on a topic, use the Subject Index along the left-side menu or the “Issues in the Headlines” section on the right side of the main page.
- EBSCO Science Reference Center (http://search.ebscohost.com) Once you login, click on “Search EBSCOhost Research Databases.”
- CQ Researcher (http://library.cqpress.com) Once you login, click on “CQ Researcher Online.”
WEB RESOURCES
- Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org)
- Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com is an online newspaper with excellent national and international coverage.
- The Public Library of Law (http://www.plol.org) provides free access to selected U.S. legal materials. Check your handout for the username and password.
- The Multnomah County Library Homework Center Social Issues page (http://www.multcolib.org/homework/sochc.html) has a good set of links on a variety of issues. But be warned that not all links are active.
- FRONTLINE from PBS (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/) produces excellent television news documentaries on timely and controversial topics. Many of these programs are available on DVD or VHS through your local public library.
- The Internet Public Library Social Issues and Social Welfare Subject Guide (http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/soc80.00.00) provides links to online resources in a number of categories.
- ProCon.Org (http://www.procon.org) This site is dedicated to presenting issues in a non-partisan, pro/con format.
CREATING YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY
Use these two resources to help you correctly format your bibliography according to APA guidelines. Remember to collect your citation information as you do your research. It will save you from having to reconstruct your search later.
- Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01)
- Oregon School Library Information System (http://secondary.oslis.org)
LIVING WOMEN HEROES November 18, 2009
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For students in Mrs. Martin’s English I class, here are the links from the hand-out you received during your visit to the library. Don’t forget to use your local public library for more resources — books, magazines, and their electronic databases.
Please stop by and see us in the library if you need help.
Library Catalogs
- Do a Subject search for your person: Last Name, First Name.
- Do a Keyword search for your person: “First Name Last Name” (try it with and without the quotation marks)
- Do a Subject search by profession: Women physicists, Women dancers, Women authors, Women blues musicians.
- Res Library catalog
- Chicago Public Library (http://www.chipublib.org) Use the Advanced Search link
- Niles Public Library (http://www.nileslibrary.org)
- Park Ridge Public Library (http://www.parkridgelibrary.org)
Res Library Subscription Databases
- Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com) This is an online encyclopedia for basic, introductory information. Start here!
- Reader’s Guide Full Text Select (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/) Once you login, click on the checkbox next to “Reader’s Guide.” For this assignment, it makes sense to click the checkbox next to “Full Text” so you only retrieve articles that have the full text. Once you have searched and have a Results list, you can sort by “Date” to put the most recent articles first.
- EBSCO Science Reference Center (http://search.ebscohost.com) This is good for information on scientists, astronauts, doctors, etc. Once you login, click on “EBSCOhost Research Databases” to get to the Science Reference Center.
- Gale Literature Resource Center (http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/reshs) This is good for information on authors and poets. Look for articles under the “Biography” tab after you search for your person’s name.
- FACTS.com Issues & Controversies and Today’s Science (http://www.fofweb.com) These are 2 separate databases. Issues & Controversies is good for information on politicians and women active in social and political causes. Today’s Science is good for women working in science, technology, medicine, and health care.
Web Resources
Some of these sites are good places to look for ideas of a woman to research. Some of them will provide more in-depth information or links to other resources. Try to find the person’s official website for the most up-to-date information. No doubt you will find many other web resources. Just make sure you know who the author of the website is and their credentials — you must know if you can trust the information they are providing.
- Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org)
- Internet Public Library — Biographies collection (http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref15.00.00)
- Time 100 (http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1894410,00.html)
- Women Nobel Laureates (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/women.html)
- Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership (http://www.guide2womenleaders.com)
- Women’s International Center Biography page (http://web.me.com/uromastyx.studio/WIC/wic2008biogreaphies.html)
- World’s Most Powerful Women — Forbes magazine (http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/18/worlds-most-powerful-women-forbes-woman-power-women-09-angela-merkel_land.html)
- Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com)
Citing Your Sources
Use your Writing Stylus to help you understand the MLA format. It is best to collect the information you need for your bibliography as you do your research rather than trying to go back and reconstruct your sources later.
An excellent resource to help you format your citations is the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01)
Use the Oregon School Library Information System website (http://old.oslis.org/docs/MLAcitexamprtnprt8-07.pdf) to see examples of citations in proper MLA format.
LITERARY CRITICISM RESEARCH October 26, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments.add a comment
Here are some suggestions for students in American Lit, World Lit, and Brit Lit who are beginning their literary criticism research papers. Don’t hesitate to stop by the library if you need more help finding resources.
BACKGROUND READING
Background reading on your author can provide information on the author’s life, the publishing history of the book, literary terms associated with the author and his/her works (genre, literary movements, themes, style, etc.) and any adaptations of the work. Use Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com) or a print encyclopedia (find them in the Res Library at REF 031). If you use a print encyclopedia, look up your author in the index volume. That way you’ll find all of the references to your author in the entire set and you will have a greater understanding of their writing and their significance. If you use an online encyclopedia, read all of the entries that come up in the Results list, not just the first one.
Check if there is an entry for your author in American Writers (REF 810.9 AME) or British Writers (REF 820.9 BRI). These entries are a terrific introduction to your author so although they might be quite long, they are well worth the effort. If you print out the information on your novel or play from the Gale Literary Index (http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex) , you will know exactly which volume to check.
REFERENCE BOOKS
There are several series of reference books you can consult, either in the Res Library or at your local public library. The printout from the Gale Literary Index (http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex) will come in handy here once again, especially to find critical essays in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism, and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism.
- American Writers (REF 810.9 AME)
- British Writers (REF 820.9)
- Literature and Its Times (REF 809.93 LIT)
- World Literature and Its Times series (REF 809 MOS)
- Contemporary Literary Criticism (REF 809.3 CON)
- Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (REF 809.3 TWE)
- Great World Writers : Twentieth Century (REF 809.04 GRE)
- Dictionary of Literary Biography
- Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism
Browse the 800s in the Reference section for other possible sources. Your public library has many more sets and series that will be useful, so don’t neglect a trip there.
CIRCULATING BOOKS
Depending on your author and title, you may find entire volumes of literary criticism devoted to that work. Or you may find books about your author containing a chapter or two about the particular work you are researching. The Subject Heading format for finding literary criticism about an author or about a particular work is as follows:
[author's last name, author's first name] — Criticism and interpretation
[author's last name author's first name]. [title of the work] — Criticism and interpretation
Use the Res Library catalog or your local public library catalog to search for books of literary criticism by selecting the Browse feature and entering a Subject search for the author’s name (last name, first name). The Browse features lists all of the Subject headings in a row and you can scroll down the list to see if there are Subject headings that match the formats shown above. Then click on that Subject heading to get the list of books. It sounds complicated but it’s really a quick way to find critical essays. If you need a demonstration, stop by the library. Here are the web addresses for some of the local public libraries:
- Chicago Public Library (http://www.chipublib.org)
- Niles Public Library (http://www.nileslibrary.org)
- Park Ridge Public Library (http://www.parkridgelibrary.org)
There are several series of books of literary criticism, either about all of the author’s works, or about a single work. There are even some books that focus on a specific literary character. Search for books edited by Harold Bloom or for books in the Twayne’s series, e.g. Twayne’s United States Authors, Twayne’s English Authors, Twayne’s World Authors, etc.
RES LIBRARY DATABASES
The Res Library subscribes to a number of databases and two of them will be of particular use to you in this research project. If you don’t have the usernames and passwords for these databases, stop by the library and pick up a blue sheet. We’d be happy to give you a little demonstration if you’re having trouble using either one of these databases.
- Gale Literature Resource Center (http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/reshs) contains biographical materials, literary criticism, and other material. At the Basic search screen, enter the title of the book you are researching and click the radio button for Name of Work, then click the Search button. The Topic & Work Overviews and Literature Criticism tabs will be the most helpful to you. Look at the right side of the Results list for more information to help you decide whether or not you want to look at the article. The Reviews & News tab can lead you to reviews of books of literary criticism about the author or the work. Then you can decide if it’s worthwhile to try and find that book.
- FirstSearch (http://firstsearch.oclc.org) is really a number of databases under one umbrella. You can search up to 3 databases at one time. For literary criticism, your best bets are WilsonSelectPlus, ECO, and ArticleFirst. Once you login, click on the List All Databases link. To select a database to search, click in the checkbox to the left of the database name. Once you have selected your databases, click the Select button. Click on the Advanced Search link; this will give you more control of your search and better results. In the first search box, put in the name of your author (last name, first name). From the drop-down menu to the right, select Subject because you want articles about your author, not articles written by that person. In the second search box, enter the title of the work you are researching and put the title in quotation marks. This will help narrow your search to articles that at least mention the particular book or play you are researching. You will (hopefully) get a list of “hits.” Click on the title of an article to get more information about that article; most article citations have at least an abstract or summary to help you get an idea of what the full article is about. Some articles have a link for View Full Text in HTML format and/or View Full Text in PDF format. You can click on those links and get the full text of the article. If you have an option, choose PDF. Some articles in your Results list will only have a link that says See more details for locating this item. If you think the article will be useful to you, print out the citation and bring it to the library and we will request a copy of the article from another library.
This is just a basic introduction to these two databases. If your class doesn’t come to the library for an introduction to finding critical essays, stop by the library on your own for some help. We are open from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on most days. And don’t forget to use the databases available through your local public library.
CITING YOUR SOURCES
Your Writing Stylus will help you follow the MLA format in citing your sources and creating your bibliography. The library has the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (REF 808 GIB). In addition, here are two websites that can help:
- Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University is an excellent resource to consult (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/)
- Oregon School Library Information System provides a nice set of examples of MLA citations in a PDF document (http://old.oslis.org/docs/MLAcitexamprtnprt8-07.pdf).
SOME TIPS FOR RESEARCH
- Collect the information for your bibliography as you go. It takes so much more time to backtrack and figure out where the notes or printout or article came from than to write down the citation information you need right from the start.
- Use bibliographies in books, articles, and websites to help you find more resources. Even if a book wasn’t helpful, check the bibliography or Works Cited or Further Reading pages.
- Research takes time — lots of time! Don’t procrastinate.
This is a big project so make sure you stop by the library throughout your research and writing process and let us know how we can help.
GREEK-ROMAN MYTHOLOGY October 26, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments, Web Resources.add a comment
For Ms. Boe’s World History students, here are the links from the handout you received during my presentation in the library. Consult the handout for the best way to use some of the resources listed below.
Please come and see us in the library if you have questions or need help. If you didn’t receive a blue sheet with the usernames and passwords for the subscription databases, stop by the library to get one.
Don’t forget to use the books and subscription databases available through your local public library.
Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com)
Daily Life Online (http://dailylife.greenwood.com)
EBSCO Science Reference Center (http://search.ebscohost.com)
Bulfinch’s Mythology on Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/bulfinch/)
Encyclopedia Mythica (http://www.pantheon.org)
British Museum — Ancient Greece (http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Ancient History – Greeks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/)
Minnesota State University — Ancient Greek Civilizations (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/)
Tufts University Perseus Digital Library – Hercules (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/)
World News Network – Ancient Greece (http://www.ancientgreece.com)
Theoi Greek Mythology (http://www.theoi.com)
Exploring Ancient World Cultures (http://eawc.evansville.edu/grpage.htm)
U.S. Census Bureau – U.S. Gazetteer (http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer/)
Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org)
Internet Public Library Pathfinder on Greek Mythology (http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48479/)
Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/)
Oregon School Library Information System (http://www.oslis.org/resources/cm/apacitations/)
CHEMISTRY OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES October 20, 2009
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For students in Chemistry classes, here are some suggestions for places and ways to search for information for your project on the chemistry of Christmas cookies. Don’t forget to invite your helpful Library staff to the cookie exchange!
Some things you might need to be researching:
- basic ingredients (see the list from your teacher);
- ingredients specific to your cookie;
- heat and its effects: conventional oven, microwave oven, baking, frying, “no-bake”;
- order of mixing ingredients;
- grouping of ingredients in a recipe: wet, dry, etc.;
- processes: whipping, creaming, refrigerating before shaping;
- reactions in mixing and preparing
- reactions in the oven or other heating process
Not all of these things will affect the chemistry, but some might, so you want to consider them.
Some search terms you might want to try for Keyword and Subject searching:
- chemistry AND cooking
- science AND cooking
- chemistry AND cooking AND cookies
- molecular gastronomy
- Food — Analysis
- Food — Composition
- food AND chemistry
- [specific ingredient] AND chemistry
You can use these terms in library catalogs and subscription databases and search engines on the web. Some will work in some places and some in others. Try a few searches and see what you end up with. The word “AND” should be written that way. It is a Boolean operator and tells the database or whatever you are searching that you want the terms on either side of the AND to be in the same article, webpage, record, etc. It is a way to help focus your search and narrow the list of results.
Some places to search or resources to use (and maybe some help with search techniques):
- Britannica Online (http://school.eb.com) Get a blue sheet from the Res library with the username and password for this subscription database. This is an online encyclopedia. Use the “High School” level and just enter baking in the search box. The baking article has good introductory information The Table of Contents for the article is listed along the left-side and you can expand the topics by clicking on the + sign next to each topic.
- On Food and Cooking : The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. Updated edition published by Scribners in 2004 (9780684800011). Many, many public libraries have this book. It is used as the textbook for the “Kitchen Chemistry” course taught at MIT.
- EBSCO Science Reference Center (http://search.ebscohost.com) Get a blue sheet from the Res library with the username and password for this subscription database. Once you login, click on the EBSCOhost Research Databases link to get to the Science Reference Center.
- The Accidental Scientist : The Science of Cooking from the Exploratorium (http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/) Look at the section on Eggs and Bread. Also click on the Ask the Inquisitive Cooks icon on the right-side of the main page and look at the topics in their archives.
- When examing books you’ve found through searching library catalogs, use the book’s Table of Contents and index to find out if the book has information that will be useful. Don’t forget to look at the bibliography in books and articles to help you find more information.
- How Baking Works (http://www.baking911.com/howto/how_baking_works.htm) from the Baking 911 website. This site is authored by Sarah Phillips, a cookbook author, speaker, and consultant.
- Butter Through the Ages (http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/) Click on the Composition link and work through the sub-pages for more detailed information. This site is sponsored by the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement.
- Cook’s Illustrated magazine from America’s Test Kitchen. They have a Food Science section in the magazine, but you will have to find a public library that keeps the back issues since online access is only available to magazine subscribers. Use the online listing (http://www.americastestkitchen.com/foodsciencelist.asp) to find relevant articles and then look for the print copy. If you find an article you want, come and see us in the library and we will try to get it for you through interlibrary loan.
- BakeWise by Shirley Corriher, published by Scribners in 2008 (9781416560784) Corriher is a former research biochemist and the book’s strength is in the explanations of the underlying principles of baking. This book should be available at many public libraries.
- Good Eats by Alton Brown, both his books and episodes from the TV program. There’s an episode called “The Cookie Clause” that looks promising if you can find it.
- readings and related resources from the “Kitchen Chemistry” course at MIT. The course materials are available on their OpenCourseWare site (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Special-Programs/SP-287Spring-2006/CourseHome/index.htm)
- King Arthur Flour’s Baker’s Companion cookbook (9780881505818) and King Arthur Flour’s Cookie Companion cookbook (9780881506594) Both of these books are produced by the King Arthur Flour Company of Vermont and while they are primarily filled with recipes, there is also a great deal of background information on baking. Find them at your public library.
I know this has been a long post, but I hope it has been useful to you. If you have questions or run into problems, please come see us in the library.
DIVORCE PROJECT October 1, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments.add a comment
For students in Ms. Boe’s Sociology class, here are the links I promised to post for you. You will need our Username and Password to access the subscription databases. You should have received a blue sheet listing all the Usernames and Passwords when you visited the library with your class. Consult the hand-out you received for suggestions about how to best use these resources. If you find an article you need, but it’s not available in the database in full text, print out the citation and bring it to the library and we will try and get it for you through interlibrary loan.
Res Library’s Creating Your Bibliography web page (http://www.reshs.org/snav/164/page.htm)
Res Library’s Online Databases web page (http://www.reshs.org/snav/162/page.htm) This page contains links to all of our subscription databases.
Readers’ Guide Full Text Select (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/)
FirstSearch (http://firstsearch.oclc.org)
Current Issues : Reference Shelf Plus (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/)
EBSCO Science Reference Center (http://search.ebscohost.com/)
CQ Researcher Online (http://library.cqpress.com/)
Issues & Controversies (http://www.fofweb.com/)
Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com)
Purdue OWL APA Formatting and Style Guide (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01)
Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01)
CHICAGO HISTORY 1750-1850 September 9, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments, Web Resources.1 comment so far
Here are some online resources for students in Ms. Boe’s History of Chicago course who are working on their group projects. I will be covering print resources as well as some tips for researching in my presentation tomorrow. If, in the course of your research, you find other good sources, whether print or online, I hope you will post them here to share with others.
Encyclopedia of Chicago Online (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org)
Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org)
Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com)
Internet Public Library–Stately Knowledge–Illinois (http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/stateknow/il1.html)
Daily Life Online — War of 1812 and other general U.S. History topics (http://dailylife.greenwood.com)
Illinois Harvest — a public gateway to digitized and born digital resources on Illinois (http://illinoisharvest.grainger.uiuc.edu)
Chicago Ancestors — Newberry Library — 1834 Map of Chicago (http://www.chicagoancestors.org) Go to Tools menu, then look for “Other Maps” along the right side.
Newberry Library — Mapping the French Empire in North America (http://www.newberry.org/smith/exhibits/fe/fe.html)
NEW DATABASE August 31, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Announcements, Help with Assignments, Web Resources.add a comment
Welcome to a new school year! This year, we’ve added a new online database to our line-up — Daily Life Through History Premium, provided by Greenwood Publishing.
This database combines content from the Daily Life Through History and World Cultures Today databases. Together, they are a rich source of historical background that can also be connected to contemporary society around the globe. Daily Life Through History Premium provides access to material from hundreds of Greenwood’s print titles and is especially strong in social history resources. It will be valuable for many projects in a variety of subject areas. The database also includes primary documents, maps, timelines, and many folk tales and fairy tales from around the world.
We are working on a guidesheet to help you navigate this new database and take advantage of all that it offers. We will post the completed guidesheet here on the blog and print copies will be available in the library.
You can access this database from home or school by using this URL:
http://dailylife.greenwood.com
Stop by the library and pick up a “blue sheet” with the usernames and passwords for all 10 of our subscription databases.
RWANDA March 18, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments, Web Resources.add a comment
For students in Ms. Boe’s Current Events class who are coming into the library on Friday and next Monday, I’ve gathered some sites to help you in your research. I know that each group is addressing a different aspect of the situation in Rwanda, so some of these sites may be more useful to some groups than to others.
You can try searching for Rwanda, but I also had good luck searching for Rwanda AND genocide as well as Rwanda AND genocide AND response. After you search, especially in the subscription databases, look at the left and right sides of the Results page for links to more information. The same is true when you click into an article or document. Most databases and some stand-alone websites will try to connect you with related information.
As always, library staff will be around to help, so feel free to ask. If you need the usernames and passwords for the subscription databases, pick up a blue sheet in the library.
Library of Congress Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
CIA World Fact Book
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
BBC News Country Profiles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com
British Broadcasting Corporation
http://www.bbc.co.uk
African Union (formerly Organisation of African Unity)
http://www.africa-union.org
Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org
PBS FRONTLINE — Ghosts of Rwanda
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/
Readers’ Guide Full Text Select
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/
Current Issues : Reference Shelf Plus (section on Genocide)
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/
FACTS.com Issues & Controversies
http://www.2facts.com
CQ Researcher
http://library.cqpress.com
Britannica Online
http://www.school.eb.com
PEACE & JUSTICE QUARTER PROJECT February 11, 2009
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I’ve put together some ideas for students working on the Quarter Project in Mr. Finch’s Peace & Justice class. Because your 4 choices are so diverse (and there are choices within choices), my suggestions are rather broad. As always, if you need specific help, stop by the library and ask.
First, use an encyclopedia to gather the basic facts about your research topic. You can use a print encyclopedia or Britannica Online, which you can access either from school or from home. If you need the username and password, stop by the library and pick up a blue sheet.
Second, use library catalogs (both the Res Library catalog and your local public library) to find books on your topic. Whether you’ve chosen research option 1, 2, 3, or 4, do a Subject search for names of individual people, events, organizations, or countries. To do a search for a person, enter the last name, then the first name; for example, Price, Leontyne. But don’t stop there! Look at broader subject headings to find even more information. Here are some examples of broader subject headings that might help you locate a chapter (not a whole book) about Leontyne Price – information you might not have found just by searching on her name.
- African Americans — Biography
- African American women — Biography
- Singers
- Women singers
- Sopranos (Singers)
The information you gathered by reading the encyclopedia articles in Step One will help you figure out what broader subject headings might apply to your research topic, whether it’s a person, an event, an organization, or a country. Here are some others to get you started:
- Suffrage
- Suffrage — United States
- Suffragettes
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- Civil rights
- Civil rights — United States
- South America
- Central America
- Middle East
- United States — Emigration and immigration
Third, there are some databases that we subscribe to that might be useful. You will need the usernames and passwords to access these databases, so if you don’t have one, stop by the library and pick up a blue sheet. I’ve already mentioned Britannica Online. Here are a few others:
- Readers’ Guide Full Text Select. Once you login, click on the checkbox to the left of “Readers’ Guide FT Select” to search that database. It contains broad coverage on a variety of topics. Once you do a search, look at the left-side menu for a list of subject headings. These can help you find related material. Go here for a link to an introduction to using this database.
- Current Issues : Reference Shelf Plus. Once you login, click on the checkbox to the left of “Current Issues : Ref Shelf Plus” to search that database. This database will be helpful if you have a country to research, but there are also entries on the history of women’s rights and civil rights. Go here for a link to an introduction to using this database.
- Gale Literature Resource Center. Will be useful for researching novelists, poets, and other writers. Go here for a link to an introduction to using this database.
- CQ Researcher. Will be most useful for information on the countries in Option 4, but also search for information on civil rights and women’s rights.
- FACTS.com’s Issues & Controversies. This is most useful for information on current topics, like the countries in Option 4. It will not be as useful for historical events or biographical information.
Fourth, there are many good, credible websites out there that can help you in your research. Here are a few portals and sites to get you started.
- Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org) Start here no matter your topic. You may strike out, but chances are greater that you will find some worthy sites.
- Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org) The easiest way to access the websites gathered here is to do some searches, then look at the categories listed under your “hits.” They are like subject headings in a library catalog; you can click on those categories and get more websites about that topic.
- Library of Congress Country Studies (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html)
- CIA World Fact Book (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html)
- BBC News Country Profiles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm)
Make sure you always know who is authoring and sponsoring the website and that you can defend your assessment of the site as “credible.”
Finally, for help formatting your bibliography, use the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/). Use the right-side menu under “Research and Citation” to find Formatting and Style Guides for both MLA and APA. Library staff will also be happy to help you check that your citations are properly formatted.
