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School of Police Staff and Command

School of Police Staff and Command. Northwestern University Traffic Institute. LIBRARY ORIENTATION FOR OFFSITE STUDENTS. Prepared by the Northwestern University Transportation Library. PROGRAM GOAL. TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE RESEARCHING SKILLS .

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School of Police Staff and Command

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  1. School of Police Staff and Command Northwestern University Traffic Institute LIBRARY ORIENTATION FOR OFFSITE STUDENTS Prepared by the Northwestern University Transportation Library

  2. PROGRAM GOAL TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE RESEARCHING SKILLS

  3. THE RESEARCH PROCESS • DEVELOPING A RESEARCH STRATEGY • USING THE LIBRARY AND OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES • KEEPING ORGANIZED RECORDS • CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SOURCES • PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

  4. PART ONE: DEVELOPING A RESEARCH STRATEGY First plan your research strategy using the guidelines on the following slides... then use your strategy in consulting library and other information resources to gather material on your topic

  5. SELECTING A TOPIC • Do you have a topic? • Be sure your topic meets the general guidelines set by your instructor • State your topic as a question • Identify the main concepts (keywords) More on topic selection...

  6. SELECTING A TOPIC • Is the topic too broad or too narrow? You can test this by doing a keyword search in TRAN or NCJRS. If you find hundreds of matches, your topic is probably too broad. If you only find a few matches, it may be too narrow. • Somewhere in-between is best, e.g., bicycle patrol, foot patrol, K9 patrol...

  7. WHAT SUBJECT AREAS ARE INVOLVED? Your topic may well include subject areas other than criminal justice. Example: For the topic street gangs you would consider resources in sociology and psychology as well as criminal justice You will need to determine your main subject areas to select the appropriate library and information resources More on databases...

  8. DATABASES THAT COULD BE USEFUL INCLUDE: • AREA & GENDER STUDIES: Genderwatch, Latin American Studies • BUSINESS/MANAGEMENT/LAW: Academic Universe (Lexis-Nexis) • GOVERNMENT: Statistical Universe, GPO Access • SOCIAL SCIENCES: PsycINFO, PAIS International, Sociological Abstracts

  9. TIME FRAME Good research includes both retrospective and current information. Provide historical information on your topic in your paper’s introduction, review current research relevant to your problem, and provide suggestions as to possible future directions as part of your conclusion.

  10. TYPES OF INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED Background Books, encyclopedias Current Articles in journals, newspapers; information on the Internet Factual Data, statistics...

  11. DETERMINING YOUR RESEARCH APPROACH • PRIMARY RESEARCHIn primary research, you are responsible for collecting the raw data. This includes activities such as developing & administering survey questionnaires or direct counting of particular events. • SECONDARY RESEARCHIn secondary research, you generally use data that have been collected by other researchers. You reach conclusions by collating data from a variety of sources. You will often combine or compare that data with conclusions from other researchers. More on research...

  12. How big is the problem?Statistical sources can help you determine this. What causes the problem? Who is affected by the problem?Surveys may provide useful answers to these two questions. Is the program doing what it should? How is the program deficient? How can it be improved? Should it be ended? RESEARCH ON YOUR TOPIC MAY INCLUDE: DESCRIPTIVE MATERIAL EVALUATIVE MATERIAL

  13. PART TWO: USING THE LIBRARY AND OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES

  14. FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE LIBRARY BY FINDING: • Information desk • Reference • Circulation • Library catalog • Online and CD-ROM databases • Book stacks • Periodicals • Newspapers • Government Documents

  15. LOCATE LIBRARY MATERIALS BY USING: • Information and reference desks • Library catalog • Databases • Indexes to periodical literature

  16. TYPES OF LIBRARY MATERIALS • Reference books:Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and directoriesProvide general information • Books and Reports:Provide background material on a subjectExplain the topic in-depth More types of materials...

  17. TYPES OF LIBRARY MATERIALS • Government documents:Vast amounts of information including statistics by local, state, federal, and international agenciesWhenever possible, use these to substantiate statements • Newspapers:Cover recent topicsEssential for regional information Still more types of materials...

  18. TYPES OF LIBRARY MATERIALS • Periodicals:More current than books; narrow focusTypes: scholarly, professional, news, popularScholarly articles have useful bibliographiesTrade journals feature articles directed at solving specific problems in the field

  19. THE LIBRARY CATALOG • Lists the books, journals, reports, and other materials held by the library • Allows searching for these materials by author, title, subject, keyword, report #, etc. • Determine whether the catalog can search other libraries as well (some can search many libraries simultaneously) More on library catalogs...

  20. THE LIBRARY CATALOG NUcat is the catalog of the Northwestern University Libraries, including the Transportation Library You can search NUcat via the Internet at http://nucat.library.nwu.edu

  21. INDEXES TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE • Identify articles in periodicals in subject area • Print and electronic formats • Remember-- once you have identified articles of interest you must check the library catalog to see if the library has the journal title

  22. ELECTRONIC INDEXES • Usually allow author, title, subject heading, and keyword searching • Some provide citations + abstracts + full-text of articles • The two you are most likely to use are: Transportation Article File (an electronic article index maintained by the Transportation Library) & NCJRS

  23. PRINT INDEXES • Usually arranged by author, title, and subject heading/keyword • Examples: Criminal Justice Periodical Index (citations only); Criminal Justice Abstracts (citations + abstracts) • No full-text of articles • Most print indexes are now also available online

  24. TRAN (TRANSPORTATION LIBRARY ARTICLE INDEX) http://tran.library.nwu.edu • TRAN is created in the Transportation Library • Indexes articles found in periodicals and books primarily in the Transportation Library, but does include some items from other Northwestern University libraries • Provides citations only, no abstracts or full text

  25. THE NCJRS (NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFERENCE SERVICE) DATABASE http://www.ncjrs.org/database.htm • Indexes books, reports, and articles in the NCJRS library • Provides lengthy abstracts and some full text • Provides information on ordering documents (try to find locally first; you can also check NUcat and request items from TL)

  26. NON-LIBRARY RESOURCES • Associations • directories of associations are available in almost any library’s reference collection • search for associations on the Internet • Internet resources • remember-- not everything is on the Internet! • our library’s web page has links to some of the best Internet resources for your research • we’ll talk more about evaluating web content in section four of this presentation http://www.library.nwu.edu/transportation/cj.html

  27. PART THREE: KEEPING ORGANIZED RECORDS Keep a record of all the references, sources, and citations you find A handy stack of 3x5” cards can help you keep track of what materials you’ve seen-- this makes it easier to document your sources when writing your research paper

  28. Sample bibliography card for a book Item checked? Item location HV 7936.R4 N532R Transportation Library Rutledge, Devallis The New Police Report Manual Flagstaff, AZ: Flag Pub. Co., 1979 172p. (chapter 2 very important) Citation Online catalog - university library Where you found this citation

  29. Sample bibliography card for a journal article Item checked? Item location Periodicals room Ordered from Trans Lib on 2-15-99 Smith, Robert D. “Police reporting made easy” in: Police Chief, v.55, no.6 (June 1990), pp.7-9 Citation TRAN database Where you found this citation

  30. PART FOUR: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SOURCES • Crucial step in the research process • Determine the usefulness of a resource for your paper by evaluating its relevance and authority • Citation vs. item-in-hand

  31. INITIAL APPRAISAL • Author/affiliation • Date of publication • Edition or revision • Publisher • Title of journal

  32. CONTENT ANALYSIS • Intended audience • Objective reasoning • Accuracy/Verifiability • Coverage/Content/Purpose • Writing style

  33. EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES Even more crucial for Internet resources • Authority and Purpose • Reliability • Currency (updated recently?) • Structure and Content

  34. PART FIVE: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER • Create a work schedule • Avoid common research mistakes • A recommended research plan • Things to keep in mind

  35. CREATING A WORK SCHEDULE Week 1. Pick topic; prepare thesis Week 2. Conduct literature review; make a list of source materials; initial evaluation of materials Week 3/4. Read materials; evaluate; take notes Week 5/6. Make detailed outline; write first draft Week 7. Edit paper; prepare bibliography Week 8. Proofread paper; prepare final copy This is just an example! Tailor your schedule to your specific circumstances, but allow time for unexpected delays

  36. AVOID THESE COMMON RESEARCH MISTAKES • Hurrying the process • No hypothesis • Choosing a broad or unfamiliar topic • Reaching conclusions prior to doing research

  37. A RECOMMENDED RESEARCH PLAN • . Search the Transportation Article File (TRAN) for articles and conference papers on your topic • . Search NUcat for books and reports • . Search the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) for books, articles, etc. (some of these may duplicate what you find in NUcat and TRAN) • . Search area libraries for items you identified in TRAN, NUcat, and NCJRS, as well as any other materials they might have on your topic • . Contact NU Transportation Library to obtain items in our collection (in NUcat or TRAN) that you need and cannot find elsewhere. Please keep in mind that books are loaned free of charge, but photocopies of articles cost $12.00 and up for each article

  38. SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND • You can always search area libraries for materials before searching NUcat and TRAN • If you do not have a computer at home, don’t worry! Almost all public libraries provide free access to computer workstations for people who need to use the Internet • Items in the NCJRS database you cannot find locally or in NUcat can be ordered directly from NCJRS or through your local public library’s interlibrary loan service. The NCJRS database search screen provides ordering information under the heading Obtaining documents found in this database

  39. MORE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND • The staff of the Transportation Library will not perform your research for you. They can help you plan your research strategies and connect to online resources, as well as recommend other sources of information for you to use • The Transportation Library’s web page at • http://www.library.nwu.edu/transportation • provides connections to online databases, links to law enforcement resources on the Internet, information on borrowing materials and obtaining photocopies of articles, and much more

  40. THIS CONCLUDES THE FIRST HALF OF THE LIBRARY ORIENTATION SESSION THE SECOND HALF WILL INCLUDE DEMONSTRATIONS OF NUcat TRAN and NCJRS

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