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Doing Research Online: A Crash Course. Where do you plug this damn thing in?. Gary Handman ghandman@library.berkeley.edu 643-8566. What I hope you'll come away with. 1. The current lay of Information Land 2. A group of basic moves and features common to many online catalogs
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Doing Research Online: A Crash Course Where do you plug this damn thing in? Gary Handman ghandman@library.berkeley.edu 643-8566
What I hope you'll come away with... 1. The current lay of Information Land 2. A group of basic moves and features common to many online catalogs and indexes 3. How to develop/employ search strategies 4. How to select databases (and determine what’s in them) 5. Practice using these features in selected databases. 6. How to get your hands on the material you find
The Information Universe (Then) The guy next to me is soooo hot! Card Catalogs Contained: Records for: • Books • Journals/Newspapers • Other stuff (maps, media, dissertations, manuscripts…)
The Information Universe: Books (Then) • Look stuff up by author, title, subject • Get a Call # Kesey, Ken. One flew over the cuckoo's nest. New York : New American Library, 1962. Moffitt PS3561.E667.O5 Get da Book in da Stax
The Information Universe: Articles (Then) I know! I’ll do my paper on Marilyn Manson! • Indexes/Abstracts • Annual/semi-annual print volumes • Allow subject searching in a group of journals in a particular discipline or topical area. • Some indexes also offer abstracts-- short description of article content
The Information Universe: Articles (Then) Wright, Robert. 'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson. Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages).
The Information Universe: Articles (Then) Wright, Robert. 'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson. Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages). Get da call # Popular Music Music ML5.P66 Shelved: Latest issue in Reading Room
The Information Universe: Articles (Then) Wright, Robert. 'I'd sell you suicide': pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson. Popular Music v19, n3 (Oct, 2000):365 (21 pages). Get da call # Popular Music Music ML5.P66 Shelved: Latest issue in Reading Room Get da Journal in da Stax
The Information Universe (Now) Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat) Indexes & Abstracts Print Online
The Information Universe (Now) Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat)
The Information Universe (Now) Books in Stax Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat)
The Information Universe (Now) Books in Stax Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat) Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT individual e-articles]
The Information Universe (Now) Books in Stax Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat) Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT e-articles] Indexes & Abstracts Journals in Stax
The Information Universe (Now) Books in Stax Online Catalogs --Pathfinder --MELVYL (CDL cat) Full-Text Online (ebooks, ejournals [but NOT e-articles] Indexes & Abstracts Full-Text Articles Online Online Journals in Stax
Library Acquires Full-text materials in • three ways: • 1. Subscribes to full-text journals (you can get to em’ via Pathfinder) Animal genetics. <1986> Published: [Oxfordshire] : Published by Blackwell Scientific Publications for the International Society for Animal Blood Group Research, c1986- Format: Serial Location: BIOS: QP98.A1 A5; Electronic Location(s): v.30(1999)- http://uclibs.org/PID/3382 Restricted to UC campuses
Library Acquires Full-text materials in three ways: 2. Links from electronic indexes and abstracts From Expanded Academic Index: ME, MOM & MARILYN MANSON. (Brief Article) BECKY EBENKAMP. Brandweek April 17, 2000 v41 i16 p28 View text and full content retrieval choices or 1 full page PDF
3. Subscribes to searchable full-text archives: e.g. JSTOR, Project Muse
…But Remember!!!! • Not everything is online!!!!!: • Indexes: Often only go back 10-20 yrs online • Not every publication is indexed • Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the books and journal universe is currently available in full-text • The sciences currently have it better than the humanities and social sciences
Remember Also: • Not every topic has lots written about it, either in books or journal lit. • --Research on very current topics • --Research on topics off the beaten academic track or off the pop culture radar • --The quirky, strange, and over the top
What to do if nothing is turning up: • Broaden your topic / go for the more general / select a different angle • Rethink your search strategy (new keywords, new concepts, etc.) • Bail out and choose another topic • What to do if too much is turning up: • Narrow your topic: • e.g.: geographically, chronologically; by race, gender, ethnic group; • Specific focus or aspect of the topic (e.g. ethical, social, economic, political aspects)
The Information Universe (Now) The Net =Anarchy Google Rocks! LibraryLand (land of organization, control, and sensibility)
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK • Formulate a concise, concrete statement of the research problem • Formulate your search in terms of • keyword and key phrases: The impact of exposure of children to advertisingtelevision and television violence on school performance.
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK • Formulate your search in terms of: • KEY WORD Searches: • --Look for words anywhere in record: title, subject, abstract and full-text (if available) • PHRASES: • --Looks for words in the exact order entered
Keywords e.g. -- Keyword: Cold War Horror Film looks for words Cold AND War AND Horror AND Film ANYWHERE in the record You would conceivably retrieve an article entitled: “At War With Your Refrigerator?: How to Avoid the Horror of Moldy Film on Cold Cuts.” --Phrase: Cold War Horror Film looks only for those 3 words in that order; would not find a book entitled Depending on db: --May be able to limit keyword/phrase searching to specific fields: title, subject, or all fields.
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK • Think of synonyms for key words/phrases Children Youth Adolescents …etc. Commercials Ads …etc. The impact of exposure of children to advertisingtelevision and televisionviolence on school performance. … Academic achievement Grades …etc. Or television psychological aspects Mass Media TV…etc.
Truncation: When appropriate, use truncation to scoop up broader results:*# or ? Depending on db --e.g.: Advertis* will give you: advertise, advertising, advertisers, advertisements
Once you’ve found something that looks promising, Check out the “official” subject headings
Choosing a database Indexes/Abstracts come in various “flavors” --from narrow discipline focus to general/pop lit --citation only to abstracts to full-text --links to library holding – no links (you need to look up the journal holdings in another catalog) --Some journals are indexed in multiple databases --The same journal may be full-text in one db and citation only in another
Choosing a database • Look at the alphabetical listing of indexes and abstracts on the library’s home page: www.lib.berkeley.edu • Listings of subject-specific electronic resources on individual branch library home pages • CDL Searchlight
The Keyword/key phrase Tango Keywords in title Environmental Racism and Fast Food Marketing