PLS 201: Research Methods

1. PLS 201: Research Methods Dr. JungkunSeo Ms. Sue Cody

2. Topics for the Sessions • Selecting the right information sources • Selecting the right finding aids • Accessing resources • Doing a better search • Evaluating resources • Citing Sources

3. Your Current Research Skills? • How would you rate your current research skills? • Strong • Satisfactory • Needs improvement • Poor • What causes you the most anxiety/confusion/frustration?

4. Where to get help • Learning Commons Help Desk • In person • Telephone • Email • Chat • Text • By Appointment • Contact me directly: codys@uncw.edu

5. What are your favorite finding aids (AKA search engines) for: • News/Opinion sources? • Scholarly Analysis/Theory? • Historical accounts? • Data?

6. Selecting the right finding aids • Database Scope • Bibliographic or Data? • Publication Types and Numbers • Subjects • Time period (publication or subject) • Search Engine / Structure • Abstract or Full-text search • Special Limit features

7. Finding Articles • Home page Article Search (Integrated search) • Databases A-Z • Individual databases • Details page • Databases by Subject • Quick Search (Integrated search) • Individual databases (Best, More, All) • Citation Searching (Bibliographies)

8. Availability of Resources • PDF Full Text, Linked Full Text, HTML Full Text • Get it from UNCW • “Have a Citation? Looking for a Journal” • Library Catalog and WorldCat • Interlibrary Loan

9. Finding Books • Library Catalog • local & UNCP/FSU • WorldCat • 9,000 libraries / @1.2 billion items • Google Books (@ 12 million / @ 7 million full-text) • Project Gutenberg (@ 33,000 books) • Some databases lead to books • Cited directly • Book reviews

10. Do we have? • Halper, Stefan. 2011. “President Obama at Mid-Term” International Affairs 87:1-11. • Perry, Glenn E. 2011. “Taking Tea Parties Seriously: Corporate Globalization, Populism, and Resentment.” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 10:11-29. • Schraufnagel, Scot. 2011. Third Party Blues: The Truth and Consequences of Two-party Dominance. New York: Routledge. • Rosenstone, Steven J. 1984. Third Parties in America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

11. Style Manual for Political Science • American Political Science Association • Available online: http://www.ipsonet.org/data/files/APSAStyleManual2006.pdf • Different elements for different publication types

12. Assignment • For questions 8, 9, & 10, refer to your example sheet. • Due Wednesday

13. PLS 201: Research Methods Dr. Jungkun Seo Ms. Sue Cody

14. Monday’s Assignment • What was confusing? • What did you find most useful? • What questions do you have?

15. Doing a better search • AND narrows • Mass media AND presidential elections • OR adds synonyms/related (OR is More) • Mass media OR Television OR Newspapers or Press

16. More Search Tips • Truncate for word variations • (presiden* = presidency, president, presidents, presidential) • Words anywhere or phrase? • “Mass media” • Field-specific searching, e.g., Title, Descriptor/Subject • Press and politics IN Subject

17. Evaluating Resources • Authority • Scope • Current? Does it matter? • Audience • Purpose • Inform, Persuade, Entertain, etc.? • Accuracy • Usability • Evaluating News Magazines

18. Assignments – Due on Monday • Research Strategy Worksheet • Topic of your choice • Construct strategy • Use search strategy in the Library Catalog • Identify 2 relevant book or government document sources • Identify 3 databases that provide relevant sources • Use search strategy in the relevant databases • Identify 3 relevant articles • Website Evaluation • Use the website corresponding to the number on your sheet

19. PLS 201: Research Methods Dr. Jungkun Seo Ms. Sue Cody

20. Wednesday’s Assignment • What was confusing? • What did you find most useful? • What questions do you have?

21. Specialized Resources for: • Statistics • Data • Congressional Votes • Congressional Documents • Country Profiles • Polling data • Statutes • Court Opinions • See the Research Guide

22. Statistics • Statistical Abstract of the United States • During the 110th Congress, what was the political party composition of Congress?

23. Data • ICPSR • Find the study on partisanship in the US House of Representatives by David W. Rohde. • What data is the study based on? • What are the warnings given about the data files?

24. Congressional Votes • CQ Almanac Online • How did North Carolina Representatives vote on HR 5297, a 2010 bill to provide funding to small businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?

25. Congressional Documents • Hearings • Lexis Nexis Congressional • Did Bill Gates ever testify before a congressional committee? • Debate on the Floor • HeinOnline • How many documents are retrieved on a search of channel dredging in the Debates of Congress for the year 2011?

26. Country Profiles • World FactBook • What type of government does Egypt have? • What does the source say about the current upheaval?

27. Polling Data • Polling the Nations • What opinions can you find about natural gas drilling? • How did the people of Ohio feel about it in January 2012? • What else did Qunnipiac University ask in that poll?

28. Statutes • Lexis Nexis Academic • US Legal Search box • Federal Statutes, Codes and Regulations • How many statutes mention apples?

29. Supreme Court Opinions • Lexis Nexis Academic • Find the opinion for the Citizens United case, decided on January 21, 2010. • Who delivered the opinion for the court?

30. Specialized Services • Interlibrary Loan • Alert Services • Research Consultations

31. Assignment • Exploring Specialized Resources • For best results, use the resource specified • Due on Wednesday