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Join Tamara Smith, Reference Librarian at Langsdale Library, for an engaging session on effective search strategies tailored for your HIST.300 assignments. Discover how to refine your topics using Boolean operators and keywords to find relevant articles. Explore essential databases such as America: History and Life and JSTOR, and learn about library resources that enhance your research. Participants will also engage in hands-on activities to familiarize themselves with database searches. Stay updated with new resources and support available at Langsdale Library.
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HIST 300: Search Strategy Tamara Smith, Reference Librarian Langsdale Library tsmith@ubalt.edu 410-837-5072
Plan for Today • What’s New at Langsdale • Search Strategy • Activity: Learn a Database • Getting Articles • Wrap-up • What’s Next
What’s New at Langsdale? • Reference Desk & Collection on 1st Floor • All journals on 2nd Floor (still need call #) • Stacks on 3rd Floor only • Special Collections all on 4th Floor • Expanded chat/IM hours • Slingbox players – view DVDs from home • Toll-free help (outside Maryland): 1-888-LANGREF (526-4733)
Search Strategy Broad Topic: integration
Search Strategy Narrower Topic: integration and education
Search Strategy Research Question: Has integration resulted in a better education for blackchildren?
Boolean Operators Named for George Boole, a 19th century English mathematician • AND: joins concepts/ideas together (both/all) • OR: combines synonyms or related terms (either/any)
Combining Keywords IntegrationANDEducation IntegrationANDEducationANDChild* Desegregation ANDBlack*ANDStudent
Combining Keywords • Nesting: combine like terms in parentheses; used to combine synonyms • Truncation (*): special symbol used to represent missing letters; used in place of retyping an entire word
Combining Keywords (IntegrationOR Desegregation) AND (EducationORLearn*) AND (Black* ORNegro OR African-American)
Finding Journal Articles Subject-Specific Databases: • America: History and Life • Humanities International Complete • JSTOR (full text access for part of the database)
Finding Journal Articles General Databases: • Academic Search Premier • Historical Newspapers • Lexis-Nexis Academic
Getting to the Full Text Do we own it? • Find It button • Journal Finder If we don’t own it, use ILL
Wrap-Up • If your topic is too broad, add another concept (AND) • If your topic is too narrow, add synonyms and related terms (OR) • Different databases = different results (try more than one)
What’s Next (Library) Week of 9/24: Maps & Citation Week of 10/1: Pratt Library Visit Week of 10/8: Search & Citation Assignment Due Week of 10/22: Print & Web Evaluation, Special Collections Week of 10/29: Portfolio Part I due
Thank You! Reference Help: Phone: 410-837-4274 E-mail: langref@ubalt.edu IM: ublangsdale HIST 300 Course Page: http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/howto/course_websites/fa07/hist300_nix.htm