By: Aryanna Ismaili, Katie Kyle, Rebecca Just, Anthony Belluccia

Google vs the library

!   When writing a paper or doing research, one must balance their use of internet and library research

!   While Google is more likely to be used because of its convenience, documents from the library are generally of higher quality

!   In academic research, you will need as much relevant information as possible, so it is best to find ways to compliment your Google searches with library searches.

A Complementary Research Strategy

A Complementary Research Strategy

•  Better to work from abundance

•  Investigate on three fronts •  Internet, library, living sources

•  Three things that make up a sound search strategy •  1.) Find sufficient info. to fully

explore a narrowly focused topic

•  2.) Find varied sources

•  3.) Find quality info.

Internet -General Search

Engines

-Meta Search Engines

-Specialized search engines

Library -Books

-Popular Periodicals

-Newspaper articles

-Government Documents

-Scholarly Books

-Academic Articles

Living Sources -Surveys

-Interviews

Using the Best Search Terms

!   Controlled language searches !   Library of Congress Subject Headings

!   BT and NT

!   Boolean Searching !   AND, OR, NOT

!   (nesting)

!   Magic Words on the WWW !   Google “Advanced Search”

Figure 2.4: Effects of Keyword Elaboration

Keywords: Animal Rights

Results: 2,200,000 hits

Keywords: “Animal Rights”

Results: 431,000 hits

Keywords: “Animal Rights” + ethics

Results: 52,600 hits

Keywords: “Animal Rights”+Ethics+Montana+Idaho

Results: 366 hits

Find Varied Sources

!   Primary vs. Secondary Sources !   Primary- original

words of the writer

!   Secondary- analysis of someone else’s work

!   Primary Sources > Secondary Sources

!   Primary sources vary by subject

!   Objective vs. Subjective !   Objective- peer

reviewed are best; considered the best evidence

!   Subjective- not always bad; make sure the bias is known in your paper

!   Stable or Unstable? !   Digital information

can sometimes disappear

!   Has it been around for a long time?

!   Is it updated often? !   Is a print version

available? !   Is the site

associated with a reputable institution?

Find Quality Sources !   When Was It Published?

!   Journal Articles > Magazine Articles

!   Look for Often-Cited Authors

!   Not All Books are Alike !   Is the book written for a general audience or more

knowledgeable readers?

!   Is the author an acknowledged expert in the field?

!   Bibliography? Carefully documented?

!   How was the book received by critics

Figure 2.5: Pyramid of Library Sources

General Encyclopedias

General interest magazines & newspapers

Specialized magazines

Trade books

Government documents

Scholarly books

Academic Journals

Evaluating Online Sources 1.  Always keep your purpose in mind

2.  Favor governmental and educational sources over commercial ones !   .com vs. .edu, .gov, and .org

!   Presence of ads on the cite

3.  Favor authors documents over those w/o authors

4.  Favor documents that are also available in print over those only available online

5.  Favor webpages that have been recently updated

6.  Favor web sources that document their claims

Key to Evaluating Online Sources

Developing Focused Knowledge

Focused knowledge consists of:

!   Smart research

!   Refining your search terms

!   Knowing where to look for the most useful information

Focused knowledge also depends on what you do with what you find

When researching, ask these two

questions: 1.  Is this information relevant to my inquiry question?

2.  Does this information change my inquiry question?

Decide not only whether the information is relevant, but consider how it is relevant.

Researching in this way can help you:

!   Refine your inquiry question

- your inquiry question may become more specific

!   Help the literature review

- In other words, establish what has already been said about the question you’re posing

!   Reveal interesting patterns

- Ask yourself, ‘does this info. seem to tell a story?’ ‘does it seem to suggest a particular answer to my question?’ ‘Are there relationships between the information?’ Make this questioning constant.

The Dilemma of the Thesis

“When should I develop my thesis?”

!   If your research is exploratory, or you re trying to discover what you think, then it is too early to make a statement.

!   If you know enough to pose theories, or make assumptions and hypotheses, you can use this as a guideline in your research

- you can examine these beliefs through research and potentially break through to new understandings on your question

!   If know what you think is the best answer to your question, or your motive is to build a convincing argument around a claim

How much do you know about your topic?

Try finishing one of the following sentences:

1.  While most people think ______about _____, I think _____.

2.  The most convincing answer to my research question is ____.

3.  The main reason that _____ is a problem is _____, and the best solution is ______.

4.  Among the causes of ______, the least understood is ______.

5.  Though much has been said about ______, very little attention has been paid to ______.

6.  All of the evidence so far about ______ points to ______ as a significant cause/solution/effect/problem/interpretation/factor.

Library Research Techniques !   It might seem that with the direction things are going that the

internet will overcome the library, but there will always be that article not able to be read in full text, or a reference system more complicated than that of a regular library, and so, the library remains important for research.

!   There are 2 systems for classifying books !   Dewey Decimal System !   Library of Congress

!   Dewey decimal System- numerical system dividing all knowledge into 10 broad areas and then subdividing these into 100 additional classifications. Decimal points help librarians divide things even further.

!   Library of Congress System- system more common among colleges, and uses both letters and numbers, which signify a category of knowledge by their call number

Call Numbers !   A call number is a code

on the spine of every library book. It tells you the subject of the book, about the author, and tells you when the book was published.

!   Once you are familiar with call numbers, you can begin to make an electronic index search by typing in relevant topics and manipulating the search as you begin to get more specific.

Organizing Sources !   It’s okay to encounter some irrelevant sources, as long as we

can decipher that they are in fact unnecessary for our research. The call number usually helps us out by sorting out the various subjects

!   Once you find some sources, make a list of them, starting with the most promising and ending with the least promising. This will help you decide which sources will be most beneficial.

!   If you ever feel stuck, especially with a promising source, make sure to check the bibliography every time. Having a few key words and phrases in mind will be a great advantage if you ever come to this point, so it is important to know which central ideas to focus on.

!   Many people like looking for full-text articles on their topic to save a trip to the library for the full bound volume. While this may seem convenient, it is important to remember that just because it is full-text doesn’t mean it is the best option. Companies that sell databases to libraries don’t necessarily use quality as a criterion for which articles to offer in full-text.

!   When you begin to read general articles, you might find yourself reading things that you already know.

!   To delve into your subject with more specific information, you might want to consider a database. Databases could include anything from magazines to scholarly journals, and are usually subject specific.

!   To begin researching a data base, visit your library’s website and search a key phrase. Databases are great ways to get particular information on a certain subject.

!   Examples of Databases: Academic OneFile, Academic Search Premier, ArticleFirst, IgentaConnect, General OneFile, Academic Search, JSTOR, Academic Universe on Lexis Nexis and EBSCO MasterFile

Advanced Internet Research Techniques

Researching on the internet is a lot like looking through a portal. There is a vast amount of knowledge. The problem we run into is:

!   There is useful info. for academic writing, but it is hard to find and it’s easy to get lost

!   The research still needs to be efficient.

!   The research needs to be more focused, and of better quality.

Types of Search Engines It pays off to use more than one search engine because they each pool

unique sources. Some popular search engines are:

!   AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com)

!   Ask.com (http://www.ask.com)

!   Bing (http://www.bing.com)

!   Google (http://www.google.com

! Hotbot (http://www.hotbot.com)

!   Lycos (http://www.lycos.com)

!   Yahoo! Search (http://search.yahoo.com)

Living Sources: Interviews and Surveys

What do Interviews do for a piece of Writing?

!   Interviews transform writings by bringing the subject to life

!   They show how the subject matters to people and how it affects their lives

Finding Experts !   Check your sources

!   Look at the authors of articles and books and check their affiliations

!   Check the phone book

!   Ask your friends and instructors !   See what connections they might have

!   Check faculty directory !   Shows their research interests

!   Check the Encyclopedia of Associations !   Shows organizations with all their interests, along with telephone numbers

and a description of the organizations purpose

!   Check the internet

Finding Non-experts

!   If your research topic were eating disorders than a girl with a disorder would be considered an authority on eating disorders because it has affected her

!   For this topic if you find a college student who has gone door to door lobbying for a particular candidate then they could be considered an expert on how to get people to vote.

Making Contact

!   Consider what type of interview you want to do, face to face, telephone, email or even over Skype.

!   Personal interview is preferable because then you are able to observe your subject, and this interview is more like a conversation

!   When contacting a person for an interview explain your project and of course state your name.

Conducting Interviews !   Whom to interview?

!   They need to provide you with what you want to know, could be an author or someone with anecdotal material who has had experience in your topic

!   What Questions to Ask? !   Find questions that will clear up your confusion and get you information

you cant get anywhere else !   Keep in mind what you know about the person from your initial research

in your topic and make questions off of that information

!   During the Interview !   Be prepared not to ask your questions, because interviews are

conversations, not surveys. !   Be a good conversationalist: Listen attentively, ask questions that are

interesting, and enjoy sharing an interest !   End an interview by making sure you have their information correct

(name, phone number, position). Ask if there is any additional reading or people you should talk to

Note Taking

!   Three ways !   Notepad, digital recorder or both

!   Recorder is so you know you are not missing out an any information

!   Notes are the important things you know you are going to use

!   But they both serve as back ups for each other.

Email Interview

!   To find people on the internet you can use !   Google

!   Through a Web document and then find the emails of the people who wrote

!   Making Contact by Email !   Prepare a short message that asks permission for an

online interview which includes why they would be a good source and what your project is about

Discussion Boards

!   Good place to find people who are passionate about your subject

!   Search Engines for Discussion Groups !   Board Reader (boardreader.com)

!   Board Tracker (boardtracker.com)

!   Google Groups (groups.google.com)

!   Yahoo Groups (groups.yahoo.com)

Planning Informal Surveys

!   Use these if you believe responses from a group would greatly benefit your research !   For example if you are trying to figure out if the people

who receive mail from candidates are likely voters then ask a group of people if they receive mail and if they are going to vote

!   Be specific about your target group and what you are going to ask

Survey Design

!   Should not be long, biased, and it should be easy to score

!   Need to begin and end with vital information !   Age, Gender, Registered to vote, Political affiliation

Survey Design !   Avoid Loaded Questions

!   Ex) Do you think we should send the freeloaders who don’t pay taxes back to Mexico?

!   Ex) Do you support the immigration policies that do not allow illegal immigrants to stay in America?

!   Avoid Vague Questions

!   Use Continuum questions !   Don’t make the surveyor choose between extremes give them a

scale

!   Designing multiple Choice questions !   Give them choices you think they will respond to and then a

choice if they do not respond to any

Now it’s your turn!

!   Make up a multiple choice question and a continuum question that relate to your topic!

Conducting Surveys

!   Telephone Surveys !   Pro: Honest and direct, record the answers !   Con: Multiple calls are tedious and expensive

!   Internet Surveys !   Use the discussion boards and programs such as

SurveyMonkey (surveymonkey.com) to create surveys and post them to places with the correct audience you are trying to reach

!   In-Person Surveys !   Stand outside dorms, dining halls, student union and collect

information from people who are passing by

Fieldwork: Research through what you see and hear

!   Fieldwork can be invaluable for researching topics in the social sciences and humanities

!   The academic phrase for doing fieldwork is being a “participant-observer”.

Preparing for Fieldwork

There are three tools for fieldwork that you might find useful:

1.  A notebook

2.  A digital camera (take pictures of the site you’re observing, the people there, and objects present for later study)

3.  A digital recorder (remember to ask permission to record interviews)

Note-taking Strategies

!   Look for evidence that confirms, contradicts, or qualifies the theories or assertions you’ve read about.

!   Look and listen to what people say during moments with particular significance for participants

!   Describe “artifacts”—things that people in the situation typically use.

Being an activist note-taker

!   The notes you encounter in the field are your first chance to make sense of what you find and make it your own

!   Take the time out to take thoughtful notes. It will pay off and will make your writing reflect your point of view more strongly