RESEARCH PROJECT - MRS. CARR
Access database passwords, plus research tips and tutorials.
Tips when beginning your research:
Brainstorm keywords related to your research question and keep track of them
Conduct preliminary research in a variety of resources
Read enough articles to help you understand the scope and differing perspectives on your topic.
Preliminary search strategies using library resources
- Conduct preliminary searches in Alexandria Researcher using keywords generated from your interests.
- Nonfiction books published in 2019
Nonfiction books published in 2020 - Scan the Tables of Contents for narrowing and research question ideas
- You can also browse the library stacks (most books about "social issues" are in the 300's)
- Nonfiction books published in 2019
- Browse featured topics pages in databases such as Opposing Viewpoints, Credo, & ABC-CLIO Issues
- Read the Topic Overviews
- Credo: Scan the articles in:
- In databases, expand Related Subjects (right or left side of page) to view additional search terms, connections and narrower topics
- Take the time to investigate topics in various databases, as coverage will differ.
- Databases can help you narrow your focus (and indicate the availability of scholarly articles).
- Browse articles by a subject of interest in the New York Times
- Use Search Tools such as Topic Finder and Subject Guide Search (links below) to view connections, related subjects, and availability of full-text articles in Gale
- Type a broad term in Academic Search Main Edition database and view the possible connections that appear
SEARCHING FOR CREDIBLE SOURCES AFTER SELECTING A TOPIC
Search the catalog for print and ebooks. Direct links to ebooks are included (ask if you need help accessing). Use general keyword searches to elicit the most possible results.
Remember: you can expand your search to other WCASD libraries, Chester County public libraries and Access PA (the statewide catalog). |
Databases are "one-stop shops" in that they contain credible, scholarly, and current sources from various content types (books, magazines, journals, newspapers, videos, audio).
They contain tools to help you organize and cite your sources.
Journals and peer-reviewed articles
One of your goals should be to locate peer-reviewed articles published in journals. After articles are written by professionals or scholars in a field (usually after extensive research), they must pass through rigorous examination by experts in said field before they are published. Credibility and reliability are very important. |
|
Tips for databases
- Save and cite articles as you find them. If only saving links, be sure to locate the "persistent link" or "bookmark URL" for the article (usually at the bottom or right side of the page).
- Pay attention to the bibliographies that are provided at the bottom of articles. They can s-t-r-e-t-c-h the source by leading to additional articles in another database.
How to search multiple Gale databases at once
Click the Gale Power Search button on the databases page and log in. Enter your keywords in the search box. You can be more specific since you are searching multiple databases. Magazine results will appear first, with additional articles broken down by Content Types (see image on left). You can limit results by publication date and document type. Expand the Subjects list to see subjects related to your search, which will lead to additional articles, provide keyword suggestions, and give you ideas for narrowing topics. Click "Related Resources" at the top or bottom of an article to view additional articles. To cite an article, click "Citation Tools". You can Export the MLA 8 citation directly to Noodletools. |
CITING SOURCES
Click here to access instructions for various types of resources.
PARENTHETICAL (IN-TEXT) CITATIONS
What typically goes in an MLA-style parenthetical reference?
The information that you need to include depends on what type of source the material comes from. For printed material, you normally only need to include the author(s) (or title if there is no author) and page number(s) in your reference. For multi-volume works like encyclopedias, you may also need to include a volume number (see Rules 6 and 7 below). For Internet sources, sometimes paragraph numbers are provided.
Placement - The parentheses are usually placed at the end of a sentence, between the last word and the period. If you are quoting material directly, the parentheses should go between the closing quotation mark and the period.
*Common knowledge does not need to be cited. Not sure whether something is common knowledge? Better to be safe than sorry.
PARENTHETICAL (IN-TEXT) CITATIONS
- Noodletools can help you format these. Click the "In-text reference" link to the right of each completed citation. A box will pop up and will show you an example of a parenthetical reference for the source you cited, along with the other general tips listed below:
What typically goes in an MLA-style parenthetical reference?
The information that you need to include depends on what type of source the material comes from. For printed material, you normally only need to include the author(s) (or title if there is no author) and page number(s) in your reference. For multi-volume works like encyclopedias, you may also need to include a volume number (see Rules 6 and 7 below). For Internet sources, sometimes paragraph numbers are provided.
Placement - The parentheses are usually placed at the end of a sentence, between the last word and the period. If you are quoting material directly, the parentheses should go between the closing quotation mark and the period.
*Common knowledge does not need to be cited. Not sure whether something is common knowledge? Better to be safe than sorry.
To exclude sources from final works cited: If you do not use all cited sources in your final paper, you can simply uncheck the box at the bottom of the citation, as shown here:
Free web
The CRAAP Test: Evaluate sources (particularly websites) using these 5 criteria:
http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf
http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf
Google Advanced Searching
https://www.google.com/advanced_search - Limit searches by domain, phrases, dates, regions and more.