1.
CHOOSE A TOPIC - that
interests you (If you already have a topic in
mind, continue to #2). You may want to ask yourself, "What
kind of information do I need?" You may
need an overview, comprehensive research on a
topic, or a quick reference to a fact. Once you
decide what type of information you need, you
can select a source that will be likely to have
the information or plan a search strategy that
will include several types of sources.
.... I.. Choose a topic within
the subject area that is:
 Interesting
to you;
Not too
broad - with hundreds of books and articles about it
(Example: AIDS, drug abuse, South Africa, Civil War);
Not too narrow - with
nothing or only one or two articles written about it
(Examples: "The effect of drug abuse on the athletic performance of 18-year-old
hockey players in Argentina" or "A comparison of the marketing strategies
of two barber shops in Harrisonburg, VA")
.... II.Identify the main concepts of your topic as
shown below
Topic: Does smoking in teenagers affect social relationships?
Main concepts:
.......... a. Smoking
...........b. Teenagers
...........c. Social relationships
.... III.. Review your list of main
concepts; think of synonyms for each concept.
Create a list of search terms for each concept as
in the example below:
Main Concepts
and search terms:
A. Smoking
- smoking
- tobacco use
B. Teenagers
- teenagers
- adolescent/adolescents
- adolescence
C. Social relationships
- friendships
- dating
- social relationships
- interpersonal relationships
Use
these search terms in Reference books, the LAMP Catalog,
and databases related to your research topic.
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2.
WHAT RESOURCES TO USE: Use general sources,
such as encyclopedias or textbooks, to define and focus
the topic, develop an overview and gather background
information. The bibliographies in these sources are
usually excellent starting points for research, since
they provide a list of books and articles that are not
only pertinent, but also authoritative.
BASIC INFORMATION: Encyclopedia articles give a broad overview and background
information on many subjects. Each article, written by a specialist in
that particular field, generally provides a comprehensive introduction
to the subject. Articles usually summarize and synthesize information from
a variety of sources and include a selective bibliography of other authoritative
books and articles on the subject. A general encyclopedia is often the
best place to start research because it contains information on almost
every subject. Specialized encyclopedias are focused on specific subject
fields.
SEARCH STRATEGY FOR LOCATING ENCYCLOPEDIAS USING THE LAMP ONLINE CATALOG:
You may find additional encyclopedias in the Reference Collections of the
3 campus libraries (Riverside City, Norco and Moreno Valley) by searching
the LAMP Online Catalog.
If you have a particular subject area in mind, you may find encyclopedias
on that subject by searching as follows:
Search
by "Keyword" and typing Encyclop* and Your
subject
Example: encyclop* psychology
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SELECTED LIST OF GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS:
Collier's
Encyclopedia, 1991 (Norco & Moreno Valley Ref
AE 5 C683 1991)
World Book Encyclopedia,
1996 (Riverside Ref AE 5 W55 1996)
World
Book Encyclopedia, 1995 (Norco Ref AE 5 W55 1995)
World
Book Encyclopedia, 1991 (Moreno Valley Ref AE 5 W55
1991)
Bartleby.com -
a combined database of more than twenty respected reference
worksSelected list of specialized encyclopedias
SELECTED LIST OF SPECIALIZED ENCYCLOPEDIAS:
Social Sciences (Psychology, Political
Science, Law, Sociology, Education)
Gale Encyclopedia
of Psychology. Detroit: Gale, 1996. (Riverside Ref BF 31
.G35 1996)
Encyclopedia
of Human Behavior. San Diego, CA : Academic Press, c1994.
(Riverside Ref BF31 .E5 1994)
Encyclopedia
of Educational Research. New York: Macmillan, 1992. (Riverside
Ref LB15 .E48 1992)
Encyclopedia
of Multicultural America. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, c1995.
(Riverside & Norco Ref E184.A1 G14 1995)
Encyclopedia
of Marriage and the Family. New York: Macmillan, c1995. (Riverside,
Norco & Moreno Valley Ref HQ9 .E52 1995)
The Cambridge
Encyclopedia of Russia and the Former Soviet Union. New York
: Cambridge University Press,1994. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref DK14 .C35 1994)
Encyclopedia
of the Third World. New York: Facts on File, 1982- (Riverside,
Norco & Moreno Valley Ref HC59.7 .K87 1992)
Encyclopedia
of World Cultures. Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall, 1991-1993.
(Norco & Moreno Valley Ref GN550 .E53 1991)
The Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Mankind. (1989 ed - Norco & Moreno Valley
Ref GN307 .I44 1989)
Worldmark Encyclopedia
of the Nations. Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research (2001 ed -
Norco Ref G63 .W67 2001; 1988 ed. - Moreno Valley Ref G63
.W67 1998)
The New Palgrave:
a Dictionary of Economics. London: Macmillan, 1987. (Riverside
Ref HB61 .N49)
The New Palgrave:
a Dictionary of Economics and the Law. London: Macmillan
(1998 ed. - Riverside Ref K487 .E3N48 1998
International
Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York: Macmillan,
1968-1991. (Norco & Moreno Valley Ref H 40 .I5)
The Social
Science Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1996. (Moreno
Valley Ref H41 .S63 1996) and also 1985 edition in Riverside
Ref, Norco Main Stacks & Moreno Valley Main Stacks
Encyclopedia
of Social Work. Washington, D. C.: National Association of
Social Workers, 1995. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno Valley
Ref HV35 .S6 - AND - Ref HV35 .S6 1997 suppl.)
Encyclopedia
of American Social History. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1993. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno Valley Ref HN57
E58 1993)
Encyclopedia
of Sociology. New York: Macmillan, 2000. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref HM 425 E5 2000)
Encyclopedia
of Democracy. Washington, D. C.: Congressional Quarterly,
1995 (Riverside & Moreno Valley Ref JC423 .E53 1995)
Encyclopedia
of the American Presidency. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1994. (Riverside Ref JK511 .E53 1994)
The Encyclopedia
of the United States Congress. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1995- (Riverside Ref JK 1067 E63 1995)
Encyclopedia
of the American Constitution. New York: Macmillan, 2000 (Moreno
Valley Ref. KF4548 E53 2000. The 1986 edition is available
at Riverside, Norco & Moreno Valley Ref KF 4548 E53 1986
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Science (Biology,
Technology, Environment)
McGraw-Hill
Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. New York
: McGraw-Hill, 1997. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref Q121 .M3 1997)
The Encyclopedia
of the Environment. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1994. (Norco Ref GE10 .E53 1994)
Encyclopedia
of Endangered Species. Detroit: Gale Research, c1994-
(Norco & Moreno Valley Ref QH75 .E53 1994)
The Grolier
World Encyclopedia of Endangered Species. Danbury, Conn.
: Grolier Educational Corp., 1993. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref QL82 .S4513 1993)
Grzimek's
Animal Life Encyclopedia. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold,
1972-1975. (Riverside Ref QL3 G7813)
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Humanities (Literature,
History, Religion, Philosophy, Art, Music)
The New
Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton,
N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1993. (Riverside Ref
PN1021 .N39 1993)
The
Oxford Companion to American Literature. New York,
Oxford University Press, 1983. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref PS21 .H3 1983)
The Oxford
Companion to English Literature. New York : Oxford University
Press, 2000 (Riverside Ref PR19 .D73 2000. The 1985 edition
is available at Riverside Ref., Norco Ref & Moreno
Valley Ref: PR19 .D73 1985 )
Dictionary
of the Middle Ages. New York : Scribner, 1982-1989. (Riverside,
Norco & Moreno Valley Ref D114 .D5 1982)
The Routledge
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1998.
(Riverside Ref & Norco Ref B51 .R68 1998)
The Encyclopedia
of Religion. New York: Macmillan, 1986. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno
Valley Ref BL31 .E46 1986)
Dictionary
of the History of Ideas. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1973-1974. (Riverside Ref CB 5 D52)
Man Myth
and Magic ... New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995. (Riverside & Moreno
Valley Ref BF 1407 .M34 1995)
Encyclopedia
of American Religions. 6th ed. Detroit : Gale Research,
1999. (Norco Ref. & Moreno Valley Ref BL2525 .M449
1999)
Dictionary
of American History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1976-1978. (Riverside, Norco & Moreno Valley Ref
E 174 D52 1976)
Encyclopedia
of African-American Culture and History. New York: Macmillan
Library Reference USA, 1996. (Riverside & Moreno
Valley Ref E185 E54 1996)
Encyclopedia
of World Art. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1959-1987. (Riverside
Ref N31 .E533)
The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Washington,
D.C. : Grove's Dictionaries of Music (2001 ed. - Riverside
Ref ML100 .N48 2001; 1980 ed. - Norco & Moreno Valley
Ref ML100 .N48 1980) The online version is available
through our LAMP system - See it listed on our Electronic
Resources Page.
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Health
Foods & Nutrition
Encyclopedia. Clovis, CA: Pegus Press, 1983. (Riverside,
Norco & Moreno Valley Ref TX349 .F575 1983)
Miller-Keane
Encyclopedia & Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Allied
Health. Philadelphia: Saunders, c1997. (Riverside & Moreno
Valley Ref R121 .M65 1997)
Encyclopedia
of Mental Health. San Diego: Academic Press, 2001 (Riverside
Ref. RC437 .K34 2001). and the 1998 edition is available
at Riverside Ref., Norco Ref. & Moreno Valley Ref
RA790 .E53 1998
Encyclopedia
of Bioethics. New York: Macmillan, 1995. (Riverside Ref
QH332 .E52 1995)
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3. IDENTIFYING
SEARCH TERMS: Identify the main
concepts of your topic and generate a list
of search terms and
subject headings for each. Use these search terms
to search the topic in reference books, the on-line
catalog, and electronic databases.
4.
SEARCHING LAMP: Search the LAMP
Online Catalog under the appropriate subject
headings and keywords to find books and audiovisual
materials in the RCCD libraries. Be sure
to see if there are any bibliographies listed.
These should be examined first. Also, when
you find a good book in the online catalog,
check items with the same subject or browse
through books nearby on the shelf to find
additional books.
The LAMP online catalog does several things:
It identifies materials
actually owned (or on order) by the Library & Learning Resource Center
(LLRC). The LLRC consists of the 3 campus libraries of the Riverside Community
College District. These materials include books, journals, newspapers, atlases,
video recordings, reference materials, software, etc.)
It tells you
where items are located within the LLRC
It
tells you if items are currently available, checked out,
lost, overdue, on reserve, in processing, or on order
LAMP
gives you access to electronic indexes which permit
you to bring up on the screen and print the full-text
of some electronically available journal articles
by clicking on the title and following the links.
For articles which are not available in full-text,
citations are provided.
You may access the online catalog from:
The public workstations
located in any of the LLRC's facilities (All 3 of the campus libraries)
Any computers
in Riverside Community College District's Computer Labs
Computers
in remote locations, such as your apartment.
Searching the LAMP Online Catalog
LAMP's
Online Catalog is a user-friendly system,
allowing most users to find what they need
by following directions on the screens. Within
the online catalog, each individual catalog
record is interactive, offering active links
to quickly lead to similar items. For example,
in a catalog record, a user may click on
an author's name for a list of other books
by that author, or click on the subject headings,
for a list of other books with that same
subject.
The
online catalog permits several types of searches,
including: author, title, subject, keyword, and
call number. (See LAMP Search Tips for more information
on searching the LAMP Online Catalog) In addition,
several advanced searching techniques are offered.
Four search capabilities that you might find especially useful are:
Keyword Search - allows
you to search by significant words in the title, and contents notes, subject
headings, author field, etc.. The Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT may be
used in keyword searches.
Examples: Entering the search
global warming AND forests will retrieve records
containing all three terms (global and warming
and forests). If a search is entered with no
Boolean operators, the system automatically
places the Boolean operator AND between each
word.
Entering the search counseling OR psychotherapy will retrieve records containing
either the term counseling or the term psychotherapy.
Entering the search apartheid NOT South Africa will retrieve records containing
the term apartheid but which do not contain the terms South and Africa. Caution
is advised concerning the use of the Boolean operator NOT.
You may also perform a more complex search combining two or more operators.
See the section on nesting for more information about this kind of search.
Limit function - is used after
a search by clicking on the Limit this Search
button. Limiting allows you to restrict the
results by:
Year
of publication
Material
type
Language
Publisher
Where
item is located
Words
in the Title
Words
in the Author
Words
in the Subject
The Limit command is particularly useful in refining a search that has retrieved
too many titles.
Browse by order
on shelf - allows you to see a list of related items in call number
order as they would appear on the shelf. When you find an especially
useful source, click on the highlighted call number.
Show
similar items - prompts you to find items by the same author
or on the same subject. When you find an especially useful
source in the online catalog, click on the highlighted subject
headings or author.To find materials on a particular subject
in the online catalog, you could first do a Keyword search
using the words you think best describe the idea. Then, look
through your results until you find an item that seems to match
your request. Click on the title to view the full record for
this item, then scroll to the bottom of the screen and click
on the highlighted subject heading that seems to best describe
your topic.
Finding Sources on the Shelf
Copy the location and
call number of the source you want and find the material on the shelf using
this call number.
If the source
you wanted is checked out, you may place a hold on it at the circulation
desk. The library will notify you when the item is returned.
For periodicals,
microfilm and microfiche:Note whether the item location is "Microform." Older
issues of journals, magazines and newspapers are kept on microfilm,
which is kept in file drawers. If you need assistance using
Microfilm, ask the Reference Librarian. |
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5. LOCATING PERIODICALS: Locate
periodical indexes that list useful scholarly journals,
popular magazines, and newspaper articles on the topic.
Be sure to consult a reference librarian to identify
appropriate indexes for your topic.
Types of periodical articles
Popular magazines - Written
for the general public for the purpose of informing and entertaining. Newsweek,
Time, and Ebony are examples of popular magazines. Because of their easy
reading style, magazines may be a good starting point in understanding
a topic.
Scholarly journals
- Typically have articles written by authorities in the field. They
may report new
research developments or provide a scholarly discussion of a topic. They
usually include bibliographies. For most college level papers, you should
rely more heavily on articles from scholarly journals.
Newspapers - Sources
of valuable information often not found in other resources. Not only
do newspapers provide accounts of current events, they also show
changing trends in public opinion. Older issues of newspapers provide
a record of past ideas, problems, and events.
Finding periodical articles on my topic
Look
in an index - The most efficient way to locate
periodical articles is to use periodical indexes.
Simply put, these indexes are guides to articles
that can be found in several hundred magazines
or journals. Depending on which index you select,
and the date of the desired article, the index
might be available in electronic form or on paper.
Be sure to choose an index that covers your topic.
You may select from the list of electronic indexes.
If you need help choosing or searching a database,
see the section on Searching Indexes.
Look
in the bibliography of an article or book - If you
already have a good article or book on your topic,
the easiest way to find additional articles is to look
in the bibliography.
Making copies
Periodicals
may not be checked out, but you may photocopy an
article, whether it is from a current
issue or microform. The photocopy machines located in the 3 campus libraries
accept, change, bills, and an Intercard (also used for making printouts
from the LLRC workstations). Both photocopies and printouts cost 10 cents.
Making copies from Microform only costs 5 cents - but the Microfilm Reader/Printers
will only accept nickels. You can get up to $2 in nickels in exchange
for dollar bills, or other change.
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6.USING THE CATALOG: Use
the online catalog to determine whether periodicals are
available at any of the RCCD libraries. Remember to search
the online catalog by periodical title and type in the
name of the journal, not the title of the article.
7. LOCATING
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS: Locate materials
published by the U.S. Government (See
Government Information). These sources provide
various types of information and data, and can
be found in government-produced reference sources,
monographs, or periodicals.
8. LOCATING
BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL: Locate biographical
material, when appropriate, by using biographical
indexes.There will be many times during your years
here at Riverside Community College and later in
life that you will need to find biographical information
about individuals. You may wish to check the credentials
of authors and scholars, find out about the past
of an international or political figure in the
news, or just find out more about a person or family
out of pure curiosity. The Library and Learning
Resource Center (LLRC) has dozens of biographical
sources in the Reference area. A researcher often
doesn't know which one will contain information
on the person of interest. Fortunately, the index
described below makes a search for biographical
information quick and easy.
Biography
and Genealogy Master Index
This resource is a great time saver. It will lead you to biographical
information in over 600 biographical sources, such as Who's Who in America,
Dictionary of National Biography, Contemporary Authors, and American
Men and Women of Science. All 3 campus libraries have this resource in
the Reference Section. Call# Ref Z5301 .B614 2001 I
In addition you may use the following techniques to find biographical
information:
1. Look in an encyclopedia for a brief summary of the person's life.
2. Do a subject search in the LAMP Online Catalog to find entire books
written about him or her.
3. Look in electronic resources to find articles about the individual.
Click on: BiographiesPlus Illustrated; AccessScience; or, Landmark Documents
in American History.
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9. LOCATING
STATISTICAL MATERIAL: Locate statistical
resources when appropriate, to provide statistics
on your topic. Statistics are a valuable kind
of information in research because they can provide
data for making comparisons and determining historical
trends. When you write a term paper, your argument
will, in many cases, be more convincing if you
can use statistics to back up what you say. The
United States government is one of the largest
and most important publishers of statistical information.
Many of its agencies and departments have statistical
divisions which regularly publish statistical abstracts
and digests of basic socio-economic data about
the United States. One of the best sources of statistical
information published by the U.S. government is
described below:
Statistical
Abstract of the United States (Ref HA202 .U5) <at
all 3 campus libraries>
Published annually since 1878 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical
Abstract presents quantitative summary of statistics of the U. S.
government as well as some private agencies. It covers social, economic,
and political aspects of the country such as population, vital statistics,
immigration, education, labor, and transportation. Statistics given in
the tables cover a period of several years, usually about 15 or 20. To
find if a particular subject is covered in Statistical Abstract, use
the detailed index in the back of the book.
10. SEARCHING
THE INTERNET: Search the Internet (See Internet
Resources). Be sure to keep a copy of what
you find if you refer to it or cite it; it might
not be there when its existence must be verified!
11. EVALUATING
RESOURCES: Evaluate all sources
(See Evaluating
Resources) carefully, especially information
you find on the Internet. This strategy should
help as you begin doing library research. You
may not always need to consult all of the above
types of resources for every project or paper you
write. It is important, however, to keep the
variety of resources available in mind.
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