JRN 425: Presidential Elections Sept. 9 2012 Michael Unsworth History Librarian unsworth@msu.edu

JRN 425:Presidential Elections

Sept. 9 2012

Michael UnsworthHistory Librarian

unsworth@msu.edu

Why You Are Here: 1st Research paper =

OUTLINE• Decoding citations• Retrieving Materials• Online Reference Tools• Locating Bibliographies• Locating Primary

Sources• Indexes• Questions

RETRIEVING MATERIAL: WORLDCAT

WORLDCAT

WORLDCAT

WORLDCAT

RETRIEVING MATERIAL

MELCAT

MELCAT

MELCAT

MELCAT

MELCAT

MELCAT

U-borrow

ILLIAD

STRATEGY #1:IDENTIFY A CURRENT ISSUE,

THEN CHECK PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

• Current Issues:“2012 Election Issues”

tab on JRN 425 Guide http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/JRN425

“Current Newspaper Databases” tab on Newspaper Guide  

http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/newspaperguide

INDEX

KEYWORD:Voter suppression

 SUBJECTS

Contested elections Democracy

Elections -- Corrupt practices

Political corruption

Racism -- Political aspects

Representative government & representation

Voter registration -- Corrupt practices

Voting -- Corrupt practices

STRATEGY #2:PICK A PAST ELECTION &

SEE WHAT WERE THE ISSUES

• Online Catalog Subject Searches“Presidents United

States Election [year]”

[Name of President] – look at “base heading” as well as these subdivisions: Dictionaries Oratory Political and

social views Religion Views on [topic]

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

“…the compiler of a BIBLIOGRAPHY acts as a scholarly research assistant, providing a summary of what is available in one easy-to-use guide.”Meyer, Jack Allen. An annotated bibliography of the Napoleonic era: recent publications, 1945-1985 (New York : Greenwood Press, 1987): xi.

FROM A MONOGRAPH

WARREN HARDING’S 1920 RUN

FINDING BIBLIOGRAPHIES IN THE ONLINE CATALOG

INDEX

PRIMARY SOURCES:Definition

“…items that are directly associated with their producer or user and the time period in which they were created. Examples, include diaries, newspapers articles, government documents, photographs, oral interviews, and news broadcasts.”

SOURCE: Presnell, Jenny L. The information-literate historian : a guide to research for history students (New York : Oxford University Press, 2007): 93.

CAUTION: MEMOIRS

FROM A MONOGRAPH

sources manuscripts

archives notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.

archival resources personal narratives, American Chinese, Finnish

correspondence personnel records

diaries records and correspondence

PRIMARY SOURCES:Printed Compilation

About the Set

Entry Information

Immigration Reform: The Ongoing Debate

We Want to Stop People from Crossing into America Illegally (1)

We Want to Stop People from Crossing into America Illegally (2)

INDEX

Herbert Hoover in the

1928 Election

Getting Articles From Other Libraries

14 Digit ID Number

QUESTIONS

What was/were the most valuable thing(s) you learned

today?

What are you not quite clear about from today’s session; what is muddy in your head?

END