Conducting Research

1

Conducting Research

By Vivian Zenari, WRIT 1000Z

2

Objectives

Understand the terminology required to do research (especially bibliographic research).

Devise search strategies for doing bibliographic research.

Find articles and books useful for a research paper through the University of Lethbridge Library Web site.

3

University of Lethbridge Library has its own library catalogue and databases. To use these, you need to authenticate your library card each semester. You can also get access to two other library systems: The Alberta Library and COPPUL (you need special cards to access these: apply at the Edmonton campus office).

Terminology

4

See the list of terms at the University of Alberta library Web site

bibliographic database (index) America: History and Life

full-text databaseProject Muse

Terminology

5

Terminology (cont.)

Citation as it appears in the U of L catalogue:TITLE Calgary modern, 1947-1967 / editor, Geoffrey Simmins. --PUBLISHER Calgary : Nickle Arts Museum, 2000DESCRIPT 48 p. : ill., photographs ; 28 cm.LOCATION CALL NO. STATUS Med.Hat Circulating Books NA 747 C3 C34 2000 IN LIBRARYNOTE Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Nickle Arts Museum, Feb. 4-Apr. 15, 2000.

Includes bibliography (p.46-48)SUBJECT Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Architecture -- Alberta -- Calgary -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Art, Canadian -- Alberta -- Calgary -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Calgary (Alta.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Exhibitions Calgary (Alta.) -- Social life and customs ADD AUTHOR Simmins, Geoffrey Nickle Arts Museum

6

Terminology (cont.)

Previous citation formatted in APA style

Simmins, G. (Ed.). (2000). Calgary modern, 1947-1967. Calgary, AB: Nickle Arts Museum.

7

Terminology (cont.)

periodical (serial)

International Journal of Commerce and Management, Globe & Mail, Maclean’s

-Magazine: Maclean’s

-Newspaper: Globe & Mail

8

Terminology (cont.)

-scholarly (refereed, peer-reviewed) periodical

International Journal of Commerce and Management

(See also U of L’s discussion of periodicals)

9

Terminology (cont.)

“source”=source of information-primary source=original source: a document by eyewitnesses or researchers (e.g., interview, experiment, survey, work of art)-secondary source=a source that describes or analyzes a primary source (e.g., article about one of the above examples)-tertiary source=a summary of secondary sources (e.g., encyclopedia)

10

Steps in Doing Bibliographic Research

1. Find a topic.2. List keywords that define your topic.3. Decide on what kind of research materials you need.4. Determine the best tools (such as databases) for finding these research materials.

11

Steps (cont.)

5. Search databases for relevant materials (e.g., titles or full-text of articles and books).

6. Physically retrieve materials (e.g., articles and books).

7. Read the material you find and determine their usefulness.

8. Repeat Steps 1 to 8 if required.

12

1. Find a Topic

Use idea-generation techniques Select a topic you like or that interests

you Use ideas given on assignment sheets Ask yourself questions about the topic

and try to find the answers

13

1. Find a topic (cont.)

-What are the characteristics of Alberta architecture that distinguish it from other regional architectural styles?

-I could deal with history as well

14

2. Keywords

Keywords force you to think about your topic beyond your initial formulation

Keywords are necessary for doing searches on databases, so coming up with them early saves you hassle later

15

2. Keywords (cont)

-Alberta or Canada or Edmonton or Calgary or Lethbridge or Western Canada

-architecture or building-influence or characteristic or trend or

technique or style

16

3. Kinds of Materials

For your research, you can find books (or chapters of books) and scholarly articles (one required)

Quite possibly you may also need tertiary sources (e.g., encyclopedia entries) or non-scholarly articles (magazines, Web sites)

17

4. Research Tools

First, use only those tools that point to scholarly articles. Turn to other sources later.

Find databases that may contain citations or full-text articles for your topic.

18

4. Research tools (cont.)

Look at the list of databases by subject at of the U of L Library database page

You may also try Google Scholar (but try the database pages first)

19


PS: Some databases out there are NOT electronic: they are print books.

20


The Internet is usually a poor source of information.

Reliable Web sites do exist: see Don’t use: www.sparknotes.com or similar sites paper mills high school/junior high web sites

21


-For the Alberta architecture topic, check under “Art” on the databases page.

-Some relevant databases: Alberta Heritage Digitization Project (AHDP), CBCA Complete, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, CPI.Q

22

5. Search Databases

Each electronic database has a slightly different method for searching, so use the help features to figure out how to search them properly).

You may have to do some form of Boolean searching using keywords (“and,” “or,” “not” connectors); you can also use truncation symbols (“wildcards”)

23

5. Search databases (cont.)

The library catalogue is an electronic database, too: search it like you search other databases (read their help files, for example).

24


-Below are two search statements, which give two different sets of results (use CPI.Q as a demo):

alberta and architectureVERSUS

(alberta* or western canad*) AND (architect* or building*)

25


-To find books in a library, use library catalogue

-Demo: use same search as CPI.Q on U of L library catalogue:

(alberta* or western canad*) AND (architect* or building*)

26


When searching electronically, the search statement is very important.

Make sure you have no typos, and make sure you use as many synonyms and truncation/wildcard symbols as you can.

27


Tip: find one relevant citation, and look at its subject headings (descriptors) and search using those subject headings as keywords.

If you get too few results (or no results), use different keywords (less specific ones, especially)

28

6. Retrieve Materials

Materials Listed in Databases Databases are commercial products.

Libraries subscribe to them. They are generic.

As a result, a library may not necessarily have a copy of the book or the periodical listed in the database.

29

6. Retrieve materials (cont.)

Articles Some databases contain the full-text of articles,

not simply a citation (Project Muse). Sometimes they will have a combination: some will be full-text, some will only give a citation (title and publishing information)

U of L library has a flowchart explaining how to find articles in the library system.

30


Books Few books are available electronically. In most cases,

you will need to get the physical book in the library. This means you must look up almost all book titles in

the catalogue, even if you found the book’s citation in a database.

Tip: You may be able to search the full-text of books (with limitations) on Amazon.com or Google Book Search.

31


Materials Listed in a Library Catalogue For books and periodical titles, you need

a call number (ID number placed on the spine of the book) to find any one book or periodical on the library shelves.

A library catalogue will list the call number for each item in the library.

32


Check on the catalogue if book or periodical is signed out. Recall it if you have to (if you have time)

You can use the library’s Interlibrary Loan service for items not in the library system (but this takes time).

33

7. Read Materials

Use close and active reading Take notes to help you absorb material

(this also saves you time later). Type into a computer if you can.

When taking notes, be sure you indicate direct quotes versus paraphrases.

34

7. Read material (cont.)

For books, read relevant chapters, not the entire book (unless you have the time, of course).

Use the indexes and table of contents of books to find relevant sections in that book.

If the text is difficult to understand, find another text (but don’t give up too easily if it seems very relevant).

35

8. Repeat if necessary

If you find too much or too little material for your topic, go through the process again.

If at first your research seems to have gone nowhere, rest assured that your research has given you some perspective, even if you are not yet satisfied.

Documents

Conducting Research