The Librarians have compiled a list of web based resources for your use.
http://del.icio.us/BHCCLibrary
Do you have a library card? You will need one to check out books from the BHCC library. Your student ID is your library card -- it must have a 14 digit barcode on the back.
When you come to the library there are some basic things you need to know so that you are putting our research tools to work effectively for you. Many of you may already be familiar with the research methods and techniques that you will be using, but now you will be using them to help you accomplish a specific research goal.
You'll need to find a combination of books, journals articles, newspapers articles, and reliable Internet sources to complete the scavenger hunt. To find these sources, you will need to use the BHCC Library online catalog as well as online periodical databases such as EBSCOhost, JSTOR and InfoTrac Web.
The BHCC Library home page at http://www.noblenet.org/bhcc/ provides a single place where you can go to get access to the library catalog, online databases, and information about the library itself. You just need a PC with an Internet connection and a Web browser.
USING THE ONLINE CATALOG
The BHCC Library online catalog is the most efficient way to find a book in the BHCC library. If you take some time to master it, your task will be much easier when you need to stop in and borrow a book. Remember, the online catalog can be searched from any PC connected to the Internet with a Web browser.
If you take a look at the online catalog, you'll see that there are many ways to search for a book: author, title, subject, keyword, and more. To start, try the keyword search, which is the broadest possible search. Subject, author, and title searches are more specific. Before you enter your search, read the screen. There are always useful tips that will save you search time.
Your end goal should always be the book's call number, which is like the book's address and tells you where to find the book in the library. Books are given call numbers by subject, so when you find one book, the books near it should be related by the subject.
When searching for books in the catalog, it can help to think of a few key phrases before you start your search. Try searches using the time frame keywords such as 1940s, United States History or a combination of terms like United States History and 1940s. In general, the call number areas you'll be interested in for U.S. history topicsare E100 to E700.
USING ONLINE DATABASES TO LOCATE JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
The Library currently subscribes to over 200 different periodicals and over 50 online databases, many of which provide periodical articles on virtually any subject you can name. To help you sort through this vast amount of information and find what you need, we will be focusing on three broad-based periodical databases here, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, and InfoTrac Web. For a full list of all the databases we have to offer, take a look at our databases page.
- EBSCO
EbscoHost offers immediate access to a variety of full text databases which cover over 1,500 journals in searchable full text, abstracts and indexing for nearly 3,800 journals, and current citations for over 11,000 titles.
You can get to get to EBSCOhost from any PC equipped with an internet connection and a web browser - but to use EBSCO from off-campus, you must have a BHCC ID card, and your ID must be registered with the library.
- JSTOR is a source of scholarly journals with a deep backfile - meaning that articles from journals and other sources from the 1800s through the present are available in PDF format.
- INFOTRAC WEB
Infotrac Web is a gateway which provides access to seven full-text databases on subjects ranging from literature and literary criticism to business and technology research. You will usually want to begin your research in a database entitled Expanded Academic or Academic OneFile .
USING THE WORLD WIDE WEB TO FIND RELIABLE INFORMATION
Anyone can put in information on the Internet. Unfortunately, not all of this information is reliable. It is very important to make sure that your sources are credible. It is your responsiblility to critically analyze the information you find. Check out a great resource for Evaluating Websites from the Cornell University Library. Four criteria to keep in mind while considering websites are:
- Accuracy- Are there spelling errors or incorrect data? Is the information too generalized?
- Authority- Who is the author? What are their credentials? Can they be contacted?
- Currency- When was the material written? Are the links live? Has the site been updated?
- Objectivity- Is more than one view presented? What is the goal of this site?
CITING YOUR INFORMATION SOURCES
The format you will use for citation is known as the MLA format; to assist you in compiling your list of sources, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, REF LB 2369. G53 1999. This volume is very detailed and even covers citation formats for the different electronic resources you will be using. For a good treatment of the same material available on the World Wide Web, check out the Duke University Libraries' Guide to citing sources.
When quoting information sources, it's important to recognize whether you're summarizing, quoting, or paraphrasing. See the following Hints for Summarizing, Quoting and Paraphrasing from the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
DIRECTORY SITES AND SEARCH ENGINES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
The following are some reliable directory sites where librarians often start Web research. Remember, though, usually when doing Web research your concern will not be the quantity of sites you get back, but the quality.
- Internet Public Library -- http://www.ipl.org
- Digital Librarian -- http://www.digital-librarian.com
- Librarian's Index to the Internet -- http://www.lii.org
- RefDesk -- http://www.refdesk.com
And these are some of the most frequently used search engines ...
- Google (includes image and news search tabs)
http://www.google.com - Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com
SELECTED HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Here are a few sites to look at for information on history - focusing on the United States in various eras. We will use as an example historical topics in the 1920s.
- American Cultural History by decade : From Kingwood College Library in Texas. Provides an excellent introductory profile of each decade of American history in the 19th and 20th centuries. (NOTE: Another library made this webpage, and books listed may NOT be in our collection. Be sure to check our catalog.)
- U.S. History - Roaring 20s: Web links on the “Roaring 20s” from the Best of History Website.
- World Wide Web Virtual Library: History: United States History: Excellent web resources on the United States, with the 19th century in "chunks" and the 20th century by decade. Each era provides a wealth of links and information on topical and historical events, all available on the free web. World Wide Web Virtual Library “WWW-VL”
- American History from the Civil War (1860) to Present: Another excellent webpage from the Kingwood College Library in Texas. Scroll down the page to reach the links on the 1920s
- Research Guides History - United States : Excellent listing of sites from the College of DuPage Library in Illinois. Scroll down to find links on the 1920s
- AmericanPresident.org: a non-partisan resource on the history and function of the United States Presidency; includes biographies of the Presidents and First Ladies.
- A Biography of America: companion website to a PBS series, gives key events, maps, and web links for each time period in U.S. history.
- History Matters: from George Mason University, provides information for teachers of college history courses. Includes primary sources, a reference desk, and a search function.
- Historical Census Browser: provides links to historical U.S. Census data such as employment, education, and population statistics from 1790 to 1960
- United States History Index: provides links to U.S. history topics such as anti-communist movements, the New Deal, and the Twentieth Century.
- Library of Congress- American Memory: U.S. Historical collections online
PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND TERTIARY RESOURCES
The distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary resources can be somewhat fuzzy. In addition, each field of study may place differing importance on each type of resource.
In the study of human history, primary resources are often considered one of the most important ways researchers can find immediate and original information on historical events. Historical documents like diaries and interviews give us a direct look, without interpretation, at what was going on in the minds of people involved in historic events.
For more information on the differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, see this Web file posted by St. Thomas University. This Web page on Finding Primary Sources can help you think about possible ways to locate relevant primary sources.
The format you will use for your citations is the MLA format; to assist you in compiling your list of sources, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, REF LB 2369. G53 1999. This volume is very detailed and even covers citation formats for the different electronic resources you will be using. For a good treatment of the same material available on the World Wide Web, check out the Duke University Libraries' Guide to citing sources.