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Support Web File for a Basic Research Assigment

The following is meant to be used as support material related to a library instruction session conducted by a library instructor and an BHCC English Department course instructor.

Our focus for today's workshop sesssion includes tapping a range of sources and taking care to evaluate those sources.

Consider what you need in terms of information for this particular assignment

  • Click Here to link to the BHCC indexes and periodical holdings list
  • Paper vs. electronic resources
  • Primary, secondary or tertiary sources
  • Books, magazines, journal, newspaper articles, world wide web sites or other materials available on the Internet like e-mail, listserv entries etc.

Sample Subjects for crafting into a research topic:

Stages of typical research assignment

    1. Propose a topic
    2. Familiarize yourself with the BHCC library
    3. Compile a working bibliography
    4. Keep organized notes
    5. Finalize thesis & outline
    6. Submit 1st draft
    7. Prepare notes & works cited sheet
    8. Submit final, revised manuscript

Assignment Guidelines

  • ? words
  • Minimum of ? sources(range?)
  • Due date: ?

Consider where you'll search

  • Book catalog
  • World Wide Web
  • Online subscription services

Consider how you'll search

  • Natural language searching
  • Boolean search techniques

California State University offers 9 online tutorials dealing with the most basic elements of getting started on your search for information with its look at beginning a research topic to considering media literacy issues. Its tutorials offer the option of skipping around so you can look at just what you need when you need it. The tutorials guide you through the steps of identifying and clarifying your topic, locating appropriate resources and evaluating the materials your find. Along with its online exercises you'll be supplied with suggested answers which you can compare to your own responses. You can submit your work online if you choose and even request that your instructor be notified of your practice activity.

Another site which always proves useful is the Writing Lab at Purdue University It's Resources for writer's will, as always, be useful for your projects this semester. Even more on target, however, will be its Internet Research Starting Points. Use its search tools and general reference materials link to get started and be sure to visit this site often. Look through its list of handouts under the categories that best suit the stage of work you need to address. Under Types/Genres of Writing you'll find a link for information about Argument/Persuation Writing and under Writing Research Papers, take a look at Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing.

There is no substitute for using your text book, class notes and consulting with your instructor. It is, however, usually a good idea to step back a bit and consider other support materials and outside sources that suit your way of thinking and working independently.

One final website that may prove valuable is the Pro& Con website from Chemeketa Community College. This website is specifically designed to help students who need to find materials which support or oppose a particular position. Many of the links on this page can give you topic ideas and offer search tips for using some online databases.

Use the online tutorials, including this web file, to guide your search for information while the search is underway. Substitute the given examples for your topic and watch how efficiently and effectively your search for infomration progresses. You'll see that your results are much more on target than if you just stumbled through the search process without using the guides. For example, here we'll look at the topic of gun control to discuss using information resources but the topic could be anything. Pay attention to the process as much as the specifics about how we get where we're going.

Begin by identifying other keywords that will aid in the search for information. If you have trouble coming up with synonyms consult a Dictionary/Thesaurus. For a more direct route to alternative terms, use the subject headings in the book catalog.Click on Subject, enter the term gun control and view the links to related terms. You might also try a keyword search and see if you can find any books in the library from the Opposing Viewpoints and Current Controversies series.

Let's take a look at the Reference Shelf at the Internet Public Library. Here, I'm going to ask you to spend a little time investigating several categories of information. There are abouta dozen categories highlighted on the page. If you are asked to find information about Gun Control, which categories would you investigate? Name three. If you said Law, Government &Political Science, and Social Sciences then you are well on your way to getting the research part of your assignment done.Keep these categories in mind throughout the search process.

Finding sources on your topic

Keep in mind the topic position or opinion you selected for your paper to help focus your research process. Use the BHCC Web Catalog and select the "Subject" or "Keyword" search option to find books in the Bunker Hill Community College Library. Expand your search and use the NOBLE Web Catalog to find materials from other libraries. If you find an item that you would like to borrow from another NOBLE library then use our online Interlibrary Loan Form ILL FORM to request the material.

Use online subscription databases to find magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for current information and/or opinions on your topic. Since most of these online subscription services offer different databases to choose from consider which database(s) is/are the most helpful to you in providing information that supports your argument. Although these databases are similar in format use the online "Help" screens to make your information access and searching more efficient and relevant to your topic.

  • EBSCOhost -- A useful option of EBSCOhost is the feature where you can select more than one database to search in at the same time on your topic.

    Go to the following web address:

      http://search.epnet.com/login.asp?custid=noble&ip=yes&profile=web
      If you are off-campus, enter your 14 digit BHCC number and last name

       

    • FACTS.com -- FACTS.com contains information on current and historical events, issues, and people. One specific portion of the database which may be especially useful to you is the Issues and Controversies section. This is a subset of the FACTS.com database which contains concise summaries of specific controversial issues, with all sides of each issue represented. If you are having difficulty choosing a topic, go to Issues and Controversies (within FACTS.com) and click on the Indexes link or the Issues: Pro and Con link to see what topics are included. FACTS.com also provides statistical information on a host of issues as well as the full text of many important source documents. (After attending a library workshop a username and password may be obtained to access the database remotely.)

      Go to the following web address:

        www.2facts.com
        If you are off-campus, enter your 14 digit BHCC number and last name

         

      • Lexis/Nexis -- Lexis-Nexis provides newspaper articles and information from other news media from the U.S. and other countries. When in Lexis-Nexis select the "NEWS" database. Articles from The New York Times and locally from The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald are available from Lexis-Nexis.

        Go to the following web address: