The following is meant to be used as support material related to a library instruction session conducted by a library instructor and an instructor from a BHCC department.
The Librarians have compiled a list of web based resources for your use.
http://del.icio.us/BHCCLibrary.htm
In case you're looking for one, here's an online dictionary!
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.
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Step 1 Choose Topic
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Step 2 Use the eLibrary database to find a magazine or newspaper article of interest to you.
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Step 3 Summarize the article that you found
Today we will work on step 2.
Finding Articles in eLibrary
BHCC Library subscribes to many subscription databases, including eLIbrary . eLibrary is listed under Articles on the Library's website, www.noblenet.org/bhcc .If you are having trouble using the database, the help files are there for you.
eLibrary contains information from a wide range of sources. Today we will be specifically looking for articles in magazines and books. When you log on to eLibrary, you will be presented with a search screen. The first part of the screen to work with is the grey area in the middle. This grey box contains the types of articles that are in eLibrary, including sources like books and pictures that you will not need. To make things easier, remove the checkmarks from all sources except newspapers and magazines.
The Results Screen and Your Assignment
After you do your search, you will get a results screen. This is a list of all the articles that meet your search criteria. As part of your assignment you have been asked to provide information about the article you read. Most of this information can be found in the citation. The citation includes information that allows someone to find the same article you did. For your assignment this includes The title of the article; the author’s name; the name of the newspaper or magazine the article was published in; and the date of the issue the article was published in.
Your search may have produced more articles than you need or articles that are not of interest to you. One thing you will notice is that you may very well have produced many more articles than you need. You may also have obtained articles you are not interested in. Use the refine option to limit your search. You may limit your search by choosing the refine option. This option allows you to add more keywords, limiting the date, and choosing a subject emphasis.
To get just the information that you want, you can use the “Advanced Search” part of the screen. You may adjust the reading level to the option that you choose. The default is All.
Finally you can start your search. At the top of the screen is a window where you type your search terms. Have fun with this! There are all sorts of keywords that will turn up information. If you are researching Nursing, you could try the following keywords: (Nursing, medicine, hospitals, doctors, treatment, etc.)
Some resources on summarizing articles
The best source for details about how to summarize a newspaper article for a class assignment is, of course, your instructor. There are some general guidelines, however, that might prove useful if you're having trouble getting started. Take a look at a few of the sites listed below to consider what goes into writing a summary.
- The Writer's Web at the University of Richmond
- Short, six part tutorial from Colorado State University
- Brief overview of writing summaries from the Writing Lab at Purdue University
- Abstracts and summaries have common elements. Many of the newspaper articles you will retrieve online have abstracts. Take at look at this site and consider both.
Remember, these are general guidelines only. It is important to check with your instructor to ensure your summary technique suits the assignment specifications for your particular course.
Citing your sources
Good habits begin
early so now is as good a time as any to take care when you take
someone's words out of its original context. It's confusing for the
listener sometimes to know what you said and what the author of the
book said unless you are clear when distinguishing the author's words
from your own. There are some helpful tips for using quotes.
But let's try to keep citing simple for this assignment. Usually it is
enough to have on hand a clear, brief statement of :
- Who is the author?
- What is the title of the work from which the sentence is taken?
- What page did you find it on?
- What is the year the book was published?
- What is the name of the publisher?
Think of it this way. What if someone in the class is really inspired by the passage you decided to take from the book you read. He may want to find the book and read the sentence as it sits on the page within the other sentences and words of the original author (within it's original context). It's your job to make sure it's easy for him to find the book you read, on his own. Give him all the ingredients he needs to perform a successful search.
After you have completed your research paper, your final step will be to compile a list of the sources you used in writing your paper. Whether you paraphrase, summarize, or quote directly from an information resource you must credit and document the source.
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.