This document provides an overview of library resources and research strategies presented by Traci Welch Moritz, the Public Services Librarian at Ohio Northern University. It outlines 7 steps for conducting research, including identifying topics, finding background information, using databases to find articles, evaluating sources, organizing findings, and citing sources. It also discusses library databases, the catalog system, interlibrary loans, copyright and plagiarism policies. Moritz provides contact information for reference librarians available to assist students with their research needs.
Inclusivity Essentials_ Creating Accessible Websites for Nonprofits .pdf
Writing Seminar Pitts Spring 2012
1. ENGL 1231
Pitts
Traci Welch Moritz
Public Services Librarian
Assistant Professor
Heterick Memorial Library
2. Introduction
Welcome
Professor Moritz, t-moritz@onu.edu
Feel free to visit or email
Librarians on duty 8-4:30, 6-9 Mon –
Thurs, 8-4:30 Friday and 10-3:30 on
Sundays
IM and Chat Reference available certain
times
4. Libraries at ONU
•Taggert Law Heterick
Library Memorial Library
•Library for Law
school, Undergraduate
accessible to all Library, accessi
ble to all
5. ONU card = Library ID
Remember to
always use all
11 digits!
6. What we’ll do today
How to do research
How to use library
resources to do research
What resources to use
when doing research
7. How to do Research
Seven Steps of the Research Process
Amended with permission by the Librarians at the Olin and Uris Libraries of Cornell University
STEP 1: IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC
STEP 2: FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
STEP 3: FIND INTERNET RESOURCES
*STEP 4: USE DATABASES TO FIND PERIODICAL
ARTICLES
STEP 5: EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND
STEP 6: PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
STEP 7: CITE WHAT YOU FIND
8. Start at the beginning
IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC
•State your topic as a question
•Identify main concepts or keywords
•Test the topic -- Look for keywords and
synonyms and related terms for the information sought
Subject headings in catalogs
Built-in thesauri in many databases
Reference sources
Textbooks, lecture notes, readings
STEP Internet
Librarians, Instructors
1
9. Researching
FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
STEP
2
10.
•Highly structured information environment
Way individual records are arranged
Subject headings
Catalog software optimized for above
Deal with material in many formats
•Implies heavy human involvement
•Emphasis on precision
•Preparation relatively labor-intensive
•Implies a learning curve to use successfully
11. Background Research -- Books
Click on Library Catalog box at the home
page of the library
13. Find a Book -- POLAR
•Looks in several locations
(usually subject, article title,
abstracts or contents)
•Does not require an exact
match
•Generates comparatively large
number of hits (not precise)
•Good if you are not familiar with
terminology
15. Find a Book -- OhioLINK
Materials owned by all Ohio
colleges, universities, several public libraries
Ca. 10 million items
Link from POLAR permits you to submit
requests. Available from Heterick home
page
Most requests arrive in 2-3 working days
No charge
Limited to 100 items at a time
MAY RENEW UP TO 4 TIMES
16. Find a Book -- OhioLINK
Materials owned by all Ohio
colleges, universities, several public libraries
Ca. 10 million items
Link from POLAR permits you to submit
requests. Available from Heterick home page
Most requests arrive in 3-5 working days
No charge
Limited to 100 items at a time
May keep up to 84 days
17. What about Google?
Does the information located
satisfy the research need?
Is the information factual and
unbiased?
See handout “Critically Analyzing
Information Sources” the Writing
STEP Seminar Research Guide
3
18. What about Google?
Google and Wikipedia aren’t intrinsically
evil, just use them for the correct purpose
in your research.
19. Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Note: If
working ONU buys
off Full-text
database Google asks
campus to link to
please see content
the OhioLINK
Permits
“google Google to Run Google
scholar” link to full-text Scholar
tab at the Search
Research
Guide for ONU user sees
licensed full-text
Writing articles
Seminar
20. CRAAP test
Timeliness of the
Currency
information.
Depth and importance of the
Relevance/Coverage information.
Source of the information.
Authority
Reliability of the information
Accuracy
Possible bias present in the
Purpose/Objectivity information.
21. Databases
Often tools for locating journal
and newspaper articles
Most are subject-specific – some
multi-disciplinary
Many give access to full text of
STEP articles
4 Heterick has 250+
35.
Reserve means the periodical/journal is held at
the front desk.
Current means the issue is new and is available
on the open shelves beside the computer lab.
All others are upstairs and arranged
alphabetically by title.
Bound means it’s out of the building
Arrived means it’s on the open shelves
Expected means it’s not here yet
36. Evaluating resources
Annotated Bibliography
to see what is
Allows you
out there
Helps you narrow your
topic and discard any
irrelevant materials
Aids in developing the
thesis
STEP Makes you a better scholar
5
37. Pulling it all together
Managing the resources found:
Printing
Saving
Exporting
STEP
6
39. Pulling it all together
Accuracy. If your page lists the author
and institution that published the page and
provides a way of contacting him/her and…
Authority. If your page lists the author
credentials and its domain is preferred
(.edu, .gov, .org, or .net), and, …
Objectivity. If your page provides
accurate information with limited
advertising and it is objective in presenting
STEP the information, and…
6
40. Pulling it all together
page is current and
Currency. If your
updated regularly (as stated on the page)
and the links (if any) are also up-to-date,
and…
Coverage. If you can view the
information properly--not limited to fees,
browser technology, or software
requirement, then…
You may have a Web page that
could be of value to your
STEP research!
6
41. Cite what you find using
standard formats
There are 3 citation styles that are in
frequent used at ONU. They are:
•MLA (Modern Language Association)
•APA (American Psychological
Association)
•CMS (Chicago Manual of Style)
STEP
7
43. Research Ethics
Copyright - intended to promote
the arts and the sciences. It does this
by providing authors of original
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, a
nd certain other intellectual works
the ability to control how their work
is used by others.
44. Research Ethics
Plagiarism - “...the wrongful
appropriation or purloining, and
publication as one’s own, the ideas or
the expression of the ideas
(literary, artistic, musical, mechanical,
etc.) of an other.” – see Heterick Help
Page and Student Code of
45. Research Ethics
In other words, to plagiarize is to
copy someone else’s work without
giving him/her credit.
Plagiarism is not always intentional. You can do
1
it by accident, but it is still against the law. If
you ever have a question about whether
something is plagiarized, please ask!
1. How not to plagiarize your report -- Shannon Hosier Mersand
46. Research Ethics
2
How may I avoid plagiarizing?
Identify any information that would not be considered
common knowledge
Unless in direct quotes, make sure you paraphrase what the
original author said
Use a quote if you can’t think of a way to paraphrase the
information
always, Always, ALWAYS cite the source of any
information in your paper which is not considered common
knowledge. If you are unsure if something is common
knowledge, cite it!
2 How not to plagiarize your report -- Shannon Hosier Mersand
47. HELP
Traci Welch Moritz, MLS
Public Services Librarian
Assistant Professor
Heterick Memorial Library
Reference
t-moritz@onu.edu
Librarians on 419-772-2473
duty 419-772-2185
8a-4:30p Mon-Fri
6p-9p Mon-Thur
10a-3:30p
Sundays