1. A
academic integrity: a fundamental principle in all research. If you quote
or re-state in your own words ideas, facts, opinions,
or quotations from another source, you must give
credit to the original source. To do otherwise is
considered plagiarism. See Citing your Research
almanac: example almanacs and yearbooks are compendia of useful
data and statistics; almanacs typically cover a broad
spectrum of topics but do not include in-depth
information. Almanacs are generally updated
annually. Some are focused on a given field. See:
Reference Sources
B
background information: provides an introduction, overview, and basic
information about a topic. See: Finding Background
Information.
bibliographic databases: (General and Subject) are databases that contain
citations to publications, such as periodical articles,
books, or dissertations. See: Research Databases.
bibliographies: example 1. A selected list of additional reading materials,
chosen for their importance and
comprehensiveness. See: Finding Background
Information. 2. A bibliography, or list of works
cited, is a complete list of all the sources you used
in your research, even if you don't cite anything
specific from every source you used in your paper.
See: Citing your Research.
biographical sources: example include information on individuals; the information
given ranges in length from several brief sentences
containing basic factual information about a person,
to quite extensive "chapters" on individuals, or
"mini-biographies". See: Reference Sources.

2. books: published in the same timeframe as conference
proceedings. See: Flow of Information.
C
catalog:
citation: the basic bibliographic information about a
resource. Includes title, author, publisher, date, page
number, etc. Citations enable others to locate the
sources used by an author. Multiple standards exist
for citing resources. See: Understanding Citations
and Citing your Research.
classification systems: help you find the item you are looking for on the
shelf. There are several different types of systems.
Most academic libraries use more than one. See:
Locating Library Materials.
call number: the code assigned to each item, regardless of
classification systems used, in a library collection.
This unique identification number is found both in
the library catalog and on the item itself. See:
Locating Library Materials.
conference papers (and are written and presented at academic conferences.
journals): Audience: Scholars, specialists, and students.
Coverage: Research results, frequently theoretical
in nature. Written By: Specialists in the field;
usually scholars with PhDs. Timelines: Current
coverage (6 months - 3 years). Length: >2,500 -
10,000 words. Content: Detailed examination,
statistical analysis, graphics, bibliography usually
included. Slant: Supposed to present
objective/neutral viewpoint, may be difficult to
comprehend because of technical language or
jargon, often sponsored by professional
associations. See: Flow of Information.
conference proceedings: Audience: Ranges from the general public to

3. specialists. Coverage: In-depth coverage of a topic,
compilation of scholarly articles on a topic. Written
By: Specialists/scholars. Timelines: varies (1 - 3
years plus). Length: 150+ pages. Content: varies
from general discussion to detailed analysis; usually
includes extensive bibliography. Slant: Perspective
entirely dependent on author, may be sponsored or
published by professional associations. See: Flow
of Information.
connectors (Boolean used to combine keywords to make a logical search
logic): statement. The most common connectors are: and,
or, not, adj, near, (). See: Search Techniques.
controlled vocabulary: terms selected from a standardized or "controlled"
list. Often used in searching a database. An example
is the Library of Congress Subject Headings. See:
Search Techniques.
criticism: example analysis, discussion, or opinion about an original
work of art (literature, music, film, dance, etc.)
current information: sources that are up-to-date and report the latest
findings or thinking about a topic.
D
database: a collection of information stored in electronic
format.It may be a collection of words, numbers,
sounds, images, or video. Databases are usually
created using special software that also enables
users to search the database in order to retrieve
information according to specific criteria. Research
databases generally contain references to published
information, such as articles that may have been
published in a newspaper or magazine. Some
research databases also include full text. See:
Research Databases.
dewey decimal system: all materials are separated into ten major classes,

4. represented by numbers. Each of these classes is
then divided and subdivided into more specific
disciplines. See: Locating Library Materials.
dictionaries: example There are numerous forms and types of dictionaries,
the most familiar are general English language
dictionaries, used for guidance on the definition,
spelling, pronunciation, and etymology (history) of
words. Subject dictionaries are another common
type. They are devoted to a specialized field. See:
Reference Sources.
directories: example Directories generally list contact information
(addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses,
URL's) for people, organizations, and/or businesses.
Many also include brief entries which further
describe the person, organization or business. See:
Reference Sources.
E
encyclopedias: example There are two basic types of encyclopedias. A
general encyclopedia covers all branches of
knowledge and is comprehensive, but general in
scope. A subject encyclopedia focuses on a specific
discipline or area of knowledge. See: Finding
Background Information.
endnotes: example References to specific ideas, facts, data, opinions,
or quotes within your paper. See: Citing Your
Research.
evaluation: Assessment of information a researcher finds and
examination of his/her research process. See:
Evaluating Information.
F
factual information: example dates, facts, statistics, and other brief aspects of a
topic.

5. footnotes: example References to specific ideas, facts, data, opinions,
or quotes within your paper. See: Citing Your
Research.
full-text databases: in addition to the citations to publications, they also
include the actual content of the item referred to by
the citation, such as an article, poem, or even a
complete book. See: Research Databases.
G
geographical sources: example Familiar geographical reference sources are maps
and atlases. Some atlases present information over
time or on a particular theme. A gazetteer is a list of
place names, and includes information such as
population, longitude and latitude. See: Reference
Sources.
guides: example (Used interchangeably with "handbooks" and
"manuals") Cover a variety of topics. Some explain
how to do something (e.g. how to format a citation
to a journal article in a bibliography, according to a
specific format). Other handbooks, manuals, and
guides provide basic information. See: Reference
Sources.
H
handbooks: example (Used interchangeably with "handbooks" and
"manuals") Cover a variety of topics. Some explain
how to do something (e.g. how to format a citation
to a journal article in a bibliography, according to a
specific format). Other handbooks, manuals, and
guides provide basic information. See: Reference
Sources.
historical information: example older materials, or those that give a historical
perspective on a topic.

6. I
image databases: Contain visual information, such as illustrations,
artwork, photographs. See: Research Databases.
information literacy: A set of abilities requiring individuals to
"recognizewhen information is needed and have the
ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the
needed information." See: Introduction.
intellectual property: It is dishonest to use someone else's work without
properly giving credit. Those ideas, research results,
opinions, and, the actual wording the original
author uses are, from a legal standpoint, the
intellectual property of the author. "Stealing" that
property is a violation of the copyright law. See:
Citing Your Research.
invisible college: Sharing or recording ideas, theories, or plans alone
in a lab or personal journal, with friends, with
colleagues, or with significant others. See: Flow of
Information.
J
journals (and conference published in print, and increasingly online. Contains
papers): multiple articles. Databases often provide citations
to journal articles. Audience: Scholars, specialists,
and students. Coverage: Research results,
frequently theoretical in nature. Written By:
Specialists in the field; usually scholars with PhDs.
Timelines: Current coverage (6 months - 3 years).
Length:>2,500 - 10,000 words. Content: Detailed
examination, statistical analysis, graphics,
bibliography usually included. Slant: Supposed to
present objective/neutral viewpoint, may be
difficult to comprehend because of technical
language or jargon, often sponsored by professional
associations. See: Flow of Information.
K

7. keyword searching: Permits you to search a database for the occurrence
of specific words or terms, regardless of where they
may appear in the database record. See: Search
Techniques.
L
library of congress (LC) the cataloging system used by the Library of
system: Congress. Assigns all materials to one or more of
245,000 subject headings, and these headings are
assigned to letters of the alphabet. See: Locating
Library Materials.
library record: personal information about you as a library user;
information may include your address, telephone
number, and information about items you have
checked out. This information is confidential, and is
accessible only to you and authorized library staff.
limits: most databases allow you to limit your search
results. You can restrict your results to only the
records that meet certain criteria. Limits include:
language, date and type of material. See: Search
Techniques.
M
magazines: Audience: General public to knowledgeable
layperson. Coverage: Popular topics, current affairs.
Written By: Professional journalists, not necessarily
specialists in the field, poets and writers of fiction,
essayists. Timelines: Very current coverage (one
week to several months). Length: 250 - 5,000
words. Content: As with newspapers, a strong
emphasis on reporting: who, what, where, when and
why; general discussion; editorial opinion;
graphics; photographs; advertisements; usually no
bibliography or list of sources. Slant: Articles may
reflect the editorial bias/slant of the magazine. See:
Flow of Information.

8. manuals: example (Used interchangeably with "guides" and
"handbooks") Cover a variety of topics. Some
explain how to do something (e.g. how to format a
citation to a journal article in a bibliography,
according to a specific format). Other handbooks,
manuals, and guides provide basic information. See:
Flow of Information.
N
natural language accepted by some larger databases and web search
searching: engines. Simply type in your search query using
plain English. See: Search Techniques.
numeric databases: contain primarily statistical data. They may require
knowledge of specific software that enables the user
to extract specific information and display it in
different ways, such as in tables, charts, or graphs.
See: Research Databases.
O
original research report: results or findings from a study, experiment, or
other research project.
P
parenthetical references: example references to specific ideas, facts, data, opinions, or
quotes within your paper. See: Citing Your
Research
peer review: a process through which a research paper or other
piece of writing is critically reviewed prior to
publication, by individuals with in-depth knowledge
of the authors' area of research or investigation, to
ensure that the work under review is accurate,
reliable, well-written, and worthy of publication;
the process is generally guided by an editor who
makes the final decision

9. periodicals: publications that are issued periodically. Examples
include newspapers, magazines, and journals.
phrases: useful in searching for databases. Essentially the
same as requesting that your words appear
immediately adjacent to one another, in the exact
order you type them. See: Search Techniques.
popular materials: example books and articles intended for a general audience.
These materials tend to have a popular perspective
and cover news, current events, or human interest
stories.
primary source: example original material, or material that describes an event
by someone who witnessed it. Some examples of
primary sources include newspaper articles written
at the time an event occurred, original works
(novels, poems, films, etc.), and first-hand accounts
(interviews, diaries, memoirs, etc.)
R
reference sources: Audience: Ranges from general public to specialists
Coverage: Factual information, the "Big Picture,"
overviews, and summaries Written By:
Specialists/scholars Timelines: Depends -- articles
typically appear in encyclopedias 4 - 10 years later
Content: convenient summaries of knowledge to
date; may include data, statistics, directories,
bibliographies Slant: supposed to present
objective/neutral viewpoint; may be sponsored or
published by professional associations. See: Flow
of Information.
relevance: 1. Appropriateness of a resource, including web
pages, articles, books, and databases, to a research
project and topic. See, Determining the Information
You Need. 2. [Search engine] results are usually
returned in ranked order by relevance. Relevance
may be determined by the number of times words
from your search query appear in the document,

10. where the words occur, and how close together the
words appear. See: Search Techniques.
S
scholarly materials: example books, articles, and reports of research written by
and for scholars or professionals, with an in-depth,
narrow focus. Articles are chosen for publication
through a peer-review process.
search query: Various combinations of keywords to create a very
detailed and specific search. See: Search
Techniques.
search statement: The actual search as you type in a database. See:
Search Techniques.
secondary source: material that reports or comments on a primary
source, event, or work. Some examples of
secondary sources include journal and magazine
articles, books, reviews, and commentaries.
statistical sources: example The bulk of the information found in statistical
sources is in numerical form. Some statistical
resources, summarizes statistics collected by
national governemnts or historical statistics. See:
Reference Sources.
style manual: A guide to citing sources. It explains what
information to include for each source, and shows
examples for the bibliography, as well as for the
notes or parenthetical references. Researchers in
different disciplines tend to prefer specific style
manuals. See: Citing Your Research.
subject headings: Official terms used to precisely describe the content
of books, articles, videos, or other materials and
publications. Librarians, indexers, or sometimes the
authors themselves assign the terms by reviewing

11. the content of the item and selecting appropriate
terms from an official, standardized list. Sometimes
called controlled vocabulary. See: Search
Techniques.
superintendent of often used for government documents. Every
documents (SuDoc) executive department and agency, the Judiciary,
numbers: Congress, and other major independent
establishments have a unique alphabetical identifier.
Documents will be found on the shelf alphabetically
by this symbol. Numbers are added to the
alphabetic identifiers to distinguish bureaus and
offices within major departments. See: Locating
Library Materials.
T
thesaurus: example 1. Thesauri are arranged like dictionaries, but
provide alternate word choices (synonyms and
antonyms) rather than defninitions. See: Reference
Sources.
2. A list of subject headings. See: Search
Techniques.
truncation: Allows you to search for alternate forms of words.
Shorten the word to its root, then add a special
character (*, $, !). See: Search Techniques.
Y
yearbooks: example Almanacs and Yearbooks are compendia of useful
data and statistics; almanacs typically cover a broad
spectrum of topics but do not include in-depth
information. See: Reference Sources.