Course Instructor
- Cub Kahn
- Contact:
Finding Books in catalogs
- Use the Library catalog to find books in OSU Libraries.
- Expand your search to the Summit Catalog if you can't find what you need in the OSU Libraries' collection. (how? )
- Worldcat lets you search nationally and internationally for books - use this if you need material not found in the library catalog or Summit.
Click "read more" to learn more about searching the library catalog...
Read moreUsing the web as a research tool
Recommended for: both assignments
If you plan on searching Google, or another search engine to access information on the web, you will want to be sure and know how to evaluate what you are finding.
*For this class, Wikipedia, is not allowed.
Internet sources As we all know, anyone can contribute to the web. Searching the free web is easy but making sense of your search results in an efficient way is another story. Why bother with the web if there is so much extra clutter to weed through? A few reasons to use the web are to find background information, news sources, government documents and resources (such as the mapping tools described above), and more. One thing that makes the free web different from all the other sources discussed here - there truly is no established filtering mechanism (no scholar selected the sites, no library purchased the materials, no government agency takes responsibility for the content). It is entirely up to you to evaluate what you find. Ask me if you need a refresher on evaluating websites (or review Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages from Cornell).
Suggested Databases
Recommended for: research paper
Note: If you are accessing the databases from off campus, you will need to login with your ONID information.
These database can link you with news, magazine, and research articles. These could help you fulfill the requirement to use a variety of resources for the presentation and research paper.
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Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier provides full text for nearly 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Also includes magazines and newspapers.
Full-text and abstract/index: 1975-present
Coverage Dates: 1975 - present -
Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (ESPM)
Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary index to research articles from all fields in the environmental sciences. NOT full text - you will need to find the articles from other library sources.
Abstracts and index: 1967-present
Coverage Dates: 1967 - present
Tips for using research databases
Recommended for: research paper
1. A good place to start is your textbook. You will find references at the end of each chapter. In addition, the book will give you ideas for keywords to use in your research activities.
Unfortunately, as you may have already discovered, research databases are each a little different.
As with library catalogs, most databases have similar features.
For example, some common features include:
- Choosing whether to search through several fields at once (often the default) or choose just one field (such as author or title fields)
- Using quotes ("") to make phrases - "global commons", "land management"
- Using AND will combine words and phrases (all need to be present in the document for it to be retrieved) - "global commons" AND fisheries
- Using OR to broaden your search -- agriculture OR farming
- Using an asterisk (*) to truncate words - fish* allows searching for fishing, fisheries, fisherman, fishery, fishes, fishy
Some databases will be a little different, luckily most have tips on searching that you can get to from the search interface - use them.
Now I have a list of articles, what next?
Recommended for: research paper
You have probably discovered by now that only some of the research databases actually provide you with complete articles (aka full text databases). Many, however, are finding aids and provide indexing and abstracting, but not full text. Some of the most comprehensive and useful databases are not full text.
The next step, if you are still looking for the actual article, is to determine if the library owns the journal.
Using the citation information for the article, search for the title of the journal (not the title of the article) in the OSU Libraries catalog.
For example, if I had the following information, obtained through Academic Search Premier,
Learning to make pottery in the prehispanic American Southwest
Author: Crown, Patricia L.
Source: Journal of Anthropological Research; Winter2001, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p451, 19p, 3 charts, 5bw
I would search the catalog for the title of the journal (listed as "source" here) and determine if we owned volume 57, issue number 4. Both print and electronic copies of journals are listed in the catalog record.
What if the library doesn't own a journal I need?
If OSU Libraries does not own the journal you need access to, you can request articles through Interlibrary Loan.
Hint: Interlibrary loan (ILL) can be fast or slow - it depends on which library will supply the article. Start your research early if you plan to use the service.
Learn more about interlibrary loan here .
Course Guide
Sections below
- Presentation tips and help (presentation)
- Finding books (both assignments)
- Using the web (both assignments)
- Finding photos (presentation)
- Suggested research databases (research paper)
- Finding maps and statistics for your region (both assignments)
- Tips for finding articles/using research databases (research paper)
- You have a list of articles, what next? (research paper)
- Style guides - APA or MLA (both assignments)
Presentation Tips and Help
You can find a lot of advice online regarding presentation development, particularly if you are using PowerPoint. A select few of those are listed below, but it is not a comprehensive list.
Take what you need from each of the resources, but do not feel like you have to address every suggestion - some suggestions will not apply to this class presentation. Depending on your comfort with PowerPoint or other tools, public speaking, graphic layout (for pictures and maps), group work, etc, bits of advice useful to your classmates may not be as useful to you.
*Tip: Preparation is key. Particularly since this is a group presentation, you will want to ensure that your talk flows well during transitions between speakers.
Presentation GuidanceFrom the journal Computational Biology available from Public Library of Science: Ten Simple Rules for Making Good Oral Presentations
(Advice that goes beyond one discipline and is well written)
From Microsoft: Tips for Delivering Amazing Presentations
(Business perspective, includes powerpoint advice)
From a Computer Science Professor at Berkeley (Jonathan Shewchuk): Giving an Academic Talk
(Computer science perspective, but much of the advice applies to any presentation)
Additional help, places to practice and do group work
From the library: You can reserve study rooms (not enhanced, bring or check out a laptop) at the library Circulation desk. Be sure and ask for one that's big enough to hold your group.
Need additional help learning PowerPoint or need a place to practice?
Contact Student Multimedia Services for a room large enough to practice your presentation.
Contact the Computer Help Desk for software troubleshooting (ie power point)
Both SMS and the Computer help desk are located on the 2nd floor of the library).
Finding photos for your presentation
There are lots of resources on the free web to find photos. As with other material you use in your presentation you want to be sure to give credit to the source of the photo.
*Tip: Image searching is tricky. Be sure you are finding images that truly represent your region.
- Think about where the picture is coming from (who took it?, is it well described?)
- Are you finding details that represent what you have read about the region?
- If a photo is from a collection, you may want to browse for a moment to see if the collection seems to represent the place well
Use advanced search to narrow your search to a specific domain (i.e. ".gov"), choose file types, or set filtering preferences.
Example using Google Images: Google "Santa Fe Art" search.
Search the photos using this online photo sharing site.
Short tutorial on searching the Flickr Commons (by L. Rielly)
Government photo sources
US Government Photos and Multimedia - From USA.gov. Browse to a particular collection (like National Parks, or National Archives) or search through the collections in the search box on the right.
Images Canada - Combined effort of libraries, archives, museums, and universities in Canada. A good place to find photos but the search feature can be slow.
Finding Maps and Statistics About Your Region
Recommended for: (both assignments)
Online interactive tools for statistics and map-making
These tools typically allow you to print or save maps. However, the file type is not always easy to work with to re-size for inclusion in presentations and papers. If you are able to save your map as an image or get a decent screen shot, you can import it into PowerPoint or your paper and edit it (sizing, cropping).
Canada
Provides maps and mapping tools for a variety of themes. Includes historical maps from earlier editions of the Atlas of Canada under the "featured items" link.
The Canadian counterpart to the US Census Bureau. Includes mapping tools and statistical reports about Canada. Also provides a catalogue of reports about Canada.
United States
The US Census Bureau can provide you with a lot of background information on your region. Although organized by state (and county, metro region, etc) you will find that some of the mapping and data tools allow you to zoom in on a section of the country.
Make your own map or choose from a few pre-made maps by broad subject. Focus is on the "patterns, conditions, and trends of American life". Also includes Natural Hazards information under the "Climate" and "Geology" layers.
Similar to the National Atlas but with more focus on natural resources and geospatial data.
What if you don't want to make your own map?
Digitized maps are available from the Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas. Mix of historic and current maps.
This is an HISTORIC collection of map images from atlases and other sources.
Books and scanning in Valley Library
You can also use the abundant collection of atlases that the Valley Library owns. Many of these are located on the 3rd floor across the hall from the Archives reference desk. These atlases don't circulate. Please contact me or the reference desk if you need to check one out for a limited time.
There are black and white scanners on the 2nd floor of the library in the copy room. You can use these to copy an image for your presentation. Be sure and get all the citation information you need while you have the atlas in your hands.
Style Guides
Recommended for: both assignments
Citing your sources appropriately is an important part of writing a term paper. Early in the assignment, you should choose a citation style and be consistent in its application to your paper. Remember, in this course, your instructor requires that you use MLA or APA formatting for in-text citations and your bibliography.
Here are some links that can help you use the style guide of choice.
However, your best bet is to use the complete print version of either guide. These are available in the library.
APA (American Psychological Association)
Book: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Call number: BF 76.7 .P83 2010 (at reference desk & in circulating collection)
Online: Recommended Diana Hacker - choose "Social Sciences" for APA section
APA Documentation from U Wisconsin
OR
Look for the APA Formatting and Style Guide under the "Research and Citation" section from The OWL at Purdue
MLA (Modern Language Association)
Book: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Call number: LB2369 .G53 2010 (at reference desk & in circulating collection)
Online: Recommended Diana Hacker - choose "Humanities" for MLA section
MLA Documentation from U Wisconsin
OR
Look for the "MLA Formatting and Style Guide" under the "Research and Citation" section from The OWL at Purdue
Using online sources
Having trouble citing online resources? Check out Online: a reference guide to using internet sources by Bedford/St. Martin's.
Overview of Citing (why, when, etc)
For more information about citing your sources, check out the citing sources section of the library's research tutorial.
Last Update: October 14, 2009 08:07 | Tagged with: GEO329 Kahn
