Engaging with academic information

POLI 347 The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Crisis, War, &

PeaceSeptember 13, 2011

2

How big is the internet?

3

One Trillion URLs

+++…

Research = hard work

How many of you use Google?

Lesson 1: the web is not neutral

Lesson 2: Google doesn’t find everything

Lesson 3: academic work requires the right tools

Scholarship

Finding informatio

n

Evaluating

information

Academic integrity

Joining the scholarly conversation

Tools for understanding academic conversations

Have you ever edited an article?

• Course syllabi• Textbooks• Encyclopedias and handbooks• Country profiles• Current journals• Article databases• Guides for student writers

Understanding academic conversations

• Gale Virtual Reference Library– Contains:

• Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World• Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict• Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North

Africa• Historical Atlas of the Islamic World

• Blackwell Reference• A Political & Economic Dictionary of the

Middle East• Encyclopedia of Political Science

Encyclopedias and handbooks

• Europa World Plus• Economist Intelligence Unit• Various rankings/indicators

Country profiles

Current journals

• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences

• PAIS International• Middle Eastern & Central Asian Studies

Article databases

The literature continuum

Professional advice

Regardless of the source, read critically!

• Course syllabi• Textbooks• Encyclopedias and handbooks• Country profiles• Current journals• Article databases• Guides for student writers

Understanding academic conversations

Skills check: where would you find…

Access point for all materials & services

www.mcgill.ca/library

Subject guide

1. The web isn’t neutral

2. Google doesn’t find everything

3. Academic work requires the right tools

…in sum…

Research = hard work

• Library materials• Librarians• Professors• TAs

It’s up to YOU to pursue guidance from:

Why stop here?

www.mcgill.ca/library/library-support/orientation/

Why stop here?

McGill Library from the

Palm of Your Hand

Workshop

What are your questions?

Thank you!

megan.fitzgibbons@mcgill.ca

(514) 398-4696

• Slide 2: Pargeter by b_d_solis http://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/1411905457/. License: Attribution 2.0 Generic

• Slide 4: Data from P. Gil, "What is the invisible web?" Dec. 2010. Schematic by N. Tann, Goshen College, March 2011. 

• Slide 13: Wikipedia image copyright Wikimedia foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png

• Slide 12: Chocolate tools by By JanneM http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/3312116875/ License: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Credits