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Revving the Engine for Research
Mrs. Abdul & Mrs. Greenaway, Librarians
Topic Selection
• Start broad, then narrow if need be• Use encyclopedias and the Internet for
ideas• What are some keywords that relate to
the topic?• What questions do you have about the
topic?– Make a list and this will guide your research
• Which topics can you find supportive details for?– If there isn’t enough information out there,
broaden your topic or switch topics
The effect of genocide on the female
population in Rwanda
Females in Rwanda during genocide
Rwanda
Genocide
Mortality rates due to the treatment of childhood
diseases
Treating childhood diseases in third-world countries
Third-world countries
Healthcare in third-world countries
Keywords & Searching
• Common words– Dyslexia vs. learning disability
• Use thesaurus for keywords• Highlight main topic words• Avoid Google-style searching• Use names (people and places)
– Find biographies, use reference encyclopedias
Thesis Statement
Need More?
• Forming a thesis statement– Main idea of what you believe– Main idea of what you want to prove/question– Main idea that can be supported by evidence
• Use the questions from your topic to formulate a thesis statement– Example: American car companies are failing because
Americans don’t trust American-made products.– Example: Leadership from government agencies and
officials was so disorganized that casualties were inevitable during Hurricane Katrina.
Make the connections
Places to Look
School, academic, publicLibrary
• Public– Books, ILL
• School– Library Catalog– Online Databases
• Academic– Partnership with U Albany
• ILL, borrow books, databases
Don’t Wait
Resources to use
Encyclopedias, Internet, Databases,
Magazines, Journals, Newspapers, Government Publications,
Reference, Nonfiction, Multimedia, Interviews
• Current Topics
– Online Databases• Magazines
• Radio, Interviews, Video
• Newspapers
– Documentaries
– Websites
• Seasoned Topics
– Online Databases• Archived newspapers
• Archived magazines
– Encyclopedias
– Documentaries
– Reference and nonfiction books
Encyclopedias & Internet
• Common bonds• Encyclopedia
– General information– Ideas for specific searching
• Internet– General information– Do not use in bibliography– Question authority
Databases
O n lin e D a ta ba se A n a lo gy
A r tic le : P urcha se
Jo urn a ls , M a ga z in e s, N e w sp ap e rs , B o o ks , E n cyc lop ed ias : S to re
O n lin e D a ta ba se : M a ll
• JSTOR– Focus on science and humanities with full-text– Major journals and publications
• Culturegrams– Country information past and present
• Proquest– All subjects including multimedia– Primary sources, transcripts/broadcasts
• Teen Health and Wellness– Health related subjects
• ABC-CLIO– Ancient and Modern World– America at War– Issues
Magazines, Journals, Newspapers
• Magazines– Think Time and Newsweek– Best for current issues/topics
• Journals – Think Journal of American Medicine– Technical and peer-reviewed
• Newspapers– Think Times Union or The New York Times– Important dates, setting historical context
Government publications
Reference & Nonfiction
• Access the OPAC– Minerva for U Albany– Library Catalog for Albany High– Catalog for Upper Hudson Library System
• Reference– General overviews, synopses
• Nonfiction– More specific
Multimedia & Interviews
• Use Online Database
• Conduct an interview via phone or email
• Great primary sources
Plagiarism
Don’t do it
Note-Taking
• Find a style and stick to it– Index cards– Printing/Photocopying with highlighting– Notebook and/or binder
• Ideas for organization– Print question above and notes (answer) below– Color code resources and notes– Create outline and insert notes into outline
• Put research into your own words
Citations
Recap
• In-text citationsParenthesis
Author’s last name / page numberPunctuation
• Works Cited PageCitation Generator
AlphabetizeIndent
• Remember – In-text citations:
• Summarization• Direct quotes• Statistics• Paraphrasing
– Information needed:• Author’s last name
• Page number
• Remember – Works Cited:
• Resources CITED within paper
• Alphabetize • Indent after 1st line
– Information needed• Author’s name• “Article Title”• Resource Title• Publishing • Copyright• Page number
Outline
Make the connections
Library Website
JUST ASK!
Then…
The Librarians can help
Graduation