Library Instruction for Liberal Arts

Prepared by:

Sarah Brick Archer

Assistant Professor of Library Services

Office:  L308B

Phone:  ext. #3267

Library CLIP Tutorials

General Overview for English 1213 -- Reviews basics skills such as the physical library, searching for books, and locating periodicals.
Research Strategy -- Provides steps and concepts involving the research process.
Evaluation of Sources -- Provides criteria for evaluating the quality of any resource.
Plagiarism -- Description of plagiarism and suggestions about how to avoid it.
Citations -- How to cite most common resources using MLA and APA

Research can lead to information; information can lead to knowledge, and knowledge is powerful. All of the informational resources available originated from someone being curious about something, exploring it, and sharing the findings.

The cycle of information is an interesting one.  Research starts with an idea.  Someone becomes curious about something and wants to explore it.  Literature reviews are conducted, empirical evidence is gathered.  The researcher may wish to cross disciplinary lines and take a literary theory and apply it to another field.  The researcher writes an article.  If the article adds to the body of knowledge or presents a new concept, a journal in that discipline might be interested in publishing it. Article submissions go through a reviewing process in which multiple reviewers will read and comment on the article.  This is an example of a refereed journal article. If it passes the review process, the article is published in the journal.  Indexers read journal articles and assign subject headings to the articles and place the citation in indexes (such as MLA Bibliography).  Researchers comb indexes to find articles, and the whole cycle starts over.  This is a cycle that occurs right here at NSU.  Our faculty and students are publishing.  You can become a part of the process, too. Exciting, isn't it?

Maps
     Physical Overview to the Library CLIP Tutorial
Library of Congress
Hours

An example of a topic:  Who is Candy Lightner and how did she make a difference in the world?

Encyclopedia of World Biography
Web information
Magazine article
Book

Keyword vs. controlled vocabulary, boolean logic
Research Strategies CLIP Tutorial     

        

                         Locating Internet resources

Internet Search Engines Available

Assess the quality of the Web sites listed below:
Feline Reactions to Bearded Men

                         Critically assessing sources

1. Identify authors who are outstanding in their fields, determine the credentials of the author. Does the author have a degree in the field, is the author a professor?
2. Date of publication--is it recent? On Web pages, do the links work?
3. Does the publisher have a good reputation? Is it published by a professional association or university press? Is the journal refereed? On Web pages, check the domain (.edu is educational, .gov is government, .com is commercial, .net is network, .org is organizational)
4. How was the resource received by the critics?
5. Completeness of the material. Does the source have an index, bibliography?
6. Is the language slanted or biased?
7. Does it include well known facts or research studies? Is the information complete, accurate, objective?
8. What is the purpose of the resource?  Is it for the general public, children, scholars? Is the goal to market persuade, educate?

 

The CLIP Tutorial on Citations provides a good overview to citing resources. The M.L.A. Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is located on the first floor at the call number, Ready Ref. LB 2369.G53.  Also, try the MLA Web site. For help in citing sources, try KnightCite Bibliography Machine.
                                     

Interlibrary loan is available free of charge in which books and copies of articles can be borrowed from other libraries.  Allow approximately two weeks for interlibrary loan requests to be received.

 

How do I find these library resources through the Web?

Many of the resources listed above are available through the John Vaughan Library Home Page. With an NT password and userid, these resources may be used from any location.