English 1213 Semrow
Prepared by:
Assistant Professor of Library
Services
Office: L308B
Phone: ext. #3267
English Comp
1213:
Why do research?
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.
What is authority and why is it
important?
Experts in a field are individuals who might have degrees in a field,
work in the discipline, and have published in the subject area.
Their opinions can be very useful in finding credible sources.
For instance, anyone can write Wikipedia articles, but only experts can
contribute to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Keep the following concepts in
mind when choosing and using resources for research:
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?
How is information organized and from where do articles originate?
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?
The
Flow
of
Information (from the University System of Georgia) depicts how
information about an
event can be represented in different types of resources. Understanding
how
information is disseminated helps to know where to look and the
attributes of each format.
How is the NSU library organized?
Information can be shared in a variety of formats and examples
are as follows:
Some (hopefully) reliable approaches
to finding good Web sources:
Best Information on the
Net
Infomine
The Internet Public Library
Librarians' Index to the Internet
JVL
NSU Subject Listing of Web Resources
Subject
Resources CLIP Tutorial
How do I cite sources using M.L.A. style?
How do I acquire materials not available at NSU?
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.
Evaluation
Of
URL CLIP
Tutorial