Presentation to NUF class of 2013 discussing library resources and research strategies.

1. NUF:
Electronic Information Research
Prof. Linda Rath
Graduate Services Librarian
Linda.Rath@baruch.cuny.edu
646.312.1622

2. Today’s workshop …
• focuses on research for capstone paper
• is geared for “remote” research
(off-campus and/or outside NYC)
• will have demonstrations & hands-on
exercises in small groups
• step-by-step research process

3. You will be able to …
• identify relevant library databases for a topic
• build basic search strings (Boolean)
• find scholarly, peer-reviewed articles
• find the full-text of articles
• identify “local” resources

4. http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/nuf

5. http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/

6. General Research Process
Describe your topic / What is your question?
Create Keywords List / Search terms
What type(s) of information do you need?
Where do you find this information?
Who produces this information?
Evaluate information
Integrate information / Your Primary Research /
Write paper
Cite information (sources/creators)

7. Sources for Capstone Paper
Analytical Sources
Academic &
Scholarly Articles
(Peer Reviewed)
Books
Reports/
Papers
Statistics
News Sources Newspapers, trade journals, newswires, websites
Newman Library: http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu *also contains scholarly/peer-reviewed articles

8. Sources for Capstone Paper Multidisciplinary databases:
•Academic Search Complete
•JSTOR (historical)
Analytical Sources
Academic & Subject specific databases:
•Education Full Text
Scholarly Articles
•Medline
(Peer Reviewed) •Social Sciences Full Text
•and etc.
•CUNY’s library catalog
Books •Local library catalog
•WorldCat (database of catalogs)
Reports/ •PAIS International*
•PolicyFile
Papers •websites (think tanks, govt., etc.)
Statistics •Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
•Social Explorer (Census, maps, etc.)
•websites (local/state/fed govt, etc.)
Lexis Nexis Academic, Factiva, Ethnic Newswatch*
News Sources
Alt-Press Watch*, websites (organizations, associations, government, etc.)
Newman Library: http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu *also contains scholarly/peer-reviewed articles

9. Topic Development
• Choose topic that interests you
• Is topic too broad or too narrow?
• Work within your time constraints
• Discuss topic with your advisor/mentor
• Your literature review process may focus
your topic

10. Identify the Key Concepts
• To what extent did blogs influence election
outcomes in Broward County Government?

11. Brainstorm stage-
Create Keywords List for searching
blogs, bloggers
elections
social media
campaigns
citizen journalism
web 2.0
social web
political communication
government
impact Broward County
influence county government
local government

12. Identify appropriate databases
• Go to the Newman Library’s databases
page and use “Search for a Database by
selecting Subject”
• Go to NUF Library Guide,
Finding Articles tab - Key NUF Databases
• Identify public library or local university
library databases (if open to public)
Use Research Worksheet to write down & keep track of databases:
http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/data/files2/61768/reference-worksheet.pdf

13. Identify databases:
blogs elections government
• Academic Search • Academic Search Complete • PAIS International
Complete
• PAIS International • PolicyFile
• Communication &
• Science Direct • Sage Journals
Mass Media
Complete • Social Sciences Full Text • Social Sciences Full Text
• Business Source • Sage Journals
Complete
• Sage Journals
Use Research Worksheet to write down & keep track of databases:
http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/data/files2/61768/reference-worksheet.pdf

14. Searching a database
Boolean operators
• Use AND, OR and (…) to combine your
keywords

15. Searching a database
Boolean operator AND
Use AND to narrow your search and retrieve
records containing all of the words it
separates
Example:
Blogs AND influence AND elections

16. Searching a database
Boolean operator OR
Use OR to broaden your search and retrieve
records containing any of the words it
separates.
Examples:
• Blogs OR blogosphere OR social media
• Elections OR campaigns
• Influence OR impact

17. Searching a database
Use AND, OR and (…) to string all your
terms together
Example:
(Blogs OR blogosphere OR social media) AND
(Elections OR campaigns) AND
(Influence OR impact)

18. Searching a database
Here is the same search string in a library
entered in a database …

19. Searching a database
• Field (or segment) searching looks for
keywords within a specific area of a
database record, such as title, author,
subject, abstract, etc.

20. Searching a database
• Proximity searching finds words near each
other in an article. (Check Help pages in
database on how to perform proximity
searches.)

21. Searching a database
• Truncate/Truncation symbol searches for
variant endings to the root of a word.
(Example: comput* finds computer or computing)

22. Searching a database
Fields and Proximity searching
Fields/segments
Proximity searching, within 5 words of each other

23. Searching a database
• Sometime the database you are
searching only has a citation or abstract
to a record/article.
• Click on the “Find it!” button to see if the
full-text can be found in another Newman
Library database.

24. Searching a database
You can limit your search results to
“Scholarly” or “Peer Reviewed.”
Example from PAIS International database

25. Searching a database
You can limit your search results to
“Scholarly” or “Peer Reviewed.”
Example from Academic Search
Complete database

26. E-journal/Newspaper Demo
• How to determine if the journal you want is
available electronically in a Newman
Library database

27. E-journal/Newspaper @ Newman
1. Library homepage
2. ”Journals/Magazines” link
3. “Full Text Journal” link
4. Type in title of journal & click on Search
5. If database(s) appears, check years of
coverage & then connect

28. Citation Management
• Use the Research Worksheet
– PDF on NUF Library Guide
• Use citation management software
– RefWorks (library database)
– Zotero (firefox extension)
http://www.zotero.org/

29. Citing Information
• Use a style guide (APA, MLA, etc.)
• A good online source for help is:
Purdue’s OWL:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
• Many databases have output options
(email, print, etc. in APA, MLA and etc.)

30. “Local” Resources
• Public library systems
• Academic libraries (one that has programs
covering your topic)
• Find a library,
http://www.worldcat.org/libraries
Exercise: Go to URL above & type in your
home zip code.

31. Other sources
• Think tanks
(Example: Pew Internet & American Life or Pew
Hispanic Center)
– 2011 "Go-To" Think Tanks Report for ranked list
• Government agencies
(local, state, federal)
• Trade associations