LIBR 105:

Research in the Information Age

Spring 2005

(Because there's more to research than Google!)

Tuesday, May 10.

There's a concept related to Boolean logic called a Venn Diagram, which I have not shown you in class. Here's a little interactive tool, in case you want to take a look at it: Boolean Machine

Sunday, May 8

If you want to know more detailed criteia for the final project, here are the Final Project Rubrics. (They're in a word document now, but I'll turn them into pdfs on Monday). I've also added more helpful details (hopefully to clear up questions and make it easier) to the Final Project page. Also check the glossary -- it's been updated.

Saturday, May 7

I forgot to post the Blog topic for this week on the Assignments page. I added it today to the Assigments page. (so all you folks who print things out, remember the beauty/curse of the web is that it's fluid and ever-changing!). But I'll put it here, too:

Your reading assigment for this week is to read a fun chapter, "Find It!" in The Rough Guide to the Internet, which is on reserve (look up the call number in the online catalog!). There's so much information in that chapter that I'm confident everyone will learn at least three new things. In this week's posting, please share three things that you learned (searching tips, web sites, etc.) from the reading.

I'm still working on my class notes on the Week 4 page... they should be up by Saturday afternoon.

Here's a great batch of Q&As! (let me know if you like this format better than the other format)

Q. What is the difference between an endnote and a footnote?

A: Both terms refer to the the location of the bibliographic citations for sources used in a work. Endnotes are placed at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs; footnotes are placed on a separate page at the of the work. At Clark College, most instructors require making a parenthetical reference to the source (usually the author's last name) and listing the full bibliographic citation for each source, alphabetically, on a separate page called a Bibliography.

Q: RE: We can't each source that we gather in its entirety, so then are we allowed to construct the abstract by quoting from the dust jacket or introduction pages?

A. That method would not be my first option. You're right, you don't need to read the books, but you should scan them enough to be able to do a cursory evaluate. Look at the Table of Contents: what is covered? Does this ook cover more than another book you found? Scan the Introduction or Preface. Is there an Index or Appendixes? Are they useful? Is there a book that's more up-to-date? Have you found other references to this author or title in other sources? That said, sometimes the only place to find information about the author is on the dust jacket, in which case, go ahead and use it.

 

Q: How should we arrange the items on our annotated bibliography? Do you want all the books together and all the articles together?

A: Following MLA guidelines, you should arrange the items alphabetically by author/editor (or, if no author, as in the case of some websites, by whatever is listed first). I'll be able to tell what type of source each oneis by the format of the citation. For example, citations for book have publishers and cities; citations for articles have volume, issue numbers and page numbers.

 

Q: Are there periodical indexes that are dedicated to individual categories? i.e. an individual periodical index dedicated to only to newspapers and then another only for journals, etc.?

A: Yes. Check the "Subject Guide: Databases & Indexes" on the Cannell Library web site. (Left nav bar --> articles and newspapers) The New York Times Historical is an example of an index just for the NYT; we have it in print and online. Medline is an index that indexes scholalry journals and trade publications related to medicine.

 

Q: The examples given between "Trade Publications" and "Popular Magazines" were confusing. For example, For Trade: Publisher's Weekly, Information Today. For Popular: Scientific American, Psychology Today.

A: These are often confusing. Think of it this way: If you are a professional, the periodicals you read to keep current in your field are trade publications. For example, I read Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal to keep up with who's who and what's what in library-land. To keep up with the scholarly research, I read College & Research Libraries. A psychologist might read Psychology Today, but it's really written more for lay people who are interested in psychology topics; psychologists have Monitor on Psychology and other trade publications to keep up with the gossip in their field.

 

Q: What is the difference between a database and an index.

A: The words are often used interchangeably, but indexes have been around in print for a lot longer than databases. A database is a searchable collection of records, usually related to each other in some way. For example, we have the New York Times Index in print -- you can look up your topic and get a bibliographic citation to an article in the New York Times. We also have the NYT index in an online database, which, as you know, delivers more powerful search options than the year-by-year print index. (By the way, not all databases are online. A CR-ROM encyclopedia, for example, is technically a database of articles from an encyclopedia).

 

Tuesday, May 3

One of the reading assignments for today had a typo. It should be: Locate the Encyclopedia of Community in the reference collection, (Ref HM 756 .E53 2003)... see the assignments page for the rest of the details, which are correct.

I revised the Search Strategy Worksheet -- It's a lot easier to understand (I think) and more accurately reflects the steps taken in real-life searching.

• Q: If we make mistakes on our assignments, will we have the opportunity to cirrect them to bring our grade up?
• A: Yes. I have revised the final project slightly: all of the search logs will be turned in along with the annotated bibliography and essay. At this time, if you have made improvements to your search logs (found better sources, taken a closer look at the material, etc.) I will replace the original grade with the revised grade. See the Final Project page for more details.

• Q. How may quarters of research until this becomes habitual skills?
• A. If you can acquire a firm grasp of the principles of information literacy, you'll have the critical thinking skills necessary to handle research -- after that, it's just practice! And remember, the reference librarian's job is to help you keep learning, so don't be shy about asking questions when you get stuck!

• Q: Boolean -- I still have questions about exactly how they work.
• A: Take a look at the Boolean Practice page I posted and see if that helps. We'll also look at them more in class during Weeks 4 and 5.

• Q: What does Boolean mean?
• A: The word Boolean refers to George Boole, a famous mathematician who is known for symolic logic. Check out this definition: Boolean. In database searching, the concept Boolean refers to using AND, OR, and NOT to retrieve more useful and relevant information.

• Q: Are we going to have in class time to get back work completed?
• A: Absolutely not! We have a very limited amount of class time, and a lot of material still to be covered. Homework needs to be completed on your own time. We may have some brief, hands-on activities that could give you a head start on upcoming homework, however.

• Q: Why do people waste their time and others by being disruptive?
• A: *sigh*. I wish I had an answer to that question!

Sunday, May 1

Need some more practice with Boolean operators? I've posted a page that has all the topics teams used in the Search Strategy Worksheets, plus some possible solutions. Take a look... it's called Boolean Practice.

I also revised the Search Strategy Worksheet to make it easier to understand (I hope). I'll post a link to it Monday morning, so check back!

Thursday, April 28.

I've posted the details about the Final Project.

Friday, April 22. Happy Earth Day!

Be sure to check the new Glossary that I'm building just for this class. Let me know if you find any typos or things that could be explained better.

For those of you who want to read more on you own, I've put a book on reserve. It's called Research strategies: finding your way through the information fog, call number Reserve Classified Z 710 .B23 2004. It's available at the check out desk; you can check it out overnight.

On the Class Participation sheets I ask for questions you still have. Following are answers to the questions from week 1 and week 2:

• Q: How many pages will we be required to have for our paper. When is it due?
• A: You don't have a paper, but you do have a research process essay that will provide you the opportunity to demonstrate what you've learned about research. It will be due the Thursday following the last week of class, May 19th.
  
• Q:What to make for dinner?
• A: Well, you could try the Google Recipe Search. It's not really from Google, it's from those Stanford wiz-kids. Just type in some ingredients and it finds recipes. Or, you could try Recipe Source, there's some pretty yummy stuff in there. Be sure to make enough for everyone!
  
• Q: How will I reject (know, decide, throw out) the options that don't work for my subject without reading everything?
• A: Good question. The best thing is to start knowing exactly what you want, then use the right search strategy to find it (we'll do search strategies week 3) Then, practice skimming abstracts and contents notes.
  
• Q: Will my mind mapping topic be used throughout the end of the course and the final essay assignment?
• A: Yes. Hopefully you're using a topic that will be useful to you, either in life or in another class.

Questions from Week 1:

• Q: Not clear on extra credit, web log.
• A: The Web Log is worth 25 points extra credit if you set it up and use it throughout the class. If you want to set up your own web log, set up a time to meet with me and we'll set one up together.
• Q: How to blog; If my topic is too narrow?
• A: The best way to find out if your topic is too narrow is to do some prelimiary searching. If you can't locate anything in reference books, it's probably too narrow for use in this class.
• Q: Blogs: Do they contribute to information overload or do they advance the pursuit of knowledge?
• A: A question worth pondering. As with all information, it depends on the purpose for which they are intended. However, even the best blogs create more clutter in the information sphere. Would be fun to search and see what other people think about this issue. I know someone who might like to come in a speak to the class about this issue.
• Q: How to create my own blog.
• A: See me and we'll do it together!

Thursday, April 15th:

Students: After class I learned that Inspiration Software is not on the Library PCs. It's available in the Scarpelli lab -- Room 135. You are also welcome to use the classroom PCs if the room is empty -- ask at the reference desk for someone to let you in the room. Or, just use a piece of paper for the Mind Map assignment. ADDITIONAL NOTE: A classmate reports it's not in Scarpelli 135 either -- I'll check into it and see if I can get that fixed.