Introduction to Library Research Pikes Peak Community College Library : Introduction to Library Research Pikes Peak Community College Library This tutorial is in PowerPoint.
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Introduction to Library Research Pikes Peak Community College Library : Introduction to Library Research Pikes Peak Community College Library Library & Services
Searching for Information
Finding Articles
Finding Books
Using Information
Quiz Pikes Peak Community College Library
Libraries & Services : Libraries & Services Centennial Campus Library
General Education collection
Rampart Campus Library
General Education & Health Sciences collection Pikes Peak Community College Library Home
Libraries & Services Reference Services : Libraries & Services Reference Services Trained reference librarians and library assistants will guide you in the use of the library systems and offer useful advice on where to find the information you need. Consulting with a librarian can save you valuable time in finding the information you need. Pikes Peak Community College Library
Libraries & Services Reference Services : Libraries & Services Reference Services You can contact Reference Services : In person
By Phone
Via Email
Reference IM (Reference Instant Messaging) coming soon Pikes Peak Community College Library
Libraries & Services Circulation Services : Libraries & Services Circulation Services Check out books, videos and other library materials.
Renew library materials.
Return library materials you have borrowed.
Pay overdue fines.
Your PPCC student ID serves as your library card.
You must have it with you at the circulation desk to check out library materials. Pikes Peak Community College Library Circulation is another important library service. A library circulation desk is where you can
Libraries & Services Circulation Services : Libraries & Services Circulation Services
Interlibrary Loan
Also referred to as "interlibrary borrowing," interlibrary loan is a library service that students, faculty, and staff can use to request books or photocopies of articles from other libraries.
This service is available in person or via the web-based request form shown above. Pikes Peak Community College Library
Libraries & Services Circulation Services : Reserves
Reserves refers to supplemental course materials, such as videos, CD’s, sample tests, and readings from books and articles. These are made available to students through the library. Libraries & Services Circulation Services Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide9 : As the information environment grows increasingly complex, knowing when, where and how to find the information you need is not always easy.
This section introduces you to the nature of published literature, describes some of the search tools that are available to help you find different types of information, and offers some strategies for improving searching effectively.
After completing this section you will understand:
How the time of an event can determine what has been published and where.
The difference between searching a web search engine and searching a library database.
Strategies on how to construct an effective search in a library database.
Introduction to Library Research Searching for Information Pikes Peak Community College Library Home
Slide10 : Published Information - The Information Timeline
Before you begin your search for information, it helps to understand when and how information is published. Think about an event like 9-11 for a moment.
When the event first occurred, information was initially available in news sources, like newspapers, news websites, and radio and television broadcasts.
After a week or so, information on the event began to find its way into popular magazines and other sources of news analysis.
A month later, information began to appear in professional magazines and more in-depth news reports and analyses. Searching for Information Pikes Peak Community College Library
Searching for Information : Searching for Information Published Information - The Information Timeline
Six months later, articles in professional journals and conference proceedings began to appear.
After a year or so, books, government reports and articles in scholarly journals began showing up in bookstores and on library shelves.
Now, several years later, the event is the topic of a number of scholarly books and journal articles, and even reference works like encyclopedias include entries on the subject.
Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide12 : Search Tools: Web Search Engines
After you've identified where your information falls in the timeline of published information, the next step is to choose the appropriate tool to find the information you need. Just as information is published in different sources, like newspapers, books, and journals, those information sources are searched for and accessed through different search tools.
Chances are you are familiar with the Web and have used search engines like Google and Yahoo to search the Web for information.
Search engines are excellent tools for finding information like current news, government statistics, company annual reports, consumer health information, and so on. Searching for Information Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide13 : Search Tools: Library Databases
Despite the vast quantity of information that a search engine can retrieve, there are even greater quantities of information that can't be found through a search engine. The library provides access to several web-based databases and print and online indexes. These search tools provide access to information found in scholarly journal articles, books, country and industry reports, news back-files, and much, much more. Pikes Peak Community College Library Keep in mind that despite its apparent size, the Web still holds only a fraction of the world's published information. The overwhelming majority is still held in libraries and archives around the world. Searching for Information
Slide14 : Whether you are searching the Web or searching a library database, there are some common search strategies you can use to improve your search results.
The first is choosing appropriate search terms or keywords. Begin by thinking about the words and phrases that describe your topic. For instance, if you are researching the economic impact of AIDS on South Africa, your keywords might include
AIDS
south africa
economic impact Searching for Information
Choosing Search Terms Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide15 :
AIDS
south africa
economic impact
Now think about whether there are other terms that could also be used to describe your topic, including synonyms, related terms, or words and phrases that have similar meaning, such as
HIV or acquired immune deficiency syndrome
johannesburg, cape town, pretoria, etc.
economy or employment or workforce Searching for Information
Choosing Search Terms Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide16 : A search engine uses a sophisticated method to sort through your keywords and phrases and produce a results list that is ranked by how relevant the documents are to the words you entered. You can simply enter your keywords and phrases and let the search engine do the work.
Searching for Information
Connecting Keywords Pikes Peak Community College Library Now that you've identified all the keywords and phrases that describe your topic, the next step is to connect them in a logical way so that you retrieve the information you need.
Slide17 : Connecting search terms in a library catalog, database, or index, is not quite as simple. These tools often require the use of what are called Boolean operators to connect your keywords and phrases.
The Boolean operator AND helps combine keywords and phrases to find where the terms intersect.
AIDS AND south africa
narrows your search to retrieve only those documents containing both the word AIDS and the phrase South Africa.
You can use AND to further narrow your search by adding additional keywords and phrases:
aids and south africa and economic impact Searching for Information Connecting Keywords Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide18 : Truncation and Wildcards
Many library catalogs, databases, and indexes also use truncation symbols and wildcards to broaden a search. These usually take the form of question marks, exclamation marks, asterisks, and so on.
Truncation example: comput? searches for computer, computers, computing,
computation, etc.
Wildcard example: wom*n searches for woman, women, and womyn.
w??k will return records with any term that begins with
w and ends with k with two characters in between, such as work, week, walk.
Phrase searching
To search for a phrase (for example, United States Constitution) simply put quotes around that phrase; this guarantees that all of your key words will be together in your results. Searching for Information
Connecting Keywords Pikes Peak Community College Library
Slide19 : After completing this section you will understand
How to tell the difference between scholarly journal articles and popular magazine articles.
How to select the best database to search for articles on your topic.
How to read a citation from an article database or index.
How to find the full text of the article when it’s online. Finding Articles Pikes Peak Community College Library Home
Finding Articles : Finding Articles Article Types
Articles represent one of the best sources of information on a given topic. They can contain news, in-depth analysis, or the findings of a scientific study. Articles are found in a variety of publications, including scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and so on. These publications are often referred to as serials or periodicals because they are published on a routine basis whether annually, monthly, weekly, or daily.
As we mentioned before, the time an event occurred in relation to the time you are researching it will determine what type of articles are available. News and analysis of a very current event may only be found in news or popular magazines. It may not appear in the scholarly journal literature for months, even years.
The number of articles available on a given subject may also be affected. If a new scientific discovery is made, it may be years before additional studies are published on the topic. Pikes Peak Community College Library
Finding Articles :
Popular Magazine Articles
You are probably familiar with magazines like Time and Newsweek, not to mention Vogue, Latina, Men’s Health, Wired, Essence, and so on. These magazines are referred to as "popular" magazines. Popular magazines like these provide general information on topics of interest to a wide audience. The articles are typically written by journalists or writers who may or may not have any expertise in the article's topic.
They also have some characteristics that make them easily identifiable, even in an online environment where glossy photos and advertisements are not included. Articles in popular magazines rarely contain citations or footnotes to source materials and undergo a limited editorial review.
While popular magazines can be a good source for general information on current topics, they may not be the most appropriate source for your research. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Articles : Professional Magazines & Journal Articles
In additional to popular magazines, there are journals and magazines that are aimed at a specific professional audience. The American Psychological Association Monitor, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Scholar, and Science are examples of professional journals.
Articles in these publications are often written by practitioners or professionals who have at least some background in or experience with the topics. The articles tend to cover current issues of interest to the profession and may contain terminology familiar to the profession. Professional journals are usually published monthly and, while it varies from journal to journal, they often include at least a handful of cites to source materials.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Articles : Scholarly or Scientific Journal Articles
There is another class of journals know as scholarly or scientific journals. These publications present primary accounts of original research or in-depth analysis of a topic. Scholarly journal articles are written by researchers, scholars, or practitioners who are considered experts in their field. The articles are aimed at other researchers or experts so the language used is often highly technical and may be difficult for an outside or inexperienced researcher to understand.
Scholarly journals are also referred to as "peer-reviewed" "blind peer-reviewed" or "refereed" journals. This is due to the rigorous review process that articles go through before they are accepted and published by the journal.
You can often tell an article is scholarly by the extensive bibliography, the credentials or affiliation of the author, and the inclusion of technical graphs, charts, and diagrams. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Articles : Article Databases
Library databases and indexes are the best tools to use to find articles on a specific topic. The PPCC library offers several databases and indexes on various subjects. From the library's homepage (www.ppcc.edu/academics/library)
click on the link entitled Electronic Reference.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Articles :
Article Databases
From the Electronic Reference page, you can choose from a list of databases. It is important to choose the correct database for your research; read the database descriptions to determine which resources will be appropriate.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Articles : Article Databases
Accessing the Article Text
Once you have selected an appropriate database or index, enter your search terms using the techniques covered under the Searching section of this tutorial. The database or index will return a list of citations to articles that match your search request.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles Many of the library's databases and indexes provide direct access to the full text of the articles listed. The articles may be available as a PDF document or as an HTML document.
Finding Articles : Article Databases
Accessing the Article Text
When the full text of the article is not available in the database or index you are searching, it may be available in full text in another database or the library may be able to find it at another library via Interlibrary Loan. Check with the Reference Librarians.
Access from off campus
From the PPCC Web site (www.ppcc.edu), go to the “Academics” link and select “Library.”
Choose “Electronic Reference,” at which point you will be prompted to enter your User ID & password.
User ID: PPCCINST\Last name and last four digits of the Student ID, or “P” number. (Note—the correct slash is just above the Enter key on the computer’s keyboard).
Example: PPCCINST\smith1234
Password: The month and day of birth, using four digits. Example: 0131 (Jan. 31st) Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Articles
Finding Books : This section explains the different search options when searching the online catalog and how to find books in the PPCC libraries.
After completing this section you will know:
How to perform both basic and advanced searches in the library's online catalog.
What the parts of a catalog record tell you about the item.
How to read a call number and locate a book in the stacks. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books Home
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
The PPCC Library Catalog is the library database you use to find books, as well as other library materials, held by the PPCC libraries. Click on
Search the Library Catalog
from the library's homepage. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books There is also a very helpful
Library Catalog demo that you can click on the link and view.
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
Title Search
There are several ways you can search for books in the library catalog. We'll start by looking at the three most common searches: title, author, and keyword.
If you know the exact title of the book, journal, or item you need, you can perform a title search. Title/ Keyword is the default search type on the Advanced Search page. You can also select it from the dropdown menu of the Basic Search page.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books Be aware that you must omit any initial articles from the title (words such as "a,“ "an," or "the") and enter subsequent words in the exact order. If you are not sure or have any trouble finding a specific item, always be sure to contact a reference librarian for assistance. You can limit your search to a specific library by clicking on the “Limit by Branch and availability” button.
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
Author Search
Similarly, if you want to search for books by a particular author, you can perform an author search by selecting the "author or name" search field.
Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books Be sure to note that you should enter the last name of the author first, followed by a first name or initial. Again, don't hesitate to ask a reference librarian for assistance if you have any trouble finding what you need.
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
Keyword Search
A keyword search searches all of the fields in the catalog record, including the title, author, publisher, subject, and note fields. A keyword search is used if you are looking for books on a specific topic or you don't know the exact title or author of the work for which you are searching.
To construct a keyword search in the library catalog, you can enter a specific phrase, or use the Boolean operators and truncation or wildcard symbols discussed in the Searching section of this tutorial. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books For example, to search for books on international trade with China:
Enter international trade, then the Boolean operator AND followed by the word china.
Make sure to choose the Title or Keyword as the search field or choose it from the dropdown menu in Basic Search.
Click the search button or hit the enter key
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
Catalog Records
Once you have performed your search and retrieved one of the catalog records, it's helpful to know what the various parts of the record are. Like most database records, catalog records are made up of different fields containing pertinent information about the book, including the title, author, publisher and date(s) of publication.
In addition, each record indicates the library where the book is located. To check an item's availability you will need to click on the title which will take you to a record like the example above. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books
Finding Books : Online Web Catalog
Call Numbers
The call number that is used to find the book on the shelf is based on the Library of Congress classification system which organizes books by subject so you can browse the shelves for books on the same topic. Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books The Grapes of Wrath
By John Steinbeck
PS3537 .T3234 G7 1992
Finding Books LC Call numbers outline : A GENERAL WORKS
B PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY,
RELIGION
C AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY
D HISTORY: GENERAL AND
OLD WORLD
E & F HISTORY: AMERICA
G GEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY,
RECREATION
H SOCIAL SCIENCES
J POLITICAL SCIENCE
K LAW
L EDUCATION Pikes Peak Community College Library M MUSIC AND BOOKS
N FINE ARTS
P LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Q SCIENCE
R MEDICINE
S AGRICULTURE
T TECHNOLOGY
U MILITARY SCIENCE
V NAVAL SCIENCE
Z LIBRARY SCIENCE Finding Books LC Call numbers outline
Finding Books Call numbers : Finding Books Call numbers Pikes Peak Community College Library To find a book on the shelf, it's useful to know how to read an LC call number.
The first alphabetical component of an LC call number denotes the subject of the book.
Each letter represents a designated subject, then within that designation, the subject is further narrowed.
The call number is like a house address—it gets you to the right book in the library. You need the exact house number so you don't have to jog up and down the street knocking on a lot of doors! In a library that's what the call number is for—to get you to the exact item. Just as there are many houses on one street, because the subjects are the same, there are many library items with similar call numbers.
Finding Books : Pikes Peak Community College Library Finding Books This table describes how to read a call number:
Using Information : Using Information
Finding information, regardless of the form it takes, is really just the beginning. It is even more important to determine if the journal article, the book, or the report you find on the web is relevant to your topic and appropriate for your research. It is also important that you use the information you find accurately and ethically. This section provides an overview of the criteria used to evaluate information and a brief introduction to plagiarism and citing information.
After completing this section you will know
What general criteria should be applied when evaluating information in a given context.
How to avoid plagiarism.
How to properly cite your information sources.
Where to go for further information. Pikes Peak Community College Library Home
Using Information : Using Information
Evaluating Information
Determining if the information you've found is appropriate for your research will depend on several factors. First, be sure you know what type of information your instructor considers appropriate for your assignment. For instance, many instructors require the use of scholarly or scientific journal articles or they may restrict your use of websites. Sometimes this information is made explicit in your course syllabus, but if it's not, you should check with your instructor to make sure you know what type of information is acceptable.
Here are a handful of things to think about as you are evaluating your information sources:
Credibility (Is the author an expert in the field?)
Bias (Does the source provide only one side of an issue?)
Accuracy (Can the same information be confirmed by other sources?)
Currency (Is the information still "good" information or is it dated?)
Relevance (Is the information related to and relevant to your research?) Pikes Peak Community College Library
Using Information : Using Information Plagiarism
Plagiarism is intellectual theft. It is the presentation of another's ideas as your own, without appropriate academic citation. It is a misuse of information ethics and has been recognized as a violation of copyright law.
This is a serious offense in the academic world and can take various forms.
Here are some examples of plagiarism:
Buying or using any sort of paper or project from another person or service and turning it in as the product of your own work.
Turning in someone else's work as your own.
Copying statements from a source and using them without proper use of quotation marks and citations.
Paraphrasing information from a source
without proper citations. Pikes Peak Community College Library
Using Information : Using Information Plagiarism and the Web
Students increasingly use the Web to do research. With a wealth of information available, including everything from pre-written essays to scientific papers, the potential for plagiarism is enormous. Keep in mind that as easy as it is for students to find and copy information from the Web, it is just as easy for instructors to find the same information.
To avoid plagiarizing, remember that the same rules apply to information found on the Web as to information found in print sources:
If you take a sentence or phrase directly from a source, you must indicate it by using quotation marks around the direct quote and citing the original source.
Because of pagination and other issues, citing online sources can be confusing. For more information on how to cite Web-based sources, refer to your assigned style manual or contact a reference librarian.
When you take ideas or quote from a source, you must paraphrase accurately and give credit by appropriately citing the original source. Pikes Peak Community College Library
Using Information : Using Information One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is to give credit whenever you:
Use another person's words, ideas, opinions or theories.
Present facts, statistics, graphs and drawings that are not common knowledge.
Quote someone's written or spoken words.
Paraphrase someone's written or spoken words.
Whether your information source comes from the Web or from print materials, it is important that you record the information in your papers accurately and follow the citation style that is appropriate for the discipline.
Pikes Peak Community College Library APA Style refers to the citation format established by the American Psychological Association. APA is the format preferred by most of the disciplines in the social sciences.
MLA Style refers to the citation format established by the Modern Language Association. MLA is the format preferred by most of the disciplines in the humanities.
Congratulations! : Congratulations! You have completed the
Introduction to
PPCC Libraries Tutorial.
To test what you have learned please take the following 10 question quiz. Refer back to the tutorial to refresh your memory on topics.
(Ask PPCC Reference Librarians for the correct answers.)
Introduction to Library Research Quiz : Pikes Peak Community College Library Introduction to Library Research Quiz
1. What is the call number for The Conspiracy of Ignorance: the Failure of American Public Schools ?
a. BF173 .M3593 2000
b. PN3409 .E19 1998 c. PN1995.9 .A3 C65 1997
d. LA217.2 .G76 2000 e. E457.5 .B29 1977
2. Reserves refers to supplemental course materials, such as
a. videos and CD’s
b. sample tests
c. library handouts
d. readings from books and articles
e. a, b and d Home
Introduction to Library Research Quiz : Pikes Peak Community College Library Introduction to Library Research Quiz 3. How can you tell if a report you found published on the web is appropriate to use in your paper?
a. The report is linked from a website maintained by the corporation that sells the product tested in the report. b. The results of the report have not been reported in other credible magazines and newspapers. c. The report does not cite other research studies in its bibliography. d. The report was authored by reputable scientists from well known research institutions. e. All of the above.
4. On the day after an event occurs, what sources of published information are likely to be available?
a. Books b. Scholarly journals c. Newspapers d. Government documents e. Encyclopedia entries
Introduction to Library Research Quiz : Pikes Peak Community College Library Introduction to Library Research Quiz 5. To search for words with alternative word endings in a library database, you can use a:
a. Truncation symbol. b. Boolean operator. c. Citation. d. Catalog. e. Wildcard symbol.
6. Which library databases have the electronic version of the Annual Review of Psychology?
a. EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier
b. LexisNexis Academic
c. FirstSearch & EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier
d. EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier & Business Source Premier e. LexisNexis Academic & EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier
Introduction to Library Research Quiz : Pikes Peak Community College Library Introduction to Library Research Quiz 7. When searching a library database for articles on the influence of advertising on eating disorders, which search would be most effective?
a. the influence advertising has on eating disorders b. advertis* and eating disorders c. influence advertising eating disorders d. eating disorders e. none of the above
8. What is the name of the library service where you can ask questions and receive assistance with your research?
a. Interlibrary loan b. Circulation c. Indexing d. Reference e. Reserves
Introduction to Library Research Quiz : Pikes Peak Community College Library Introduction to Library Research Quiz 9. Which of the following scenarios is considered an act of plagiarism?
a. Copying and pasting a paragraph from an online journal into your paper, quoting and citing it with the proper style format. b. Paraphrasing part of an entry from an online encyclopedia and citing it in your paper. c. Using statistics found in an online report and giving the source proper credit by citing it in your paper. d. Handing in the same paper you used for history last year, but changing the dates on the citations so they looked more current e. All of the above
10. Scholarly journals have which of the following characteristics?
a. Articles are often written by journalists with little or no subject expertise. b. They often provide the most up-to-date information on current events. c. Articles go through a rigorous review process before being published . d. All of the above. e. None of the above.