Locating Books:

• Use ToroFind Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) .
  Use either your own keywords or Library of Congress Subject Headings to look for books on your topic.
  Libraries use Library of Congress Subject Headings to describe the contents  of books and other materials list in the library catalog.
  For instance:
  
  *Capital punishment-United States-Case studies
  *Drugs and athletes
  *Gun control-United States-Encyclopedias
  *Homeless persons
  *Same sex marriage-United States
  *Sports-Moral and ethical aspects

Leave out dashes and commas when you type a search into the catalog.

Ask Library Reference staff if you're not sure what to look under for books on your topic!

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Locating Journal Articles:

·  To find journal articles on a particular topic, use a special index called
    an electronic database.

•  Terms you should know before you search in electronic databases:  

DATABASE: an organized collection of information, especially electronic information.

JOURNAL (also called SCHOLARLY JOURNAL): scholarly publication published for an academic audience; narrow focus, deeply researched, all articles approved before publication by a group of experts working in the same field as the author (this approval process is called peer review)

MAGAZINE: publication with popular interest articles and broad subject coverage

CITATION: the basic information you need to find or cite the full text of an article; includes article title, author's name, name of publication, date, volume & issue no. and page numbers.

ABSTRACT: a brief summary of the main content of an article

FULL TEXT: the complete article

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      Recommended Electronic Databases for Essay Research:

• Academic Search Premier: indexing, abstracts and high percentage of full text articles from
  journals in social sciences, humanities,  education, arts & literature, and ethnic studies.
  
  
•  Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature: indexing, abstracts and high percentage of full text
  articles from popular publications (Time Magazine, National Geographic) as well as several scholarly
  ones such as Science.
  
  
• ProQuest Newspapers : searches the full-text of over 500 national and international newspapers
  written in English, including Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
  
  
• CQ Researcher Online: objective and balanced treatment of current issues and hot topics; each
  12,000-word report by an experienced journalist examines all sides of an issue and includes charts, graphs, sidebar articles as well as a chronology, extensive bibliography and a list of contacts.
  
  
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: (for use while on campus only) - new database with information from multiple points of view on controversial topics; provides facts and arguments from each topic's proponents and detractors on social issues such as censorship, eating disorders, terrorism, homelessness, bioethics, pollution, racism and many more.

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    HOW TO FIND & LOG IN TO CSUDH LIBRARY ELECTRONIC JOURNAL INDEXES:

• go to the Library Home Page at http://library.csudh.edu/.
  
• under Find Library Materials click Journal Articles & Electronic Resources.
  
• if you already know which index you want, click the "Alphabetical List." button
      (Academic Search Premier is a good database to search first).
  
• if you need suggestions about which database to search, click "Subject List."
  
• when you click on the title of an index to log in to, you'll see this screen:

Now do a keyword search or a subject search in the database you logged into.

•  Once you are successfully logged in to a journal index, read the instructions   (Help screen) to figure out how the database works.

•  To develop an effective search, look at your topic or research question and    pull out the keywords. Then think of any synonyms for each of the keywords.    For example : Do video games contribute to violent behavior in children?

    

KEYWORDS	video games	violence	children
SYNONYMS	gaming	aggression	youth

Your search becomes: video games and violence and children

•  When doing a keyword search, try to find one article that is exactly what    you need.
   Look at its subject terms and re-do search with those index      (subject/controlled vocabulary) terms

•  If the journal article index has a Thesaurus or Subject Guide, look there
    to find correct search terms for your topic.

 

•  Did you find too many articles?

•  Use more specific search terms

•  Limit by language, publication, date, full text, peer reviewed.

•  Use controlled vocabulary (look in the database subject guide or thesaurus)

•  Narrow your search with AND

 

•  Did you find too few articles? None? Out-of-context?

•  Use different search terms, synonyms, alternate terms and phrases

•  Check your spelling

•  Use truncation (child* = child, child's, children and other words that begin     with child. )

•  Broaden your search by joining synonyms with OR

•  Search a different journal index

•  Ask for help!!!

  
Internet Resources:

Evaluate any websites you plan to use in your paper.

What to look for:
1. Credibility (Who said this? Will the author stand behind this information?)
2. Accuracy (Where did this come from? Does it seem correct?)
3. Reasonableness (What kind of page is this?)
4. Support (Who else says this?)

For a more detailed version, visit the CSUDH Library "Evaluating Information You Find on the Web" page at http://library.csudh.edu/Evaluatinginfo.htm.

 

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