Creating a Library Instruction Session for a Technical Writing Course Composed of Engineering and Non-Engineering Students Kevin P. Drees, Kiem-Dung Ta, and Helen Peeler Clements
Oklahoma State University
Presented at the 2005 ASEE conference poster session. Full text article available in the Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition,
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education
The goal of this instruction… [why is it necessary?]
Students cite web instead of academic sources Equity: In the past, this technical writing course
was not exposed to the library instruction that English composition classes received
Expensive subject-specific databases are under-utilized
The engineering workplace expects a mastery of library skills
ABET accreditation criteria correlates with information literacy guidelines developed by the ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries)
Approach to the sessions [How are the sessions taught?]
Librarians manage the instruction by limiting the number of resources shown providing handouts for additional detailcustomizing each session by searching with
student topics instead of canned searches Customizing:
focuses attention increases participation of studentsreduces lecture content
The content of this instruction[What is taught?]
Critical thinking skills Knowledge base of the
library Subject experts, use of
Information Sources for English 3323:
Technical Writing {Presentation: as delivered in
the classroom} Kevin DreesEngineering LibrarianCreated June 2004Updated March [email protected] Low LibraryOklahoma State UniversityStillwater, OK KD 6/04
Content of this instruction: Critical thinking skills
Keyword vs. subject search Information Cycle: scholarly vs. non-scholarly material Primary vs. secondary sources Subscription databases from Library via the web vs Web
search engines Knowledge base of the library
Discipline/Subject Specific Databases Format
Article, technical reports government documents
Availability (Print/Electronic) Subject experts
AvailabilityElectronicPrint Note: using both the print and electronic
will increase the odds of finding useful information and better “composite sketch” of the topic, company, or industry
Critical Thinking – deciding about how to search and what types of sources to use – driven by audience analysis.
1. Keyword vs. subject search2. Information Cycle: scholarly vs. non-
scholarly material3. Primary vs. secondary sources4. Subscription databases from Library
via the web vs Web search engines
Critical Thinking – 1. Keyword vs. subject search
keyword search – Synonyms: targeted, exact, specific
Example: company name
subject search – use when keyword fails. Synonyms for subject search: classification,
category, broadened searchingExample:
industry, product type
Critical Thinking – 2. Information Cycle:
Analysis increases along the cycle
scholarly vs. non-scholarly material
Web (scholarly/non-scholarly) vs subscription database (scholarly except for news accounts)
Critical Thinking – 3. Primary vs. secondary sources
preference of primary source materials over secondary
Primary source material: the article, speech, etc., verbatim – a
good approach to get exactly what was said
Secondary source materialA summary someone wrote by looking at
the primary source. May contain an analysis in the context of the discipline.
Critical Thinking –4. Subscription databases from Library
via the web vs Web search engines
Understanding the distinction
Knowledge Base
Subject Specific Databases
What technical reports and government documents are and why these should be consulted
Business/FinancialGoal: to increase your searching ability
in business and financial sources keyword search –
company name
Subject search – Industry Product type
D & B Million Dollar Directory – 2004 NAICS (North American Industrl Class.
System) 2000 NAICS (2 other volumes) SIC (Standard Industrial Class.) Manual Standard and Poor’s Register – Corporations International Directory of Company Histories D&B Directory of Service Companies / 2004
Print cont.Oklahoma Manufacturers Register –The Value line investment survey.Stand & Poor’s Industry SurveysMarket Share ReporterManufacturing & Distribution USA U.S. Market Trends & Forecasts
Summary - Business/Financial keyword (specific) vs subject (category)
searching Subject searching
Value line investment survey – composite stats S&P Industry Survey – many tables and graphs
Articles – description of the industry or the company itself
Further assistance – Librarians, reference desk.
Engineering Electronic
Compendex EBSCO
Acad Search Elite ASTA (Applied Science and Technology) Biological Abstracts (multiple years) Medline
INSPEC IEL (IEEE Electronic Library) Science Direct Web of Science
Agriculture Electronic
ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers)
EBSCO Agricola - compiled by the U.S. National
Agricultural Library (NAL) Biological Abstracts (multiple years) Biological & Agricultural Index
USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)www.usda.gov
Technical Reports - defined Are written to convey new developments or
final results of scientific and technical research. Are usually funded by government departments
or corporate bodies. Deliver technical information to the funding
organization. Provide a forum for peer information exchange. Anne Graham, Barker Engineering Library, MIT, [email protected], http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/types/techreports/definition.html, Accessed August 14, 2004
The most important resources for locating tech reports and other info produced by the Government for this technical writing course. Library Catalog
Regular search Limited to gov docs
Science.gov – site searches 30 Government agency databases and makes
use of 1700 agency selected websites pertaining to science. May not be able to pull the full text from this source. Contact
Gov Docs Gov Docs Dept – 5th Floor of Library
Gov Docs Librarians Print vs electronic over date ranges Identify agencies relevant to your topic
Tech Reports - locating
Tech Reports - locating
NTISAll (nearly) government publications are
available from NTIS (National Technical Information Service)
OSU Gov Docs will request the item in Microfiche – take the NTIS record (abstract and other data) to Gov Docs- 2 weeks- patron photocopy the mf copy
Government documents - defineda record of activities of government’s numerous
agencies, regulatory bodies, and departmentscontent ranging from agriculture to zoology and
impact on all academic disciplines. Authorship by agency, a unique classification
system, and a variety of output formats often confound users,
Primary source materials readily available from government sources include verbatim testimony obtained from congressional hearings and environmental impact statements.
Government Documents – identifying relevant materials Search the following in this order
Library Catalog Regular search Limited to gov docs
Science.gov – site searches 30 Government agency databases and makes
use of 1700 agency selected websites pertaining to science. May not be able to pull the full text from this source. Contact
Gov Docs Gov Docs Dept – 5th Floor of Library
Gov Docs Librarians Print vs electronic over date ranges Identify agencies relevant to your topic
Government Documents Primary source material:
Example: Congressional hearings appear Congressional LexisNexis – via Indexes and Databases
page. Science.gov – www.science.gov Thomas - (legistative information on the Internet
http://thomas.loc.gov/
Secondary source material Example: search for Congressional hearings in a
source with major newspapers like New York Times –
ProQuest
How can I tell it is a Gov Doc A government agency: EPA, etc Found the publication in the “GPO Monthly”
(Catalog of US Gov Pubs) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html
Call numbers in Gov Docs 5th floor Libr SuDocs (slashes and colons) Jackson numbers (3 letters)
OSU catalog limited to Gov Docs on the limit tab_____________________________
Exception to the above – sometimes non-Gov publisher items are placed in Gov Docs _
Government websites via agency or service Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/ Catalog of US Gov Pubs http://
www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html EPA www.epa.gov Science.gov www.science.gov NTIS (National Technical Information Service)
www.ntis.gov/ USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) www.usda.gov Dept of Labor http://www.dol.gov/
Business stats