Locating Sources

Danielle Carlock480 425 6765d.carlock@sccmail.maricopa.edu

LOCATING SOURCES

Method depends on type of source seeking (book, article website, etc)

Today we are going to primarily focus on finding magazine, newspaper, and scholarly journal articles

But first some web searching tips

WEB SEARCHING TIPS

By using the advanced search feature in Google, can limit to a specific domain (.edu, .gov, etc)

There are also specialized search engines for different domains http://searchedu.com/ http://www.usa.gov/

ARTICLE SEARCHING

Not effective to use Google. Why?

Library databases Available thru the library webpage Only contain articles (i.e. no websites,

etc) Full text with no charge

SUGGESTED DATABASES

Academic Search Premier Academic One File CQ Researcher Opposing Viewpoints Possibly a subject specific database

related to your topic

ALL AVAILABLE THRU THE LIBRARY HOMEPAGE

HOW TO LOGIN FROM OFF CAMPUS

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR GOAL STATEMENT

Example: My goal is to convince my audience that climate change is causing extreme weather around the globe and therefore my audience needs to write their congressional representatives and senators, urging them to do more about this issue.

What is a keyword search?

A type of search that looks for matching documents that contain the words specified by the user.

By doing this you hope to get back results about your topic

The database cannot think for you/anticipate what you want

Example: you want articles about heart attacks. You type in heart attacks. You won’t get articles that you use the term cardiac arrest instead.

STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR KEY CONCEPTS

When using any type of search engine, do not type whole sentences, questions, etc. into search boxes.

INSTEAD: DETERMINE WHAT YOUR KEY CONCEPTS ARE

DETERMINING KEY CONCEPTS

Key concepts Usually verbs or nouns They describe your topic

What are the key concepts in this topic?

STEP 3: IDENTIFY SYNONYMS FOR YOUR KEY CONCEPTS

The english language is very rich. There are many words to describe the same concept.

Synonyms for concept 1:

Synonyms for concept 2:

STEP 4: COMBINE YOUR CONCEPTS

AND

•A command you give to the database•It is put between the key concepts in the search•Ex: climate change AND extreme weather•It tells the database to only find articles which include each of these terms

OR

Another command you give to the database

It is put between synonyms EX: extreme weather OR megastorms

It tells the database to look for articles in which either of the words appear

PRACTICE

Attempt to put together a search string for the topic

STEP 5: CHOOSE AN APPROPIATE DATABASE

Use an all purpose database such as Academic Search Premier or Academic One File

You may also choose a subject specific database. What subject is most appropriate?