Native Issues-CATC:Research Strategies

Jane Long, Assistant ProfessorMLIS, University of OklahomaMA, English, Wright State UniversityBA, English, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Periodicals and Government Documents LibrarianAl Harris Library jane.long@swosu.edu

Outline of session

• Plan your search/Keywords/Boolean • Choosing appropriate

Sources/Databases

• Work with using Citations

• Visit the library

Major Concerns

• Topic Selection

• Narrowing the search

• Using the library effectively

What is your research question? “What is the Trail of Broken

Treaties and how does this connect with the American Indian Movement?”

Answering this question will be the focus of your research. Using keywords and keyword phrases will lead you to information about the question.

Identifying Keywords

• Identify the significant terms and concepts that describe your topic.– Use your research question for

guidance.– Formulate your thesis statement by

considering your question. • Use these keywords for searching

catalogs, databases and search engines for information about your subject.

Boolean

• AND = Narrow

• OR = Expand

• NOT = Exclude

Books

• Al Harris Catalog• Ebrary• Ebooks on EBSCO• Open World Cat

Ebrary: eBooks • 24/7• Full Text Searching*• Highlight Markup• Note Taking• Changeable Font Size• Multiplicity of Use

• CREATE A BOOKSHELF

eBooks on EBSCO

• 24/7• Full Text Searching• Highlight Markup• Note Taking• Changeable Font Size

• Create a FOLDER

Open World Cat

• Meta search engine for online catalogs of libraries all over the world. Search for any book using a geographic location for the closest sources.

• Over 9000 libraries combined. • If you find it in WorldCat, and it's

not in our library, we can get it through ILL.

• CREATE A USER ACCOUNT

Choose Appropriate Databases• Begin with Library Resources for

your Subject • Search several databases• Think about the range of sources:

books, journal articles, statistics, websites

• Remember: Google is not (usually) the answer

Databases: Social Sciences

• America: History and Life with Full Text

• JSTOR• North American Indian Thought &

Culture• Project Muse• Also video resources such as Films on

Demand or VAST: American History on Video

EBSCO Databases

• America: History and Life with Full Text

JSTOR

• Includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

• Search by discipline: History

Project Muse

• Peer-reviewed journals• Wide variety of humanities and

social science subjects• Complete journal content,

including charts, graphs, and images

North American Indian Thought & Culture

• The collection is comprised of material that covers the entire history of North America; from 17th century accounts of the first encounters involving Indians and European colonists to the stories of aboriginals living in a 21st century world.

• This is a good source for locating basic or background information.

Reading citations

A citation is a short, multi-part description of a specific information source. It provides the information that is needed to find that source.

Citations:• Giving Credit to Sources• Using Citations to locate

additional sources– Areas to document:

• Books• Periodicals:

– Journal – Magazine– Newspaper

• Conference Reports• Websites

A standard journal citation will include:

Author Title of the article Title of the journal Volume number/Issue number Publication date Page numbers

A standard book citation will include:• Author• Title• Publication information

– City– Publishing Company– Date

A standard website citation will include:

• Author – if given • Title of content used • Title of webpage • Name of organizational sponsor • Publication date • Date of access

Google: Improve Your SearchesSite Specific Command

What it does: searches only specific domains

What to type: Trail of Broken Treaties site:edu

Trail of Broken Treaties site:gov

Google Scholar

• Google Scholar provides a simple way to search for scholarly literature. Search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

Google Scholar

• Works best for Citations

• Restrictions to Content– Fee-based

– Often your library already owns material

– We’re working on improving access

Native Issues:Internet Resources• Tribal Government and Native Am

erican Resources

• Native American Documents Project

• Indian Affairs Laws & Treaties

Review

• Searching techniques• Books:

– Ebooks/Catalog/Open WorldCat• Databases:

– America: History and Life with Full Text/JSTOR/North American Indian Thought & Culture/Project Muse

• Google Site Search/Scholar

Helpful Things to Remember As You Complete Your Research Assignment:• Read carefully, make notes, and take

advantage of the resources that are available to you.

• Do not parrot the material: use your own words and your own style as you write.

• Use what you have learned about your topic to develop your own analysis of the subject. In this way, you are answering your research question.

Questions?

• Contact me:– Jane Long

• 774-3731• jane.long@swosu.edu