Library Research
VANESSA LAWRENCE – [email protected]
Library research workshop
◦ Why do library research?
◦ Research starting points
◦ Creating a search
◦ Activity
◦ Searching Summon
◦ Activity
Why do research?
Why do library research?
Different types of research use different types of information
Different types of research need a different amount of information
A good researcher always looks for authoritative information
◦ Related
◦ Recent
◦ Reliable
Reliable information
Look at the source or author
◦ Who is it?
◦ Why did they write it?
Look for citations or references
◦ Can you search for the reference and find it?
◦ Does it say what it’s supposed to say?
Use library material
Research starting points
Encyclopedia articles
◦ Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, but is it reliable?
◦ The library has academic encyclopedias
Introductory books
◦ Textbooks and class readings
◦ Follow citations
Library subject guides and course guides
Why use starting points?
Narrow down a research topic
◦ Technology
 Impact of technology on humans
Find synonyms for search keywords
Creating a search
Search for sources on your topic by deciding what key ideas are important
◦ Research topic  Key ideas
◦ What impact do smartphones have on social interaction?
impact, smartphone, social interaction
The more key ideas you include, the narrower your topic and search will be.
Narrowing your topic
Creating a search
Search using key ideas in (parentheses), joined together using “AND”
◦ impact, smartphone, social interaction
 (impact) AND (smartphone) AND (social interaction)
Brainstorm or research some synonyms for your key ideas to search broadly.
Synonyms
http://pixabay.com/p-377117/?no_redirect
Keywords
Use synonyms as keywords to describe each idea, joined together using “OR”
◦ (impact) AND (smartphone) AND (social interaction)
 (impact OR influence) AND (smartphone) AND (social interaction OR relationships)
Some ideas will have many synonyms, while others only use one word
Sometimes words are synonyms in some contexts, but aren’t synonyms for the
topic key idea
◦ In this search, can we use (impact OR collision)?
Keywords: Tip
If a keyword is one idea but more than one word, you can use “quotation marks”
to search for the words in the same order you wrote them
◦ “smart phone”
You can also use quotation marks to find the exact title of a book or article
Activity: Creating a search
Work with a partner to complete the activity
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Pick key ideas from the research topic
Brainstorm synonyms for the key ideas
Look at starting points for more synonyms
Turn your synonyms into a search
◦ Remember to use “quotation marks” around exact phrases
Searching the library
Once you have a search created, you can use it in a search engine
◦ (impact OR influence) AND (smartphone) AND (social interaction OR relationships)
Search the library using Summon, which searches the catalogue and many databases
Narrow your search to only show what you want to find
◦ Only books, or only journal articles
◦ Choose a specific discipline
◦ Adjust the publication date
Search actively
Look at the search results to find things that fit your research topic
◦ Check for good keywords to add to your search
Look at the search results to find things that don’t fit your research at all
◦ Check for keywords to take out of your search
Use good results to find useful sources
◦ Find the books or articles from the reference list
Finding results
The most important part of searching is to actually find information that answers
your question. Look for results that are:
◦ Reliable
◦ Choose sources that are authoritative
◦ Related
◦ Try to choose sources that include all of your key ideas
◦ Readable
◦ Choose sources that you can understand – avoid sources with a lot of technical language
Once you find a good source, write down the information to find it again
◦ To help find it if you lose it
◦ To help other people find it when you cite it
Activity: Searching
Work with the same partner to search for information.
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Run your search in Summon
Look at the results, and change your search if you need to
Find one book and one journal article that match the research topic
Create an APA citation for one of the sources
Remember…
Find authoritative information by searching in the library
Start your research with an overview, to narrow your topic
◦ Wikipedia, encyclopedia articles, or introductory books
Turn your research topic into key ideas
Use synonyms for the key ideas to expand your search
Narrow your search to a specific discipline or type of information
Change your search if you need to
Ask for help
If you need any help with your research, you can always ask for help at the
library
◦ Visit the Research Help Desk or call 613-520-2735
◦ Email me, Vanessa Lawrence: [email protected]