Category Archives: In-Class Activities

1. Not everything is found in Google.  There is an entire hidden, unknown world of information that cannot be found by using the Google search engine.  The reason for this is because there are subscription databases that store and protect information from public view.

2. Citations are more complicated than you think. For example: even though they are both the same article, the citation for a newspaper article is different than the citation for a newspaper article retrieved in an online database.

3. Scholarly sources such as peer-reviewed journals are among the best types of information because they are the most reliable.

4. Wikipedia is a great source for background research, but it probably should not be heavily used for papers, because it can easily be changed by anyone.

5. Use the sources at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.  If you see something on a wikipedia entry that seems questionable, those sources are the facts for what the entry was based on.

6. Use information that has been produced by a reliable person; this means that you don’t look to just anyone, who is speaking or ranting about the topic. For example: an article written by a middle school student on missiles is less likely to be less reliable than an article written by a military engineer.

7. The better your sources, the better your paper can be.

8.

1) Academic Search Complete is a great database and a great way to fin research on a topic.

2) When researching on a database it is helpful to use Boolean Operators in order to navigate and either refine or expand your search results.

3) Wikipedia is a good way to find background research on a subject matter in order to get a general idea before researching in depth but should never be a source that is cited in a bibliography for a research paper.

4) When using a database refining your search by using the specific fields available– such as title, author– it is a helpful way to find what you need quicker without having to filter through other results.

5) It is helpful to know and use the Google search commands effectively such as– Google Books– to find trustworthy research on a topic.

6) Using quotation marks “…” is a helpful way to search in search engines like Google if you are looking to find a specific set of words. For example: “cotton candy” without the quotation marks you will receive numerous irrelevant results that have nothing to do with cotton candy.

7) Using the asterisk (* ) at the end of an incomplete word is helpful when using a search engine. For example if you want to search about a topic such as sampling music you could type sampl* in order to not only results that say sampling, but also sample, sampled. By doing this it expands the amount of relevant results having to do with your topic.

8) It is helpful to make a concept map when researching on a topic in order to brainstorm ideas.

9) It is important to always do background research on a topic before choosing the topic and formulating a research question.

10) It is also important to do background research on the author of a source so you would be able to know if the author is trustworthy or not.

1. know the difference between and and or

2. correct use of citation.

3. use library catalog

4. try not to plagiarize.

5. use proper database for research

6. use mindmap to evaluate the topic

7. before making your own research question, try to be sepcific

8. try to use advance search engine.

9.controlled vocabulary will help you to evaluate the research question.

10. ask profesor francoeur if you have any question.

1) Wikipedia is not the enemy….yet: Wikipedia is great for very general overviews of topics that will help you narrow your search terms in more academic databases, but you can’t fully rely on what it says because it’s edited by…well, anyone who wants to. It has sources at the bottom of each entry that are helpful, though!

2) Love your college databases: Google is great, but those pay databases kick butt. Of course you wouldn’t pay for them yourself, but fortunately the college has decided to do it for you. All you need is a campus computer, or your ID to log in from your home PC.

3) Google is good: There’s nothing wrong with Google – really – but it’s not the best tool out there. It can’t access all material that databases can, particularly those behind a pay wall.

4) Google Scholar: This is a branch of Google that can help you find scholarly articles without using a database. It’s not ideal, since it has a whole lot of entries, but it can also help evaluate the quality of a particular author or source. Do be wary though; it tends to exaggerate the number of times cited…

5) Learn the LC Lingo: Subject Headings are wonderous – subject headings established by the Library of Congress are even better. With these, you can search in a more specific manner to find relevant sources in library catalogs and a number of databases. Some databases use their own subject headings (non-conformists) but they generally have a guide to suggest which headings you should use.

6) WorldCat: WorldCat is a free database that can track down almost every pusblished article, book, or other form of communication. It doesn’t have access to the full text of these sources, but that’s all right; you can probably find them in pay databases that your friendly college subecribes to.

7) Power to the Libraries: Interlibrary loan is a helpful tool…actually, it’s probably one of the more important things you can take away from a library experience. If you ever happen upon a book that seems perfect but isn’t carried by your local library, have no fear! Simply go online and request the book be sent to your library, wait 6 days, and it’ll be all wrapped up for you to collect at the circulation desk.

8) Boolean Searching: Using little words like And and Or can go a long way – believe me, they’re not the same. By using And you can specify your topic, and Or will blow up the number of results because it forces the search engine to look for both terms.

9) The Little Things in Life: Searching isn’t limited to using And and Or; little marks such as “” and ( ) can go a long way. By putting “” around a phrase, you force the search engine to find exactly that phrase in the title, text, or whatever field in the results. ( ) around a phrase, generally a Boolean phrase such as (teens or adolescents) specifies the search to only use variance, in this case and look for teens and adolescents, in regards to what’s in the ( ). ( ) are comparable to multiple search boxes and are helpful in search engines that don’t include multiple boxes.

10) Field Searching: If you know there’s a particular author of something you want, just go to the search engine or database’s feild searching bar – generally at right of the search box. This will tell the search to limit itself to that field, so that it will narrow the results.

1) Use AND searches to narrow down results, use OR searches to broaden results and use NOT searches to eliminate some results
2) Peer Reviewed articles are often more reliable sources.
3) Wikipedia is a good place to start a search but not often a good source to use.
4) Search the author’s background to check for authenticity and reliability.
5) Watch out for MLA citations, check for errors.
6) Use the Baruch School databases to look for sources.
7) Avoid plagiarism, always cite your sources.
8) Read your sources thoroughly to select the best possible source.
9) If in doubt, ask a librarian or another expert.
10) Take a research (LIB 1015) class.

Some advice that I would give to incoming freshmen about research would be:

1. Don’t plagiarize! There will be severe consequences if you do.

2. Always check the authority of authors to see whether or not they are qualified to be writing about the topic you are researching on.

3. Familiarize yourself with shortcuts such as quotations, and, or that might be available on search engines like Google.

4. When reading a piece of research, always record basic citations and notes so you can save time with your work. It’s good to be organized.

5. Don’t always use the first source you see in Google, you may have to refine your search or dig deeper into the results to get a better source.

6. Peruse around the school website and if you find that your school subscribes to certain databases, use them to help with future research projects because they make things more convenient.

7. Be able to distinguish between what is a book source and what is a journal source. Each source has its own benefits and drawbacks.

8. Certain databases have field searches which help narrow down your search. It’s good to be able to understand what each field search does.

9. Sometimes current events are so recent that there are no peer reviewed journal articles written about them because those take a few months or years to write. It’s important to realize that information is published at different rates depending on the medium (i.e. Magazine article, book, journal article.)

10. Finally, learn to create APA or MLA citations in order to prevent plagiarism. Make sure that you know which one your teacher is asking for because each citation is styled differently.

1. Don’t plagiarize intentionally

2. Use the databases offered by the college to attain scholarly journals

3. Don’t be afraid to use wikipedia – you can use it to find other sources

4. Using AND and OR helps increase the relevance of your search

5. Use truncation if there are different ways a certain word is used to you dont miss out on important sources

6. Use the BEAM (background exhibit argument method) method to organize and effectively use your sources

7. Use the Gale Reference Library for background information on your topic before you form your research question

8. Make sure that your research question is a good one – not too broad, ambiguous, or unanswerable. No double questions.

9. When reading through sources, make sure you write all of them down so you dont end up plagiarizing accidendally

10. Pick a topic that you are actually interested in, and don’t procrastinate!

1. Make sure to develop controlled vocabulary for your research.

2. Use the library’s databases.

3. Make sure to check out all of google’s features (i.e. google scholar, books).

4. Get to know field searching (searching for title, author, keywords, etc.)

5. “And” includes all searches that have both (or more) keywords that you entered. Usually less results.

6. “Or” includes all searches with your keywords, but don’t require for both to be in the same result. Usually more results.

7. Get used to making concept maps.

8. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!! Cite your sources in proper citation format.

9. Use encyclopedias to get a general gist of your topic. Wikipedia provides great links for sources.

10. The Baruch general database (BearCat database) searches within some other databases. It’s good if you are unsure of which topic to choose and are looking for ideas.

When researching, remember some golden tokens of information:

1) Keep your research relevant to your thesis/Research question

2) Research using different tricks such as the asterisk, and/or function, etc.

3) Make sure that your research can be put into one of the BEAM categories.

4) When quoting, introduce the quotations before using them.

5) Remember that the sources are to be analyzed, and not just thrown in to make your paragraphs look lengthy.

6) Do not try researching everything in one day!

7) Your professors give you their emails for a reason.. contact them if you need any help/feedback. Most professors (That I’ve encountered so far) will help you.

8) Make sure your clear about your research question.. try to specify it as much as possible and stick to arguing your point about it.

9) Databases allow for numerous categories. Practice with researching topics using the different databases and what works best for your research.

10) DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!

10 Pieces of Advice

1. take advantage of the school’s paid subscription databases
2. wikipedia is great for background info
3. but never use wikipedia as a source
4. google scholar is very useful for determining how cited and scholarly an author is
5. use boolean operators when searching
6. learn how to vary your search terms and search fields
7. take advantage of controlled vocabularies when searching
8. be sure to do a little background research on authors to determine how reputable their work is
9. when doing research projects, be sure to make concept maps to organize your info
10. when doing research projects, use different types of sources and don’t forget to cite them