University of Vermont  Bailey/Howe Library Information and Instruction Services

1. CHOOSE AND REFINE A TOPIC
2. IDENTIFY RESOURCES
3. LOCATE RESOURCES:  Books /  Periodicals /  Media /  U.S. Documents  /  Web Resources
4. EVALUATE
5. CITE YOUR SOURCES
    LIBRARY TERMS DEFINED

• Select a topic which interests you.
  • Keep in mind the length of the paper and make sure the topic isn't too broad or too narrow.
    If you find your topic is very broad or overwhelming, consider limiting it by : geographic region, time period, demographic group (gender, age, ethnicity/culture, educational level, economic status, etc.), a specific aspect or event related to your topic.
  • Make sure that you will be able to find sufficient resources to support your thesis.

• Understand your topic.
  • Read general or subject-specific encyclopedia articles on the topics you are considering. You can locate encyclopedias in the Reference Collection of the Bailey/Howe Library. Ask the librarian at the Reference Desk for help in choosing the most appropriate one.

    Reading an encyclopedia article helps you in the following ways:

    • gives an overview of the topic, including the history
    • identifies subtopics
    • discusses important people
    • exposes you to the jargon for the field
    • provides basic statistics
    • shows related topics or ideas
    • provides alternative terms to the ones you are using
    • provides a bibliography (or list of recommended readings) at the end of the article

    TIP: If you can't find an article on your topic, try using broader terms and ask for help from a librarian. You may have to alter your topic, depending on the number and/or type of resources you find.

    TIP: Be sure to also look up your topic in the index to locate cross-references. This can help you get the broader view of your topic or help you identify subtopics you may be more interested in.

• State your topic idea as a statement or question.
  • For example:
    
    if you would like to know whether the violence/aggression we are exposed to through movies, television, newspapers, comic books, etc. has an effect on our behavior, you might pose the question, "Does exposure to violence through mass media have an effect on human behavior?"

    This is a huge topic to tackle in an average undergraduate research paper/project. Narrow your focus until your  general topic becomes manageable for the length/scope of your paper/project. You may want to focus on:
    

    • time period
    • geographic region
    • demographic group (gender, age, economic status, educational level, ethnicity/culture, etc.)
    • specific aspect (religious, political, environmental, medical, economic, legal, etc.)
    • specific event
    related to your general topic.
  • For the sample topic above, you might want to focus on one medium and one group of people:

  General Subject	First Narrowing (to specific age group)	Further Narrowing (to specific age group and type of media)	Final Topic
  mass media and violence and human behavior	mass media and  violence and children	television and violence and children	Does viewing violence on television  have an effect on children's behavior?

• Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.
  • In this case they are  television and  violence  and   children

• Develop a list of terms to use in your search.
  • Brainstorm for a list of words based on your topic question; Look for words that best describe your topic (these words will be found in the encyclopedia articles and other reading you do while selecting your topic); Find synonyms, broader and narrower terms for each keyword you find in order to expand your search capabilities. KEEP A RECORD OF YOUR TERMS SO YOU DON'T FORGET THEM.
  • One way to avoid confusion is to write out your topic, circle/underline the keywords, and then list synonyms/related terms, if possible,  under each keyword circled/underlined.

  Television	and	Violence	and	Children
  or		or		or
  tv		aggression		youth
  				or
  				adolescents

• Develop a search statement.
  • Use "and" to narrow your search down and focus onto your specific topic by combining two or more terms. All terms must be present.
    • Example: television and violence and children
  • Use "or" to broaden your search by combining synonyms or alternative forms of words. Any of the words must be present.
    • Example: violence or aggression

  Some databases will allow you to combine "and" and "or" statements in one search.
  Example: television and children and (violence or aggression)
  - use parentheses ( ) to group words and indicate the order of processing. Search terms and Connectors (and,or) within parentheses are processed separately as a unit and then combined with the remaining search statement.

• Search efficiently - Use Truncation.
  • Truncation is a technique that enables a searcher to look for a word or root word and any of its possible endings. Using truncation broadens your search, and makes it more efficient.
  • Truncation symbols (sometimes called "wildcards") vary widely from database to database. In the Library Catalog, use the question mark (?) to indicate truncation . Example: music? retrieves music, musical, musicals, musician, musicians.
  • The search statement: television and children and (violence or aggression) may be made more efficient with the appropriate use of truncation: television and child? and (violen? or aggress?).

       
  

• Identify disciplines that might cover your area of research.

  EXAMPLE:	Does viewing violence on television have an effect on children's behavior?
  	You might want to look at the literature within the following disciplines:  Psychology  Sociology  Communication  Medical  Current Events (newspapers)

• When using the library catalog to look for books owned by UVM, check the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) against the list of key words you have. Library of Congress  (LC) subject headings are standard terms assigned to an item record to identify its primary intellectual content.These subject headings are collected into a multi-volume set of books. This title is located in the reference area. In the library catalog you may search these LC subject headings, using the "Quick Search" option. During the search process, you may need to use both these established subject headings and a key word search approach.

Once you have chosen and refined your topic, you need to identify the resources you need for your research topic.

• Keep in mind:
  • Purpose of  the paper (persuade, explain, inform, analyze)
  • Types of sources needed
    (primary, scholarly, general-interest, statistics, current, retrospective, personal interview, etc.)

• Familiarize yourself with the topic by reading background information.
  • use a general encyclopedia, such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, to familiarize yourself with facts, concepts and terminology
  • use a subject encyclopedia for specialized information.
  • use an introductory book for an overview of a topic.

• Where do you find information?
  • Books
  • Periodicals (journal/magazine/newspaper articles)
  • Bibliographies/lists of works cited which lead to other books and articles
    (bibliographies can be found in books, at the end of articles, and are separately published)
  • Government Publications
  • Statistics
  • Films
  • Pamphlets
  • Internet sources, using the World Wide Web (WWW)
  • People (professionals, professors, experts in the field, etc.)
  • Primary sources

      Primary sources are original writings by an author which provide firsthand information. Examples include: speeches, manuscripts, diaries, letters, journal articles, Senate or House reports or hearings, artifacts, photographs, statistics, laboratory or field experiments, etc.. Secondary sources are writings, speeches, and other documents which summarize, describe, interpret or analyze someone else's work.
    The distinctions between primary and secondary sources can be ambiguous. An individual document may be a primary source in one context and a secondary source in another. Time is a defining element. For example, a recent newspaper article about the U.S. Civil War is not a primary source; but a newspaper article from the 1860's would be a primary source for Civil War research.

Begin with the UVM Libraries Home Page [ http://library.uvm.edu/ ] to locate materials on your topic. This page will provide links to print and electronic resources, such as:

• the Library Catalog
• Electronic indexes to periodical literature, such as Academic Search Premier 
• Full-text resources, such as LexisNexis-Academic
• Electronic journals, through services such as JSTOR and Project Muse
• Encyclopedias, such as Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
• Selected high-quality Web sites

Books give in-depth coverage of a topic. They often provide background information and are used to get an overview of a topic. Books demonstrate how a research topic relates to broader, narrower and related issues. Books usually contain a bibliography which leads readers to other related books and reference sources. However, depending upon the topic, books are sometimes less current than articles in a journal/magazine/newspaper.

• the Library Catalog
  • The first resource to use to find books in the UVM Libraries is the Library Catalog [ http://voyager.uvm.edu ], available through the UVM Libraries Home Page [ http://library.uvm.edu/ ].
  • Search the Library Catalog by subject (use Library of Congress subject headings) or keyword to find books, journal titles, government publications and audio-visual materials in the UVM Libraries. Do NOT use the catalog to look for journal articles on a research topic.

• Library of Congress Call Numbers
  • Books  in the UVM Libraries are shelved by subject. Each book has a call number assigned, an "address," to help you locate the book in the library. Call numbers correspond to subjects.
    The Bailey/Howe Library uses Library of Congress call numbers [ http://library.uvm.edu/~pmardeus/lcclass.html ].
    For a brief introduction, see the web site: Understanding Call Numbers [ http://geography.about.com/library/congress/blhowto.htm ].

• Find Books in Bailey/Howe Library

  Items are shelved by call numbers - in  alphabetical then  numerical order.

  PN 60 .H5 1995

  PR 135  .L622  .A63

  PS 24  .E37  1982

  PS 244 .D66  .L22

  PS 244.5  .M44  .B55

  PS 2445    .P4 1950

  Call Numbers --> Location -->  Circulating Status

  A - F 1699	2nd floor	Collection: Bailey/Howe Books	may be charged out from the library
  F 1700 - Z	3rd floor	Collection: Bailey/Howe Books	may be charged out from the library
  Government Documents	ground floor	Collection: Bailey/Howe Documents	may be charged out from the library
  Special Collections  (includes Vermont materials)	ground floor	Collection: Special Collections	may not be charged out from the library
  Library Research Annex (LRA) (UVM archives; older and lesser-used materials)	in a building off East Avenue	Collection: Library Research Annex	may be charged out from the library (note: UVM theses may not be charged out.)
  Williston Annex (infrequently used materials)	remote storage	Collection: Williston Annex	may be charged out from the library

What are Periodicals?
Periodicals are continuous publications such as Journals, Magazines, or Newspapers. They are issued regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly). Periodicals are current, cover very specific subjects, and can be scholarly (journals) or popular (magazines).

How Do I Locate Articles in Periodicals?

When you don't have a citation to a specific article, but you do want to find articles on a subject, by an author or authors, or with a known article title, you need to use one or more periodical indexes. (Note: the Library Catalog does not include information about the articles within the periodical.) But how do you know which periodical index to use?

An index to journal articles provides a way to search the journal literature by topic. It is a printed or electronic publication (akadatabase) made up of citations to journal articles. When an index includes a brief article summary with the citation, it is called an abstract. Indexes/Abstracts may be broad and interdisciplinary and cover subjects in a wide range of disciplines, or they may cover one subject area in great detail.

• To see a list of periodical databases, from the UVM Libraries Home Page [http://library.uvm.edu/], select "Find Articles & More"

            Learn more about Choosing the Right Database [ http://library.uvm.edu/~pmardeus/rightdb.html ]

           Learn more about Distinguishing between Scholarly and Non-scholarly Periodicals [ http://library.uvm.edu/~pmardeus/scholpopjnl.html ]

• To find articles from scholarly or research journals, use the databases listed under the subject categories, found in the Subject List of Databases [ http://library.uvm.edu/articles/subjects.html ].Read the database descriptions by clicking on "About." This will help you determine if the database is appropriate for your topic.
   -Don't overlook the "General & Multi-Subject" category in the Subject List of Databases. Many of the indexes in this category are useful for scholarly articles.
   -However, if you want an index to articles in scholarly journals and popular magazines, use Academic Search Premier or Expanded Academic ASAP. Or, use the databases listed in the Subject Guides under the category “Indexes, Abstracts, and Full-Text Databases” [ http://library.uvm.edu/guides/subjectguides/index.html ].

• As you begin your research, think broadly. Look at your topic from different perspectives. Scholars from a variety of disciplines may be researching a subject from different perspectives. Start with the most obvious databases, and then expand your horizons. If you are not sure which kind of periodical you want, or you are not sure which periodical index to use, ask a reference librarian to recommend an index for your topic. You may need to use more than one.

• Review journal articles, checking bibliographies/lists of cited sources for additional sources.

Find Periodicals in Bailey/Howe Library.

ALWAYS check the Library Catalog to see if UVM owns the journal and issue you need, and to find out the location of the journal.

• Go to the Library Catalog (http://voyager.uvm.edu)--> Click on "Quick Search," and choose "Journal Title" from the menu below the search box --> type the name of the journal in the search box --> Click on "Search."
  • The journal record in the Library Catalog will tell you: which issues are considered "current"; whether the back issues are on microfilm, in the Bound Periodical Stacks, or in the Library Research Annex; if the journal has an electronic version accessible for viewing online.

• Periodicals (current issues, back issues, and microfilm) are generally located on the 2nd floor. NOTE: most journal holdings in paper copy before 1960 are housed in the Library Research Annex.

Media Resources [ http://library.uvm.edu/about/mediaresources/index.html ] provides media library materials such as videorecordings, films, slides, cd-roms, musical recordings, and non-musical recordings.

• Use the Library Catalog [ http://voyager.uvm.edu ] to locate these materials.
  • If you know the name of the item, use the Quick Search option.
  • If you are looking for audiovisual material on a specific topic, use the Guided Keyword option and use the Set Limits (go to Item Type, and select an option from the list ) function.
  • If you are looking for a video or dvd on a specific topic, use the Guided Keyword option. In one search box type your search terms --> In a second search box type video? --> Click on "Search."

• Find Media Resources in Bailey/Howe Library.
  •   Materials in Media Resources are located on the ground floor.

The United States Government is the largest publisher in the world. The Bailey/Howe Library collects over 90% of  the print materials published by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government now publishes many of its materials in electronic format.

• Government Documents contains five major collections of material useful to UVM students, faculty, and the general public.
  • U.S. government documents
  • legal resources
  • selected international documents
  • Patent & Trademark
  • Map resources

• Use the Library Catalog [ http://voyager.uvm.edu/ ] to locate U.S. government documents published after 1976. For materials published before 1976, go to Government Documents and ask the librarian at the reference desk for assistance.

• Find Government Documents in Bailey/Howe Library.
  • Paper documents (Ground floor)
  • Electronic documents (Government Information [ http://library.uvm.edu/reference/government/index.html ] 

Web sites may be very useful sources of information. Use Web sites for: current information; images; information from companies, special interest groups, associations and local and national organizations; international information; popular information; statistics; government information.

• Search the Internet using your favorite search engines.

  Use caution when using Web sites for research. Because anyone can publish on the Internet, there is no accountability; nor is there "quality control." Some information may appear authoritative or scholarly, but after critical evaluation it may be biased, or intended to sell or persuade.

• The UVM Libraries Home Page provides access to many high-quality Web sites through individual Subject Guides
  [ http://library.uvm.edu/guides/subjectguides/ ].

• How to Evaluate Web Sites
  • Web Evaluation Techniques
  • Finding Information on the Internet
    (A very thorough tutorial from UC Berkeley)

Evaluating sources of information is an important step in the research process. The following guides provide information on evaluating different sources.

• Evaluation of  Information Sources  lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book or article for your research.

• What is a Scholarly Journal shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.

• Web Evaluation Techniques  provides criteria for evaluating Web sites.

Compile a bibliography using a style manual to develop a consistent format. Some standard style manuals include:

The Chicago Manual of Style
(Ready Ref) REF Z 253 .U69 2003
Selected Electronic versions: University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center – Chicago/Turabian [ http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html ]
University of California-Berkeley Library - Chicago/Turabian style [ http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/chicago-turabianstyle.pdf ]

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
(For undergraduate college students. Included here is information on selecting a topic, researching the topic, note taking, the writing of footnotes and bibliographies, as well as plagiarism. Useful for the beginning researcher. )
(Ready Ref) REF LB 2369 .G53 2003
Selected Electronic versions:  Purdue University Writing Lab - MLA format [ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/]
University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center – MLA style [ http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocMLA.html ]

MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
(For graduate students, scholars, and professional writers in the humanities.)
(Ready Ref) REF PN 147 .G444 1998

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
(The authoritative style manual for anyone writing in the field of psychology. Useful for the social sciences generally.)
(Ready Ref) REF BF 76.7 .A46 2001
Selected Electronic versions: Purdue University Writing Lab - APA format [ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/]
University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center – APA style [ http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.html]

If you are writing an annotated bibliography, see How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography, from the Orin & Uris Libraries, Cornell University, or Annotated Bibliographies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.