The Library Homepage: Writing 115 Coursepage:

http://www.lanecc.edu/library http://writing115.wordpress.com/

Schedule a Research Appointment!

http://www.lanecc.edu/library/services/researchappointment.htm

Starting Your Research:

Getting started with your research can often be the biggest challenge. Using an Encyclopedia either in print or online to get an overview of your topic and identify key concepts and issues can be a great way to begin your investigation!

1) Think of a topic that interests you. For example: stress management or relationships or communication. Remember; ask a librarian if you need help!

2) From the library homepage click on the “Find an Article” link located in the left column.

This will take you to a list of library databases

3) In the left hand column you will see a link to “Encyclopedias & Dictionaries” if you click on this it will take you to the list of online Encyclopedias & Dictionaries” the library subscribes to.

Try your topic:

Encyclopedia Britannica Online — With over 73,000 articles, Encyclopedia Britannica is a powerful tool to have at your disposal. It contains both short and book-length articles on every subject.

Oxford Reference Online Premium
Full text from many of the Oxford University Press language and subject reference works.

If you would like to us the print Encyclopedias, please come in, and a librarian will be happy to help you out!

Finding Books:

To start we will go the Lane CC Library website:

www.lanecc.edu/library

Click on the link to “Find Books” –it is on the left hand side of the page.

Here is where you can start searching for books on your topic!

Sample topics could be:

Or, choose your own and begin with typing in the “keywords” of your topic and click on the “submit” button.

A list of available books or vhs/dvds should come up.

If you find a book that is of interest to you click on the title to learn more about it.

Tip!­ Note in the record there are “Subjects.” This can be a helpful way to find books similar to your topic. Click on one of the Subjects and browse—you may find the perfect book!

Tip! Note whether or not it is “available” this means it’s on the shelf! Checked out? Asked a staff member to about other options for getting this material.

In order to find our book(s) we need two pieces of information.

1) The title:______________________________________________________________

The call #:_____________________________________________________________

For example:

• Title: The Courage to Teach
• Call #: LB 1775 P25 1998

Tip! The call number is on the spine and essentially is the address of the book! All the books in the library are grouped together by topic. Make sure to browse the books to the left and right of the book your originally select—you may find another perfect read!

Finding Articles:

You can either look for magazines and journals available in print at the library or you can delve further into a larger number of magazines by using our library databases.

Databases, in some ways use the same searching techniques that you use when searching the library catalog. You use “keywords” on your topic to begin your search and can use subject headings to help guide your search. Unlike the catalog, which tells you, what the library owns—books, magazine titles, media and where to find these materials, databases are usually used to find articles and/or book reviews.

Databases allow you to explore your topic and take a peak inside these magazines by finding articles or even book reviews that match your search terms. While in print you are limited to the past few months, in the database you can find articles in multiple sources across a longer period of time.

The other advantage of databases is that articles are often available “full text” which means you should be able to access the entire article with just a mouse click. Short on time? With the databases you also have the option to print, save, or e-mail your article to yourself!

Search these databases to find journal, newspaper and/or magazine articles on your topic. Some databases will provide you scholarly articles, some with provide popular magazine or newspaper articles, some will provide both.

To access the library databases:

1) From the library homepage click on the “Find an Article” link located in the left column.

This will take you to a list of library databases

2) Under the “General Databases” Try out searching for your topic in:

MasterFILE Premier — Provides full text for nearly 1,950 general reference publications with full-text information dating as far back as 1975.

Some databases cover specific topics; Health Source, covers a variety of health topics.

1) From the library homepage click on the “Find an Article” link located in the left column.

This will take you to a list of library databases

2) Scroll down (or click on “Health” in the left hand column) to get to the Health Databases. Try:

Health Source: Consumer Edition — Full-text for nearly 300 journals on many health topics, including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health.

Tip! You can limit your search to “Full Text” articles (articles available through the database) by checking the “Full Text” box . –Ask a librarian to help you with your search!

Citing your sources:

Your class is using MLA citation style. Information on Citation Style can be found on LCC Library’s page. http://lanecc.edu/library/find/citing.htm