Research Tasks English 200

Research Tasks
English 200

Note: Most of the Computer portion of the Research Tasks can be done from home, BUT you must set up a proxy as described in the Connect from Home link on the Library home page.

Number One:

Computer Oriented:
Become familiar with the VCU Library. http://www.library.vcu.edu/

Click on the Help tab at the top of the page. Under Help, click on Learn How (in the yellow bar under the tabs) Click on Getting Started with Your Research. http://www.library.vcu.edu/help/getstarted.html Read the pages for Books, Magazines and Journals, Government Sources, Internet Sites, and current Events. Read Search Tips and record some of this advice. Read and understand the Free/Fee-Based distinctions under Internet Sites. Write about what you learn.

From the VCU Libraries Home Page, click on Cabell (in the set of yellow bars in the upper left-hand corner of the screen). Browse the library Floor maps for the Cabell Library to get a sense of how things are laid out. Take a look at the Cabell Library FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions). Pay a visit to Media Resources and find out what films or audio tapes are available to you; record several choices. Find out how long you can get them and for how long.

Hands On:
Describe how books are shelved in the library; where are the signs that tell you this information? Where are the periodicals housed in the library? Find the book with the call number PS3529.H29 A77 1953. What is it? Describe how you found it. How else could you have found it?

Number Two:

Computer Oriented:
From the Library homepage, http://www.library.vcu.edu/ visit the Resources for Undergraduates page. Become familiar with using the VCU Library catalog-DCAT.

Find out how to use Infotrac. Record what it is and how you might use it.

Find out how to use Lexis/Nexis. What is it for?

Visit the Electronic Reference Shelf. (in the Green bar on the left) Look into some reference materials available online. Record the names of several reference sources that you can see as immediately useful to you.

Click on the Research tab at the top of the library page.

Here you will see the Databases listed by Subject Area in the Yellow bar under the Library Tabs. Which of these might be helpful for your topic. What kinds of databases are there that you might be interested in? What about the Database A-Z list? When might you use that?

Visit Government Information. Look in Quick Links for Federal Government, Virginia State Government, and Virginia Local Government information. Record the kinds of information you can find here.

Hands On:
What is Inter-Library Loan and where is it in the library? How does it work? Available on-line?

Number Three:

Computer Oriented:
Read Internet Research. http://www.library.vcu.edu/internet.html Read Accessibility and Distribution on the Web. Read the information about Subject Indexes and Directories and when to use them. Using your paper topic, visit several subject directories and explore your subject area to see what is available. Look at the URL’s in the hits that you get. Notice how the subject directories differ in terms of what they find and how they operate. Record your findings.

Search several different search engines. Spend some time checking out the links that each search engine comes up with. Notice and record how the search engines differ.

Go to Understanding and Decoding URLs. Library.usask.ca/hsl/presentations/ptnet/url.html . Follow the link to a list of domain types and what they mean. Keep that information in mind as you explore and research the Web.

Hands On:
Where are most of the reference materials/books housed in the library? Walk through this section and note some of the kinds of reference materials that are available in this section. What things might be helpful to you? What kinds of things were you surprised to find?

Find a newspaper article about Eugene Debs from the early part of the century. Give the name of the article, the name of the newspaper and how you found it. You will probably need help with this. Find The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and describe how it works

Number Four:

Computer Oriented:
Review the Evaluate Your Sources page from the VCU Library. http://www.library.vcu.edu/help/evaluate.html . Record the four key evaluation questions from that page. Underline the key words in each question as a way to remember its significance. You’ll do more with this part later. Read and become familiar with two other evaluation sites on that page under Other Evaluation Tips.

Read Distinguishing between Scholarly and Non-scholarly Journals. Record the name of one of each type listed: scholarly, substantive, popular, and sensational. Think about how firm these categories are. How would you categorize the Richmond Times-Dispatch, for example, or another hometown newspaper?

Visit Comparing and Evaluating Web Information Sources. http://fromnowon.org/jun97/eval.html . Look over the evaluation Criteria and then compare them with the key terms you underlined when you were looking at the VCU Evaluation page above. Get the definitions and terms clear enough in your mind so that you can discuss them in class and use them in evaluating resources. In other words, don’t just copy them; learn what they mean so that they will be useful to you.

Hands On:
Where are Bound Journals housed in the library? Tour the Bound Journals section and describe how the journals are shelved and what kinds of journals are bound? Why? What kinds of materials would be on Microfilm?

Number Five:

Computer Oriented:
The Electronic Reference Shelf (remember this from research task two) has several different style guides that you may use for citing electronic source. Visit the MLA’s Guide to Citing World Wide Web Sources. Review the rules for citing web-based sources.

Go the Owens Library Homepage at Northwest Missouri State University (No, I’m not giving you the address on purpose. How can you find that?) From there go to Citing Sources. Look under MLA and find the correct way to cite a source from Infotrac and how to cite a Web Page. Record an example of each.

Note: It is often easier to open the Owens Library Home page from Internet Explorer.

Hands On:
One of the major ways of establishing the authority of your information is to cite it accurately. Different academic fields or disciplines often use different systems of documentation.

From a teacher or department in which you intend to major, find out the name of the style manual or guide that specifies the conventions for documentation (footnotes, bibliography etc.) in the field. Record the name of the manual; record the name of the person who gave you the information and the date you were told. (That’s the citation) Locate the manual in the library. Look at the table of contents. Record an example of how to cite a journal article by more than one author and record a book. Does the manual explain how to cite sources from the web? If so, record an example of how to cite information from a web site.

Number Six:

Computer Oriented:
Visit the following web sites on copyright and law, and write definitions of intellectual property, cyber-property, acceptable or fair use, and copyright. These are the exact title of the web sites. How can you find the sites?

Stanford University Libraries: Copyright & Fair Use

Hands On:
Look up the definitions of information and knowledge in the dictionary and explain the distinction between the two. Record the sources for you definitions. Define facts, inferences, judgements, and opinions. Cite your sources. What does your understanding of these terms have to do with the quality of your paper.

Where in Cabell Library is Special Collections? What kinds of material are kept there? What are the rules for using those materials?