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Library Session:

Locating Information Resources


CHI 154
Mortola Library
Spring 2010
Session Objectives
 Use reference sources to locate background
information
 Locate books pertaining to your topic using
the Pace Library Catalog.
 Find articles on your topic in library
databases.
 Cite resources correctly using either MLA
or APA documentation style.
Subject vs. Keyword Searching
 Keyword searches target entire records in the
library catalog.
 “history of education”
 Subject searches target only the Library of
Congress subject headings that have been
assigned to materials. Search terms must
match subject headings exactly.
 education, history
 curriculum change
Search Tip: Boolean Logic
 Most electronic search tools (library catalogs and
databases, Web search engines) allow you to
combine concepts using the Boolean operators AND
and OR.
 Use AND to combine concepts (authors and titles)
 (robert frost AND birches)
 Use OR to search for a single concept using
synonyms or related terms.
 (fairy OR folk) AND tales
Reference Sources…
 Can familiarize you with a subject area or
discipline.
 Can help you focus your topic.
 Can lead you to other useful books and
articles.
 Are an excellent place to start your
research.
Finding Relevant Reference Sources
 Gale Virtual Reference Library
 Search the Pace Library Catalog…
 …by keyword for “[subject area] and encyclopedias”
 …by keyword for “[subject area]” with location
limited to “Mortola Reference”
 If you are unsure of the subject area that your
topic falls under, try a general source like
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Pace Library Catalog

 Use the library catalog to find out what we


have and where to find it.
 To find materials on a given topic, perform a
keyword search.
 To find books about a person, perform a
subject search for “last name, first name.”
 i.e., Morrison, Toni
Finding Articles Using Pace
Library Databases
 Databases provide access to articles (citations,
abstracts and/or full text) published in
periodicals.
 Use a database that is appropriate to the
subject area you are researching.
 Databases are subscription products available
on campus or from home with your MyPace
Portal username and password.
Suggested Databases
 Academic Search Premier
 Research Library
 Watch out for book and theater reviews!
 New York Times Archive
 Provides full-text access to news reports.
 JSTOR
 Use the “Advanced Search” screen for more
precise searching
Advanced Google Searching
Search by Domain:

 .org = nonprofit organizations

 .edu = academic/educational institutions

 .gov = government entities in the U.S.


Citing Your Sources
 When you build upon the ideas of others, you
always need to give appropriate credit for
those ideas.
 Failure to do may be considered plagiarism
 Always use a conventional documentation
style (MLA, APA, etc.) so that your reader
can locate the sources you used.
Questions?
Mortola Library Reference Desk:
(914) 773-3505

For Doug Heimbigner:


http://librarypace.blogspot.com
dheimbigner@pace.edu

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