Research Guide for ENG102: Identity & Community
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Prepared by Elinor Appel NSCC Library (this will open in a new window) After workshop 1 you should be able to find two outside academic sources using
After workshop 2 you should be able to
Image licensed under Creative Commons by Vlastula |
Keywords
Before you begin your research, consider your keywords (search terms). Finding the right keywords will help you to retrieve the results you want.
- Begin with the topics your instructor has provided (or vetted). Identify your search terms, then begin your list of related terms.
- Use both broad and narrow search terms. (This is especially true when you are searching the library catalog.) For instance Dineh and Navaho are related terms; American Indian is a broader term. A narrower but related term for adoption (in this context): Child Welfare Act.
- keyword worksheet
You will find peer-reviewed articles in periodical databases like ProQuest. Refer to Finding Articles for tips on how to search ProQuest using keywords and Proquest Topics. Other search tips:
- use and for combining concepts/keywords, will narrow the search: adoption and identity; teenage and pregnancy
- use or when you are using related terms, will broaden the search: Navajo or Dineh; teenage or adolscent
More periodical databases:
- Academic Search Premier - another general database with a range of articles
- Ethnic NewsWatch - articles from ethnic and minority publications
To access these databases from off campus, log in with your Student ID Number and last name.
Sample search (more complicated than it needs to be!):
Books
Reference books (first floor), books in the circulating collection (second floor) and ebooks are all available through the library Website. Check out books using your Student ID card.
Refer to Finding Books for tips on searching the catalog using keywords and subjects. Begin with a Keyword Relevance search:
Then find a title that looks good:
Click on the title to open the record. Check location, call number, and availability.
Locate the subjects in the record . . .
Click on the subject link. These subject links will lead to more on the same topic. You may need to look at several different book titles in order to collect your related subject headings.
A few final points:
- Can't find a book on your topic? Consider searching more broadly, then check the index of the book for information related to your topic. (Just because your topic isn't in the title doesn't mean it isn't in the book!)
- For some topics you will find more information in books, for others it will be more useful to search periodical databases for articles. This is especially true of newer information.
Group tasks
- Group 1 (Girl, Interrupted): Find an online book on women and borderline personality disorder. How would you get it?
- Group 2 (The Bluest Eye): Find a book by bell hooks on your race and gender. How would you get it?
- Group 3 (Looking for Lost Bird): Find a book on interracial adoption. How would you get it?
- Group 4 (Juno): Find a recent book on teenagers and identity. How would you get it?
Annotated Bibliographies and Noodlebib
For Research Assignment 1 (due Nov. 26) you will need to write an annotated bibliography consisting of 5 sources. Each annotation should contain three parts and be 5 - 6 sentences long:
- summary/description (1 - 2 sentences)
- evaluation (1 - 2 sentences)
- how the content connects to your research ( 1 -2 sentences)
Noodlebib will help you cite your sources correctly and will save all your citations for you formatted for a Works Cited page. Click here for an example of a Noodlebib record.
Other citationa generators: Knightcite (Calvin College) and Son of Citation (Landmarks for Schools). These resources are simpler to use but also less useful.
Additional resources:
- "How do I document sources from the Web in the works-cited list for my research paper?" - Modern Language Association
- MLA Citation Style (Cornell University Library)
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide (Owl Writing Center at Purdue University)
- Annotated Bibliographies, Owl Writing Center at Purdue University (Includes section: "Why should I write an annotated bibliography?")
- How to Write an Annotated Bibliography (Tallahassee Commmunity College)
"Seasons of a Navajo" (1984), Part 1