Research Guide for ENG102: Community and Identity
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Prepared by Elinor Appel To get help: Email me, come to the library reference desk, or chat online with a reference librarian. NSCC Library (this will open in a new window)
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.
- Keyword worksheet
- When you search, remember to use both broad and narrow search terms. (This is especially true when you are searching the library catalog.) For instance Dineh and Navaho are narrower terms; American Indian is a broader term.
Web-search tips
- Limit your search by domain, for instance educational sites:
- Find an authoritative website for background information. For instance, these Indian Adoption Project pages are part of a larger website, The Adoption History Project, created by the University of Oregon.
- Always check your online source for Authority, Bias, and Currency.
- Authority: who created the content? Does it reference the sources/authors in statements it makes?
- Bias: what is the bias, mission, or standpoint of the resource? Is its bias clear?
- Currency: when was the page last updated? Is the information still relevant?
Looking for full text secondary sources online? Refer to Finding Articles for tips on how to search ProQuest using keywords and Topics. Again: think about your keywords. Experiment with related terms, for instance: adoption, Child Welfare Act.
- and – for combining concepts/keywords, will narrow the search: adoption and identity
- or – when you are using related terms, will broaden the search: Navajo or Dineh
Other periodical databases:
- Academic Search Premier - another general database with a range of articles
- eLibrary Academic - an articles database that includes images, transcripts
- Ethnic NewsWatch - articles from ethnic and minority publications
If you are looking for historical or literary context, try the reference databases. Two examples:
- History Resource Center, U.S. - essays, biographies, journal articles, primary documents
- Literature Resource Center - journal articles, reviews, biographical information
To access these databases from off campus, log in with your Student ID Number and last name.
Books
Books - use these for both background information (reference books) or indepth information (circulating collection)
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 . . .
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.
Annotated Bibliographies and Noodlebib
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.
If Noodlebib isn't your cup of tea, try another online citation generator, like Knightcite (Calvin College) or 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
- How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography, Cornell University
Review: Primary or Secondary? Popular or Scholarly?
- Britney Spears Pepsi Superbowl Commercial (on YouTube)
- Communicating With the Agentic Woman and the Communal Man: Are Stereotypic Advertising Appeals Still Relevant? (PDF)
- Media Cited For Showing Girls as Sex Objects (USA Today)
- "Video game" (article in Wikipedia)
- "When War Meets Video Games" (article in Wired)
"Seasons of a Navajo" (1984), Part 1