NLC Library

Chatham - Government 2302

Library Instructor: Kristin Johnson

Where Do I Start? 

• Search our catalog for books, ebooks, letters, government documents, magazines, newspapers, etc.

• Search our databases for scholarly journal articles, research, magazine articles, newspaper articles, etc. (Get help with  Database tutorials.)

Databases:

• Academic Onefile
• Academic Search Complete
• Background Notes
• GPO Access
• JSTOR
• Legal Collection
• Millitary & Government Collection
• Opposing Viewpoints Center
• Thomas

Websites:  

• NLC Library's Hot Links
• Political Science Resources on the Web
• Think Tanks
• EDIRC: Think Tanks
• Project Vote Smart
• US Think Tanks 

Handouts (also available in the Library):

• Library Essentials - PDFWord
• Basic Research - PDFWord
• Types of Periodicals -PDF Word
• Developing a Search Strategy -  Word  PDF
• Evaluating Websites -  Word   PDF

What's the Difference?

• Scholarly vs Popular magazines
• Internet Vs Database

Mental Narrowing:

Class exercise: Fill out the exercise worksheet using these strategies.

Take a moment to think of your search terms.

• Use keywords from your topic, synonyms, and alternate spellings. 

• Truncation: An easy way to get alternate spellings in one go.  The symbol can vary from database to database, but you can always find it in the help option.

• Use the Advanced Search Screen and take advantage of the Fields: Subject, Author, Title, Place, ISBN, Company Name, etc.

• Use controlled vocabulary! 

• Put your search terms together with Boolean Operators (AND, OR, and AND NOT).

• Use the Limiters: peer review, full text, primary sources, date, text with images, publication title, and more.

• Use quote marks to search for key phrases.

• Use subject terms from previous search results - look under find similiar articles or the citation.

• Use citations and bibliographies from good sources to find even more great sources (this is great if you get stuck).
• Check the A to Z Journal Locator! 

Evaluation, a Celebration:

Class exercise: Determine the bias (if any) of the three websites listed on your worksheet.

• Bias!  What is the slant?
• Who (is the author?), What (is the purpose?), Where (does the info come from?), When (was it written?), Why (is this source better than others?)
• Author, Date, Edition/Revision, Intended Audience, Objectivity, Coverage, Style of Writing, Reviews, Check URL