Read 0302 @NLC Library 

HANDOUTS

• Library Essentials -
• Using Online Databases -
• Primary Sources
• Evaluating Websites -  

Citation Guide

Activity:

• Start your research today! 
• Scholarly vs Popular Articles

Want books? Use:

ALAMO LIBRARY ONLINE CATALOG

Taking Sides series

Opposing Viewpoints series

Current Controversies series

• Primary Sources

  Firsthand, original accounts created at or around the time an event actually occurred

  Examples: autobiographies, original research, letters, memoirs, speeches, works of literature (poems, novels, etc.)

• Secondary Sources

  Interpretation, analysis, commentary, or summary after an event occurred

  Examples: literary criticism, biographies, reviews, analyses, textbook, encyclopedias, etc.

• Primary vs. Secondary Chart

• Primary Sources In the Online Catalog:

  • Diaries

  • Memoirs

  • Letters

  • Personal narratives (subject)

Want articles? Use:

ELECTRONIC DATABASES

• Academic Search Complete
• Opposing Viewpoints Center
• Issues and Controversies on File
• History Resource Center 

Home Access - Off Campus Password

Internet Sites

HOT LINKS- Helpful free websites in all subjects

 

Search Strategies: 

• Boolean - AND, OR, NOT
• Field searching - Subject, Author, Title
• Quotation marks for exact phrase
• Truncation - root + variants (*) 
• Database Limiters: date, publication type, type, peer-reviewed, etc.

Options for Full-Text - Where is the actual article???

•  PDF or HTML in database
• A TO Z ONLINE JOURNAL LOCATOR
• IDB & ILL

NEED HELP?Contact Us!

Call: (210) 486-5388

Email: nlc-reference@alamo.edu

Library Instructor: Laura Tull, Linda Plevak, Paul Andersen, Julie Nichols