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Mike Hartl, Instructor,
Speech I
Judy Clark Baumgardner, Librarian
The URL is: http://www.cos.edu/library/judyb/speechhartl.htm
1.
COS Library
Homepage:
http://cos.edu/library/
Remote Access to Academic
Electronic Resources – logins & passwords.
See hand-out; additional
copies are always available at the Reference Desk.
2.
Academic
Electronic Resources:
A database is an
organized collection of information that can be searched in an orderly fashion.
Examples of print databases include phonebooks, dictionaries and
encyclopedias. Electronic databases can include library catalogs, magazines and
newspapers. Some will give you the full-text of the article and some will give
you only the citation.
Infotrac -
provides articles from more than 500 scholarly, trade and general-interest
publications, as well as references for The New York Times. The time period it
covers is current year to date + the previous 3 years. The coverage extends as
far back as 1980. The default search page is the Subject Search. The
Basic Search is keyword and phrase searching. Many of the articles in the
database are full-text.
Subject Search
It is
always a good idea to look at the subdivisions of your subject; this will
help to narrow your topic down.
Other COS Library Academic Electronic Databases:
Academic Search Elite
(many articles in this magazine index are full-text); CQ Researcher; CountryWatch; Fresno Bee Newspaper; Los
Angeles Times Newspaper; Lexis/Nexis (NOT AVAILABLE OFF-CAMPUS); SIRS; Gale
Virtual Reference Library; Student Research Center
PERIODICAL INDEXES AND DATABASES: Located on the first floor of
the library. Periodicals refer to information printed over a period of time such
as magazines, journals and newspapers. These are excellent sources for current
and authoritative information. To find an article on a specific topic, it is
necessary to use an index. Indexes are available in paper and electronic
formats. The library subscribes to approximately 23 indexes, 300
periodicals and 13 newspapers. For periodicals that the COS Library does
not have available, there is also the possibility of an Inter-Library Loan from
Fresno State University.
DATABASES FOR CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:
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CQ Researcher - Your complete source on the most current and
controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and
cons, bibliographies and more.
-
SIRS (Social Issues Research Series) - SIRS contains all full-text
articles from a variety of newspaper and magazines covering current social
issues.
You
can limit your search by full-text, date, e-mail articles to an off-campus
address, etc.
3.
ONLINE BOOK CATALOG: Can
search by keyword, author, title, subject This is a fairly new system that the COS
Library has – everyone is getting acquainted with it. The best way to do this
is to simply use the online catalog and “mess around” and see what features are
available.
4.
NET LIBRARY
COLLECTION: This
is a collection of over 6000 books on a wide variety of topics. The books in
this collection are all full-text on the computer. To locate and use this
collection:
If you are
on campus: go
directly to the Library Home Page and click on NetLibrary e-books. This will put
you right at the search screen.
If you are
going to use this collection while off-campus:
go to the Library Home Page and first click on Create Remote Access
Account. This site will guide you through the creation of a personal password
that will enable you to use this collection off-campus.
5.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Located on the first floor of the library behind the Reference Desk. These
books must remain in the library. Reference books include dictionaries, almanacs
and encyclopedias. Specialized or subject encyclopedias (concentrating on a
particular subject instead of covering all knowledge) are excellent starting
points for research. They are focused on a particular topic, cover the major
concepts of the topic, are written by experts in the field, and often have
bibliographies or other references. Examples of Reference books in the COS
library are as follows:
Statistical Abstract of the United States #R317.3 Un58
This resource is also
available online at the following URL:
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
The World Almanac and Book of Facts #R317.3 W927
6. CIRCULATING BOOKS: Located on the second floor of the library. Our newest books
are, for the most part, in the areas of science and social issues, and current
topics, because we try to build the collection to the type of assignments given
to students. In the COS Library there is a series of books called "Opposing
Viewpoints" which give pro and con arguments on a variety of issues. To find
these in the catalog use a "simple search" and type in "opposing viewpoints".
Another series of books in the COS Library are called "Reference Shelf". To find
these books type in a simple search
"reference shelf" in the
Online Book Catalog.
7.
Search Tips: This is a link that you can go to on the COS Library Homepage for helpful search
tips, including some of the material below.
Phrase searching:
sometimes our keywords
include a phrase instead of single words. Some examples might be: child abuse,
endangered species, national parks, family conflict, sibling rivalry. Put quote
marks around phrases so the computer will search for it as a phrase and not as
individual words – the words will be “glued together”. Example: “domestic
violence in the home”
·
Keyword - A
significant or memorable word or term in the title, abstract or text of an item
that indicates its subject and can be used for searching. Most online catalogs
and bibliographic databases include an option that allows the user to search by
keyword(s). In this type of search, users enter a significant word or words
that describe the research topic and the catalog or database retrieves all
records where the search terms appear.
·
Boolean
Operators – keyword searching uses Boolean Operators to link search terms
together. The one that you will use most often is AND – this finds all
documents (results) containing ALL your search terms, e.g., “air
pollution” and asthma
OR
is used when you want to
retrieve results that have either one word or the other word; this will
enlarge (and broaden) your search, e.g., farming OR agriculture
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To obtain articles
dealing with both sides of your issue, use the following terms: PRO or CON
or DEBAT* or DISCUS* or ARGU* or PERSUA* or OPINION* along with your topic's
keywords or subject headings.
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To obtain articles
containing statistical information dealing with your issue, use some of the
following terms: CHART* or GRAPH* or STATIST* or TABLE* or FIGURE* or
PERCENT* or NUMBER*
Keyword
Searching – Every
database is made up of words and although the computer does not think the way we
do, it is terrific at recognizing words. When you type words in the search box
the computer will look in the database for those words and bring back all of the
records that contain the words that you requested. In keyword searching you
want the most important words that describe your topic.
Search query,
example 1: How can consumers protect their credit cards? Keywords might be
“credit cards”, consumers, protect
Search query, example 2: Should the minimum wage be mandatory? Keywords might be “minimum
wage”, mandatory
With
keyword searching you need to be flexible and be able to think of different
terms that might describe your topic. Grab a thesaurus and look for synonyms
of the words that you are using. I used one and found the following words that
you might use in addition to consumers : buyer, customer,
purchaser, shopper.
8. WEB
SITES FOR CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:
Principles
of Public Speaking Northern Virginia Community College -
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/npeck/spd100/default.htm
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