Welcome to the Eckerd College library! While it is likely that you have previously used libraries to find books, articles, and electronic information for a variety of information needs, you may not be familiar with the more sophisticated methods of conducting research at the college level nor the wide range of information available through subject-specific databases and the World Wide Web. This guide will serve as a primer for conducting college level research and will explain a few terms and concepts to ensure your visit to the library is a successful one.

Before You Begin

Defining your topic- Your instructor may assign a very specific research topic or you may be asked to choose your own. If your topic is assigned, be sure that you fully understand the scope and depth of the research you need to do (how many sources you should use, how many pages the paper should be, the exact nature of the topic, etc.). Clarify any questions with your instructor before coming to the library to begin your research. If you need to choose a topic, try choosing something in which you have a particular interest. If you're having difficulty choosing, narrowing, or broadening a topic, ask a librarian for assistance. If a librarian is not at the reference desk, you can request to speak to a librarian by asking a staff member behind the circulation desk.

Timing- Gathering research materials is a relatively easy task, provided you have a definite topic and you work with a librarian who will guide you to the most relevant resources. Reading, analyzing, and synthesizing the material into a coherent and balanced paper is the time consuming part, so it is best to begin gathering data early. Students who wait until the last minute become frustrated when: a.) all the books on their subject have been checked out by other students and b.) relevant articles are not available locally. You can obtain materials from other libraries through InterLibrary Loan (ILL), but this process can take from 7-10 days, making it necessary to order materials well in advance of the paper's due date.

Finding Material

Books- The online catalog (Web Voyáge) is accessible from the library web page http://www.eckerd.edu/library. Click on Catalog. Books, journal titles (not articles), and reserve materials can be found by using the online catalog. For a user guide to the online catalog, click How to Find Books on the library web page banner.

Articles- Finding articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers requires the use of print indexes, electronic indexes, and/or full text databases. Online resources are free to all Eckerd students, staff, and faculty and can be accessed through the library web site's Database page (note- most databases require passwords or special instructions for off-campus access. Ask a librarian for access instructions.). For more information about searching the databases, click How to Find Articles on the library web page banner.

• Print Indexes- Printed on a regular basis, indexes provide citations (key information needed to find an article) to journal, magazine, and /or newspaper literature in a variety of fields. Citations include: Author, Article Title, Journal Title, Volume, Number, Year, and Page Numbers. Example: Richlin, Amy. "Teaching religion and feminist theory to a new generation." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 14:2 (1998): 124-131. Examples of Print Indexes are: Applied Science and Technology Index, Religion Index, New York Times Index, etc. Most electronic indexes only cover the past few years, making it necessary to use prints indexes for older material.

• Electronic Indexes- Searching electronic indexes is faster than using a print version since you can search a range of dates simultaneously. Some provide an abstract (a brief summary of the article) while others only provide an article citation. Electronic Indexes available through the Databases library web page include: Basic BIOSIS, Sociological Abstracts, Newspaper Index, etc. Some indexes are available only in the library on CD-ROM, such as PsycLIT and MLA. Click on the link at the top of the page labeled "Click here for a descriptive, alphabetical list" for location and a detailed description. Once you have a citation, you need to determine if our library subscribes to the journal containing the article. Use the E-Journals by Title link on the library web page to find out whether the journal is available electronically or in print. If it is not available locally, you can either order the article through InterLibrary Loan (a free service which takes 7-10 days. Please consult with a librarian for ILL procedures.) or check availability at a near-by library (USF Bayboro and Tampa libraries have extensive journal/magazine holdings).

• Full Text Databases- Similar to the electronic indexes, these databases cover a wide range of academic areas and news sources. Articles are available to print , download to disk, or send as email in their entirety. Available databases include: InfoTrac Search Bank, Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe, JSTOR, etc.

Indexes and databases are grouped on the Database web page by subject matter. General Academic Databases/News Resources contain material with a broad scope covering many subject areas. Most of the full text databases are grouped here. Social Sciences contain only those databases that cover topics in the social sciences (psychology, sociology, political science, economics, business, management, etc.) Humanities Resources include databases that cover topics in the humanities (art, music, literature, religion, history, etc.) Science Resources contain databases that cover topics in the sciences (biology, chemistry, marine science, environmental sciences, etc.) Health and Medicine contains databases for both scholarly and consumer-related topics in the health, medicine, nursing, bio-medicine, etc. Many online indexes and full text databases do not cover older dates making it necessary to use print indexes.

Web Sites- There are many web sites which contain current, accurate, and worthwhile information. Finding useful web sites is not always an easy task. If you use a search engine or subject directory, it takes time and effort to evaluate the information and determine the credentials of the author(s).  

Who is publishing information on the Internet and why is it there? How reliable, accurate, and timely is this information? These are the questions we must ask before using web search engines and directories to locate research materials. Unlike the structured resources available at the library web site, search engines and directories will most likely return a large mix of both useful and useless information from the many thousands of web sites around the world.  Ask yourself these questions before using random web resources in your research:  

Why is it on the Internet? Is someone trying to sell something, provide a service, state an opinion, describe a pastime, or increase access to worthwhile sources?

How old is it? When was the last time the web page was updated?

Who wrote it? Is the author's name at the website? Is there an email link to send the author questions or comments?

Are there links to other documents supporting the validity of claims, citations, or statistics?

Where are the files for this site stored? Does the site reside on a government (gov), university or college (edu), or commercial (com) server?

For detailed information on evaluating electronic information, refer to the following resources:

Milton's Web at Johns Hopkins University

Robert Harris at Southern California College

Library Terms

(from: "ODLIS", Joan Reitz http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/library/odlis.html)

Citation - A written reference to a specific work (book, article, dissertation, report, musical composition, etc.) by a particular author or creator which identifies the document in which the work may be found.

Index -A cumulative list of periodical articles, arranged alphabetically by subject and by author 's last name. Most periodical indexes are devoted to a specific field (example: PsycLIT in psychology) or type of periodical (example: New York Times Index). In libraries, periodical indexes may be available in print, on CD-ROM, via the online catalog, or as separate online databases. Also, a list of subjects covered in a book, usually published at the end of the book.

Journal - A scholarly periodical devoted to disseminating current information about research and developments in a specific field or subfield of human knowledge. Usually published quarterly. Most journal articles are longer than five pages and include a bibliography or list of works cited. Journal articles usually include a paragraph at the beginning, called an abstract, which summarizes the main points of the article

Magazine - A popular or general interest periodical containing articles on a variety of topics by different authors. Usually includes color graphics and advertising printed on glossy paper. Articles tend to be short (1-3 pages). Most magazines are issued weekly or monthly

Periodical - A publication with a distinctive title issued in softcover more than once, usually at regular intervals, without prior decision as to when the final issue will appear. Includes magazines and journals as well as newspapers and newsletters. Libraries usually bind all the issues which appear during a specific calendar year in numbered volumes.