High School Library. Student Research Handbook. O m a h a, N e b r a s k a. Mrs. Sarah Mlnarik. H i g h S c h o o l L i b r a r y

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1 High School Library O m a h a, N e b r a s k a Student Research Handbook H i g h S c h o o l L i b r a r y Address of School High School Library Omaha, NE Phone: sarahmlnarik@q.com Mrs. Sarah Mlnarik

2 Table of Contents General information Page 3 Research process Page 4 Locating available resources Page 5-6 Evaluating resources Page 7 Plagiarism and how to avoid it Pages 8-9 Citing sources Pages

3 General Information Basic components of the library: Fiction shelves Nonfiction shelves Reference shelves Circulation desk Computer workstations Periodicals (current and past issues) Student work tables Student conference rooms Library classroom Copier and printer station Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 7:15 am to 3:15 pm Mission statement: The mission of the library is to reinforce, assist, and encourage the educational programs of the school by promoting literacy and information skills and working to cultivate effective users of information and ideas. 3

4 Research Process (IPP)* Context Define task What is the problem? What information is needed? What do I already know? What do I need to find out? Experience Develop a search strategy What are the best possible sources? Do I need finding these sources? Identify key words Who are the key people? What are the key places and things? Locate and gather information Reflection Select and assess sources Categorize Prioritize Interpret Infer Analyze Imagine Credit my sources Do I need a bibliography? Have I plagiarized? Action Organize Finalize Submit results Evaluation Were my search strategies productive? Did I search electronic and print sources? Were all available sources used? Was the process efficient? Was the product effective? Source: Creighton Preparatory School, Cassem Memorial Library, library bookmark * IPP Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm is a teaching style created under the leadership of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association, which focuses on instruction based on the methodology practiced by St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises. The steps are Context, Experience, Reflection, Action, and Evaluation. 4

5 Locating Available Resources Print resources can be searched by using the automated card catalog system. Electronic resources can be accessed on any computer in the school building. The library has available: Print Resources (classified by Dewey Decimal System) Approximately 11,000 books 800 reference titles 33 magazine subscriptions Newspaper subscriptions Dewey Decimal System of Classification 000 General Information 100 Philosophy and Psychology 200 Religion 300 Social Science 400 Language 500 Mathematics and Science 600 Applied Science 700 Arts 800 Literature 900 Geography and History 5

6 Locating Available Resources, cont. Electronic Resources Automated card catalog system Library website Databases (online home access available with passwords from library) Access Science Lit Finder Britannica Online Maps 101 CQ Researcher and Politics Contemporary Authors EBSCO Facts.com First Search Grove Art History Study Center Nebraska Access Opposing Viewpoints Oxford Dictionary Oxford Reference Power Media Plus SIRS and Government Reporter Wilson Web 6

7 Evaluating Resources Deciding if a source should be used is not always an easy task. Several criteria should be considered in deciding whether to use print or online sources. Authorship Who wrote the source? What are the author s credentials? (education, background, position) Is this author qualified to write on the topic? What publisher/institution is associated with the author? Relevance/Reliability Does the source have the kind of information needed? Does the information contradict what was already found or is it verified by other sources? Is the information cited? Is a bibliography provided? Are there grammar, punctuation, or spelling problems? Currency When was the source published? For your topic, do you need current information or is it ok to use older information? If your source is online, when was the site last updated? Objectivity/Bias/Audience For whom did the author write the work? Does the intended audience meet your information needs? What is the purpose of the writing to inform, persuade, entertain, etc.? Does the writing have a highly emotional style? Sources consulted: Bowling Green State University Library website University of Wisconsin Madison Library website 7

8 Plagiarism and how to avoid it Plagiarism is using words or ideas of another person without giving credit or trying to use others ideas as one s own. Plagiarism, when done intentionally, is easy for students to identify. This includes things such as copying a person s paper or buying a paper off the Internet. More difficult for students to identify is unintentional plagiarism, which usually results from lack of citing, improper paraphrasing, or insufficient citing. Avoid plagiarism by giving credit for: Any idea or theory that belongs to another person Any piece of information that is not common knowledge, including statistics, facts, drawings Any quotations of a person s spoken or written word Any paraphrasing of a person s spoken or written word Paraphrasing information should be done by: Reading information and accurately summarizing the content by using your own words Providing the source of the information, including the page number, even though you have paraphrased it into your own words Putting quotation marks around any phrases or sentences taken exactly from the source Paraphrasing should not: Only change a few words or phrases Only change the order of the words in the source s sentences Fail to provide a citation Fail to put quotation marks around any phrases or sentences that are another person s 8

9 Plagiarism and how to avoid it Note-taking is a key skill in preparing for a research paper and avoiding plagiarism. Note-taking should follow the suggested guidelines: Use loose leaf paper or 3 x 5 notecards. Know the kind of ideas you need to record. Organize your sources into a master list and assign each source a number. At the top of each card, label the source number. Record only one point on each index card. Use either points or sentences in your note-taking Be succinct and remember that your notes are a draft, not your final research Paraphrase the information into your own ideas. This allows you to MAKE notes rather than TAKE notes. Be aware of what kind of information you are recording background facts, more unknown facts that need additional support, or opinions. If writing down a quotation, be sure to use quotation marks, or even write it in a different color of ink. Record where every note came from, including a page number, in case you need to return to the information. Sources consulted: Indiana University Bloomington website Purdue University website University of Toronto website 9

10 Citing sources Standard citation style for most high school project is to use MLA (Modern Language Association) style. In-text citation is also known as parenthetical citation. After a quote or a paraphrase from a source, the author s name and the page number from the source should be given. Human beings have been described as symbol-using animals (Burke 3). The in-text citation matches an entry in the Works Cited, or Bibliography, page. Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: University of California Press, Works Cited pages should be organized with the entries listed by author s last name. Examples show different formats for different types of sources. Book: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, Book with more than one author: Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, Book with Three or more authors: Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, Article in a magazine: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000:

11 Citing sources Article in a scholarly journal: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): Website: Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site [electronic address]. The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. 23 April 2006 < Page on a website: "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." ehow.com. 10 May 2006 < how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html>. Article from an electronic subscription service: Grabe, Mark. "Voluntary Use of Online Lecture Notes: Correlates of Note Use and Note Use as an Alternative to Class Attendance." Computers and Education 44 (2005): ScienceDirect. Purdue U Lib., West Lafayette, IN. 28 May 2006 < An Article or Publication in Print and Electronic Form: Author. "Title of Article." Periodical Name Volume Number (if necessary) Publication Date: page number-page number. Database name. Service name. Library Name, City, State. Date of access <electronic address of the database>. Examples from Purdue University 11

Guide to APA and MLA Writing Styles. Brought to you by the Gateway Technical College Academic Support Centers and Libraries

Guide to APA and MLA Writing Styles Brought to you by the Gateway Technical College Academic Support Centers and Libraries Disclaimer Individual instructor requirements may vary and deviate from these