Archive for the 'Tips and Techniques' Category

Break is over although many of us wish that it would have never ended, but now it’s back to school! So how do we get into a good rhythm with classes after a relaxing worry free winter break? The Pearson Library offers many services that will help you get back into the swing of things. Get a jump start on your research papers by taking advantage of the many resources available  from thousands of hard copy books, over 150 online databases, to hundreds of  DVDs .

With the library’s Interlibrary Loan Service, you can request to loan materials which are unavailable at Pearson Library. So if we don’t have a book or item that your looking for, don’t worry we can get it for you!

Probably the most visited department in the library is the Circulation Desk or “Circ Desk” for short. The Circ Desk provides many services including checking library materials in and out, accessing course reserves, and, of course, assistance in locating items. Did you know that you don’t have to call or contact the Circ Desk to see the items that you have checked out and/or to review your items? That’s right! All you have to do is log in to access your library account. Have questions? Ask the Circ Desk.

Also if you just have a question or don’t know where to start on finding help for your research, our Information Commons Desk will provide you with the answers you looking for. You can just walk up and ask them virtually anything. If you don’t have the time to visit the library to ask your question – that’s not a problem – send them an instant message.

Last but not least, if you have any trouble at all with your student account, Black board, or any technological problems our Help Desk will be glad to assist you.

Now you have all of the basic tools that you’ll need to get a jump on a great semester!

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It’s easy to identify the common cold: scratchy throat, runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, slight aches and pains, and a cough.  It’s not as easy sometimes to navigate through the library’s list of databases to find one that fits your needs.  Here are 2 great go-to databases where you can find the resources that you need for practically any class assignment.  They are easy to use, multidisciplinary, and contain not only scholarly articles but also newspaper and magazines articles, book reviews, and more!


Academic Search Premier – EBSCO
The world’s largest scholarly, multidisciplinary full text database.  Find journal, newspaper, and magazine articles, book chapters, primary sources, and educational reports.  Document types include case studies, directories, poems, literary criticism, interviews, etc.  This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study.
Pros and Cons:
Contains a lot of full text articles (nearly 4,500 journals, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles).  When you’re in a hurry, this is especially helpful.
Multi-disciplinary means you’ll be able to find information on practically any topic.  This makes it a great place to start researching for any class.
It’s easy to search multiple EBSCO databases at once by clicking on “Choose Databases” (found above the search boxes).  This will help to cut down searching time because many databases can be searched at once.
Not everything written about a particular topic will be found in Academic Search Premier.  To do an exhaustive search, it is best to start here and then search in a subject specific database to find other articles.
Although there are a lot of full text articles, not everything will be available in full text; you may only get an abstract of an article.  If that is the case, click on the “Click here for full text” link (also known as the 360 link) – this will search all of our databases to see if the article is available in full text.


ProQuest (all modules) – ProQuest
A multidisciplinary database with a large number of full text materials including conferences, correspondence, and etc. from journals, newspapers, and books.  Also includes a large offering of dissertations, theses, and newspapers.  (Click here for info on searching ProQuest).
Pros and Cons:
The most extensive selection of dissertations and theses spanning from 1861 to the present day.  Full text is available for most dissertations added since 1997.
Look through full text issues of the L.A. Times and the New York Times.  This is the database to find newspaper articles.
Multi-disciplinary means you’ll be able to find information practically any topic.  This makes it a great place to start researching for any class.
Not everything written about a particular topic will be found in the ProQuest databases.  To do a more extensive, try a subject specific database.
Although there are a lot of full text articles, not everything will be available in full text.  If you are only given an abstract, click on the “Click here for full text” link (also known as 360 link) – this will search all of our databases to see if the article is available in full text.
The new interface is nice for finding resources but (as of right now) there are issues with the database timing out (even when it really shouldn’t), wasting time and effort.

Summary:
Academic Search Premier (by EBSCO) and ProQuest (by ProQuest) are great places to go to begin your research, but they are not always the best places to end.  The best place to end is with a subject specific database where you’ll find a more comprehensive list of articles for a particular topic/subject.  Not sure which subject specific database to use?  The librarians at Pearson Library created research guides that can help you with that: libguides.callutheran.edu.

Need more help?  Contact the librarian for that subject: www.callutheran.edu/iss/research/information_specialist.php.  We are always happy to meet with you to help you find what you need!


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Student Finals are here and you feel the stress building up. Don’t panic! The key to surviving is to be calm and rested, get organized, and get help if you feel you need it. There are many good resources on campus, in the Pearson Library and on the Web that can help you tackle finals week. Let’s take a look at some excellent resources. On campus counselors at the Center for Academic and Accessibility Resources (CAAR) can help you with study tips, handle stress and provide you with general academic guidance. Don’t forget to visit the Writing Center if you need help in polishing that term paper. If personal problems or health issues are impacting your ability to study–don’t delay–get an appointment with Student Counseling Services or Health Services.  Now, if you need some study tips, the library has plenty of resources to help you out. Search the ebrary database and use the key words “study skills” and you’ll find Test Taking Strategies & Study Skills for the Utterly Confused and other books on studying and test taking. On the Web, About .com has a number of practical articles including: A Student’s Guide to Surviving College Finals. Good luck and enjoy winter break!

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It’s already December! That means all of those term papers will soon be due. You’ve been searching the library’s databases quite a bit, looking for current articles for that international relations paper you’re writing on political friction between and North and South Korea. You found a great article in the journal Current History published in September and you need the full text–now:

You’ve clicked on the 360 link, but instead of leading to the article you’re staring at this annoying message: Sorry, no holdings were found for this journal. Please see additional options below for finding this journal. Here’s what to do next:

1. Go the Library Catalog, key in the name of the journal and from the drop-down list, select Journal title.

2. Now, click on Search. This shows you that Current History is available on the shelves and online:

3. The next screen will show you holdings details. Look under Recent Issues and you will see which issues are available in print version in the library. If the issue you need is included in the date range that means you can find this journal on the library’s periodical shelves. (If you need assistance in locating back issues of periodicals, ask for help at the Information Commons desk).


4. Click on Linked Resources: Click here for full text to see if this issue is available full-text online. (You may find an online copy at this step even if the 360 Link did not lead you to the full-text.)

This screen gives us another clue—it informs us that Current History is available full text from 1988 up to 9 months ago. This also solves one mystery—the article you need is not available in full-text because it just came out in September. You will encounter this with some current journals and here’s why: some publishers impose an embargo on the library’s databases (sometimes called aggregator databases) which means that they will not allow them to release the full-text of some journals for up to a year or longer.
That’s all interesting, but you still need the full-text. If you’ve followed the above steps, and the full-text still eludes you, you can request the article through Interlibrary Loan. You can find the ILL link in several places including the page that you encountered after clicking the 360 Link and the Research Resources page. Remember: There isn’t anything you can’t get through the library’s resources and services if you absolutely need it!

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thanksgivingIt’s finally Thanksgiving! For most of you it’s a needed respite from studying, papers and the pressure of mid-terms. You’ve done enough serious research on academic topics, so how about researching something fun and carefree—like the Thanksgiving holiday? Let’s do some research on the holiday and the centerpiece of this commemorative day—the turkey. The first stop was the JSTOR database where a keyword search of the terms (thanksgiving AND holiday AND history) retrieves this article: Pleck, Elizabeth. “The Making of the Domestic Occasion: The History of Thanksgiving in the United States.” Journal of Social History 32.4 (1999): 773-74. Here, you’ll learn that Thanksgiving evolved as a “domestic occasion”  beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Next, a search of the Internet Public Library reveals many interesting links including an article entitled Out of  This World Thanksgiving from NASA about celebrating the holiday in space. You can also do serious research on turkeys using the Academic Search Premier database. Just go to the Subject Terms guide and key in turkeys and you get some related terms including wild turkeys, which leads to an article entitled Ground Invasion. Reading the abstract, you’ll discover that the East Bay hills in California are being overtaken by—you guessed it—wild turkeys (and pigs!) McGlynn, Daniel. “Ground Invasion.” Bay Nature 10.4 (2010): 18-22. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Finally, did you know that this year, the estimated cost is $43.47 for a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 10 people? You can find other interesting statistics about gobblers and Thanksgiving gathered by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University. Enjoy your break and your Thanksgiving feast!

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Yes ladies and gentleman, it’s that time again when we change our clocks.  On Saturday, November 6, 2010, before you go to bed, remember to turn your clocks back an hour in order to observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).  The practice was originally conceived by Benjamin Franklin in order to save on energy costs (extra daylight in the evening means less need for lighting.  See parts of his essay with commentary on DST).  The idea was later elaborated on by a New Zealand naturalist George Vernon Hudson (read an article about him).  DST was followed off-and-on for a long time.  For example, during WWI and WWII, as a way to save coal, the U.S. implemented DST but reverted to normal time when the country was at peace.  It was not until 1966 that the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act to standardize the practice even when the country was not at war.

Today we continue to change our clocks: every March/April we turn our clocks an hour forward and in October/November we turn them back an hour; hence the saying “Spring forward, Fall back”.  Even so, there is still a lot of confusion about why and who.  Did you know that Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico do not observe daylight saving time?  I know what you’re thinking: “What!?  Why?!”  I have to admit, this has also created a lot of confusion for me when calling friends who live in Hawaii or when I’m making a connecting flight in Phoenix (and thinking I’ve missed my flight).  The reason: States can opt out of DST/Uniform Time Act.  The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records has a timeline of DST in the state and why they don’t participate.

Where and why did I find all of this information?

  1. I began by looking on the internet (google, wikipedia) and then checking the information that I found with library resources, including electronic encyclopedias in the Oxford Reference Collection and Reference Library-Gale Virtual Reference Library.  The encyclopedias included Dictionary of American History and World Encyclopedia.  I found the resources by typing in “daylight saving”.
  2. To get more information, I looked at the library’s database.  Ones about American history or sciences (specifically astronomy) were great, including America: History and Life and Science Direct.  Similarly, I found the articles by typing in “daylight saving”.

An important part of research is to check a variety of resources for accuracy.  Not everything you find (all types of resources – Wikipedia, books, articles) should be taken at face value.  It’s always best to evaluate them for reliability, accuracy, currency, etc.  Here is a resource to help you with evaluating resources.

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You found the perfect citation for your paper in one of the library’s databases but it’s not full-text! Now what? No worries. There are a number of steps you can take to easily access the full-text of most citations you find in library databases. This is the first part of a series that will guide you through those steps. If you are searching the EBSCOhost, ProQuest, or WilsonWeb databases, you probably noticed a link at the end of each citation that looks like this:

360 link

This is the library’s open URL link resolver and it tries to link you to  another database that happens to carry the article.  Pretty cool. When it’s successful, it will lead you to  a citation or to the actual electronic journal with the full-text. Most of the time this works flawlessly.  If the full-text is unavailable, you will see a page that says: “Sorry, no holdings were found for this journal. Please see additional options below for finding this journal.” More on this in a future blog!

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Oh, I get by with a little help from my [Information Systems & Services] friends,
Mmm, gonna try [learning a new computer program] with a little help from my friends…

With a little help from my friends by The Beatles, remixed by ISS

Sometimes all that you need is a little help from knowledgeable computer friends. Want to learn how to use a Mac? Need a little help with Excel? Want to learn a new software? Not a problem! Every month, computer training classes are offered to CLU students, staff, and faculty free of charge. Past topics include: Mail Merge, Powerpoint, Contribute to Manage Your Website, Creating Your Own Account to Take Classes Online, and more. In October, ISS is offering a three part Excel workshop, basic Word and Entourage 2008, and Flashlight workshops. See the Computer Training page for a more information about the classes.

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Has this ever happened to you? It’s 10:58am, you’re in the library printing out a paper for your 11am class, the pages print out, you grab them, and run to your class. Hours later, you’re in your dorm room, looking for your thumb drive…only to realize that you had forgotten it at the library earlier in the day?  What about this scenario? You’re at a computer, your email is open to an email with an attachment that you sent to yourself so that you can print out an essay.  You look at the email and realize that you forgot to send the attachment.  What now?

Instead of saving your essay on your laptop, on a thumb drive, or as an  email attachment, you can save all of your documents in Dropbox, where you can sync, share, and access your documents from anywhere using any device (laptop, desktop, smart phone, etc.).  There are two ways to access Dropbox, either through a client that you have to download or through a web browser (firefox, chrome, internet explorer, safari, etc.).  Watch the video for more information.  Dropbox is available for free (2 GBs of storage) or as a paid service (unlimited storage).

Accessing and uploading files through a web browser is easy!  Click on the “Files” tab, click on the box that says “Upload”, select your file, and there it is!

Although Dropbox is great for storage, it is also a tool for group essays or other collaborative projects because you can share the document with others, everyone can edit and re-edit, and previous versions of the document are always available (much like a wiki).  Sharing is easy too!  Click on the “Sharing” tab, click on “Share a Folder”, select what folder and add in recipient’s email.

Midterms are coming up and no doubt will you be turning in an essay fora t least one of your classes.  Always have your document available by using Dropbox.  Sync, share, and store with ease.

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Websites are useful places to find information about a topic.  But how do you know if the source is credible?  Besides figuring out who the author is and his/her credentials, looking to see the page has ads,  and whether or not the page is up to date — another thing you can do is to check who owns the website.  Knowing who the website belongs to can help to determine the accuracy and credibility, and whether or not you should be using it in your essays.

Use WhoIS (pronounced “who is”) to find out who owns the site.  Look at the example below for the Cal Lutheran website:

Who is the registrant? Is there contact info for the person? When was the information last updated? All this can help you determine if this is a website you should be using in your papers.

Here is an example of an erroneous website:

Looking at the website itself, it looks legit.  But looking at the WhoIs information tells you more.  The registrant to this website is an organization called StormFront.  A little web searching about the organization reveals that StormFront is a white supremacy group.  Although the website looks reliable, there is a hidden agenda behind it.  Don’t be fooled.  Check WhoIs to determine website credibility the next time you cite a website in your works cited/bibliography/references list.

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