Introduction to Resources - Queen's University · • Distinguish between a primary, secondary and...
Transcript of Introduction to Resources - Queen's University · • Distinguish between a primary, secondary and...
Introduction to Resources @
Queen’s University Library
POLS 110 – October 2014
Gillian Akenson
Queen’s University Libraries
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Learning Outcomes
In today’s session you will learn how to:• Identify Political Studies resources using the library’s
website;
• Distinguish between a primary, secondary and tertiary
source as well as scholarly or peer-reviewed sources;
and
• Develop your research skills by learning to retrieve a
“known item” and identifying subject-related articles
using Proquest’s Political Studies database
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Resources
Primary Sources
Multimedia
Group Websites
Government Documents
Personal Websites
Popular Press
Journal Articles
Books
Images
Org/NGOs
Videos
Associations
Documents
Speeches
Reports
Census
E-Books
Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Library
Subscriptions /
databases
Scholar
Free
People
Newspapers
Magazines
Archives
Statistics
Audio
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Finding Information
Where do most people go first?
• The Internet: Google, Wikipedia
What are some of the advantages?
• Abundance of information
• Easy to search
• Wikipedia ranks among first ten results in top search engines for
health-related inquiries
• Current/timely
• Convenient
• Dynamic
• Low cost or free
• Google Scholar: “Cited by” tracking tool; Links to Get‐It@
Queen’s and RefWorks
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Finding Information on the Web
What are some of the drawbacks?• Sheer volume of information can be overwhelming
• Lack of specificity, irrelevant retrievals
• Date coverage often unclear
• Can be difficult to determine what information is
legitimate, authoritative, and unbiased
• Search engines index only a fraction of the available
information
• Search engines can’t access content within
databases
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Evaluating Information on the Web
Authority • Who wrote or published the information?• What are the credentials of the author? Is the author
affiliated with an academic institution? Or is the author backed by a known organization?
• What else has the author written?
Content Accuracy or verifiability of details is important.• How is the information documented? Facts and
statistics should have references.• Can the information be verified by another source?• How was the data gathered? Look for a description of
the process of selecting or approving information on the site under, editorial policy or selection policy.
Can you determine if the material is: • Aimed at a particular audience? Consumer, health
professional, researcher?• Cited or linked to other sources?
Currency/Timeliness Ask yourself:• Is this a rapidly changing subject area? • Does the page have a “last updated” date?
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Evaluating Information on the Web
Objectivity/Disclosure Look for links that say about us, about this site, or contact us.Can you determine: • Who is responsible for publishing the information? • Who has sponsored or funded the information? • If the author has a vested interest or bias?• Is the organization recognized in your field of study?• Advertisements should be labeled.• Is it clear that the content is coming from a non-
commercial source?
Organization/Layout • Is the order of the material clear and easy to find?• Is there a good index/table of contents? • Are the links to other pages working?
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Types of Information Sources
Primary sources are original materials/information
on which other research is based and are
published by the individual(s) who actually
conduct the research or observe the events in
question.
• Examples of primary information sources include journal
articles of original research, autobiographies, minutes,
letters, reports, theses, patents.
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Types of Information Sources
Secondary sources are written or compiled by
people who are not directly involved in the primary
research or events.
• Secondary sources analyze, evaluate, interpret, or
summarize information reported by researchers in
primary literature and often include a bibliography of
primary sources.
• Examples include journal review articles, literature or systematic reviews, biographies, textbooks.
For example: Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada
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Types of Information Sources
Tertiary sources make use of both primary and
secondary sources and synthesize the information.
• Tertiary sources provide what are considered to be
known facts.
• Examples include almanacs, encyclopedias,
dictionaries and handbooks.
For example: Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs
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Scholarly vs. Popular Writing
• Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals
• http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/tutorials/qcat/qeval.htm
• Scholarly Journals
• Have articles that are written by a scholar in the field, discipline
or specialty
• Report on original research or experimentation
• Have articles that use the terminology and language of the
covered subject
• Have articles that are footnoted and/or have a bibliography
• Are generally published by a professional organization or a
scholarly press
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Peer Review
“Peer review means that other scientific experts in the field check
research papers for validity, significance and originality – and for
clarity.” From: I don’t know what to believe – making sense of science
stories. http://www.senseaboutscience.org/data/files/resources/16/IDontKnowWhatToB
elievereprint2008.pdf
• Published articles may be referred to as having been refereed or
peer reviewed
• Those individuals conducting the review are called referees
• The popular press, such as news magazines (e.g. Maclean’s), news
papers, general magazines (e.g. Canadian Living), etc. often refer to
peer reviewed publications in their reporting, but their interpretations
of scientific research can be problematic
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Identifying a Citation
A citation is a short description of an information
source
• It contains all the information you need to be able to
locate the source again
• A citation can be for a journal article, web page, book or
a chapter within a book
• There are many different citation styles e.g. Vancouver
or APA, but the individual elements of a citation will
generally be the same
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Identifying a Citation
Book:Holmes RM, Holmes ST. Suicide : theory, practice, and
investigation. Thousand Oaks, CA ; London: Sage Publications;
2005.
note inclusion of publisher
Book chapter:
Sakinofsky I, Leenaars AA. Suicide in Canada with special reference
to the difference between Canada and the United States. In Suicide:
individual, cultural, international perspectives. 1997 Guilford Press.
(New York, NY) (Leenaars AA et al):112-26.
note inclusion of 2 sets of names, 2 titles, and chapter page
numbers
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Identifying a Citation
Journal Article:
Cheung AH, Dewa CS. Current trends in youth suicide and firearms
regulations. Can.J.Public Health 2005 Mar-Apr;96(2):131-135.
note inclusion of volume number and lack of publisher
include the words “Electronic version” following the article
title if you accessed the e-version of a print article
Web Page:
Health Department: Memorandums of Understanding. Available at:
http://www.itk.ca/health/MOUs-Index.php Accessed 10/30/2007,
2007.
note inclusion of url and retrieval date
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I need to find research on…
• How should the international community
respond to the problem of child soldiers?
Citation provided:
Blattman, Christopher. “Children and War: How “Soft’
Research Can Answer the Hard Questions in
Political Science.” Perspectives on Politics 10.2
(May 2012): 403-413
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Get started with SUMMON
Summon 1 + billion records
QCAT Library Catalogue Books, journals, music, government documents ...
Articles fromjournals, newspapers and magazines subscribed to by Queen's University Ubrary
?
Some Information found In specialized research
databases Is not flndable In Summon
CHARTING PATHS TO DISCOVERY
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Help I About I Feedback
"Children and war how soft research can answer Jj·"df Advanced search
0 Keep search refinements @ New search
Search Results: Your search for "Children and war how soft research can answer the hard questions" returned 3 results
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0 polibcal saence ,3 D children (2
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Relevance • ~ 0 Children and War. How "Soft~ Research Can Answer the Hard Questions in Political Science
by Blattman. Christopher online~
Perspectives on Politics, ISSN 1537-5927, 06/2012, Volume 10, 1ssue 2, PP-403-413 A review essay on the following books is presented: (1) Forgetting Children Born of War: Setting the Human Rights Agenda in Bosnia and Beyond by R Charli ___ Political Science, REINTEGRATlON, Humanitarianism, Children, Political scientists
12 Book Review: Full Text Online C~ed by 1 (Web of SCience"')
Children and War: How "Soft~ Research Can Answer the Hard Questions in Polit ical Science I Forgetting Children Born of War: Setting the Human Rights Agenda in Bosnia and Beyond
by Blattman. Christopher
NHfiU Perspectives on Politics. ISSN 1537-5927, 05/2012, Volume 10, Issue 2, PP- 403-413 A review essay on the following books is presented: (1) Forgett ing Children Bam of War: Setting the Human Rights Agenda in Bosnia and Beyond by R Charli ___ Political Science, article, War, Bosnia Herzegovina, Military Personnel
Journal ArtiCle: Full Text Online
References Annan, Jeannie, and Christopher Blattman. 2011. "R
integrating and Employing High Risk Youth in Libe~ ria: Lessons from a Randomized Evaluation of a Landmine Action Agricultural Training Program for Ex-Combatants." New Haven, CT: Innovations for Poverty Action. https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/ default/files/lma_impacts_ report_-_final. pdf, accessed February 17, 2012.
Annan, Jeannie, Christopher Blattman, Dyan Mazurana, and Khrisropher Carlson. 2011. "Civil War, Reinre~ gration, and Gender in Northern Uganda." journaL of Con ict ResoLution 55(6): 877-908.
I Finnemore, Martha, and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. "Inter~
national Norm Dynamics and Political Change." InternationaL Organization 52(4): 887-917.
Gates, ~COLL ~~:.. "~~-=:::-::-:_ ~ . ..: ;.._;~cg1ance: T he Microfoundations of Rebellion." journal of Conflict Resolution 46(1 ): 111-30.
Gates, Scott, and Simon Reich. 2010. Child Soldiers in the Age of Fractured States. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Gertleman, Jeffrey. 2010. "Africa's Forever Wars: Why the Continent's Conflicts Never End." Foreign PoLicy 178. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/20 10/02/ 22/africas_forever_wars, accessed Februa 17, 2012.
CHARTING PATHS TO DISCOVERY
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Questions?
Gillian Akenson
Research & Instruction Librarian
Stauffer Library, Room 107 ‘B’
Email [email protected]
Visit the library’s Political Studies subject guide for more
information:
http://guides.library.queensu.ca/subject/politicalstudies