AMER STD 191: American Studies Thesis

Library Prize

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:26:18 -0700

The UCB Library sponsors the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. Win $1000 (upper division students) or $750 (lower division students) for your research paper!

Doe, Main Stacks, Moffitt Library floorplans

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:11:09 -0700

Looking for a location in Doe, Main Stacks or Moffitt? Try the floorplans, or ask for assistance!

Requesting Materials from Other Libraries

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:40:02 -0700

If UCB does not own the item you need, we will borrow it for you from another library, if possible. We need a specific citation (example, for books - title, author, date of publication, publisher; for articles, title, author, journal/publication title, date, page numbers).

If you are in MELVYL and find the record for an item UCB doesn't own, click on the "Request" button to initiate the request.

If the item isn't owned by another UC, pull down the "Libraries to search" menu in MELVYL to "Libraries Worldwide" and re-try the search. If you find the item, click on the "Request" button to initiate the request.

If you are not using MELVYL, use the online Interlibrary Loan forms to request an item. Track the progress of your request via "My ILL Requests."

Quick Links

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 11:51:54 -0700

Read an introduction to the campus libraries for undergraduates.

Set up your computer for off campus access to library databases.

Need a map of the campus libraries?

Each library has its own hours. Click on the calendar for each library to view a month at a time.

Getting Material from NRLF

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:14:47 -0800

A large part of the library's collection is stored off campus in an environmentally secure building called the Northern Regional Library Facility [NRLF].

Submit online requests via the REQUEST button in OskiCat to borrow material shelved at NRLF. To receive electronic or paper copies of book chapters or journal articles, submit an online request via the "Request an article from NRLF (photocopy or web delivery)" link that appears in eligible titles in OskiCat. Staff at public service desks of any campus library can assist you with further questions.

EXCEPTION: Materials belonging to Bancroft Library MUST be requested via their online form

Brainstorming Academic Disciplines

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:20:02 -0700

Example:

Topic: Image of African American women in advertising

potentially relevant disciplines:

African American Studies
Gender and Women's Studies
Ethnic Studies
Media Studies
Psychology
Sociology
Business
etc.

Keywords - Brainstorming

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:30:35 -0700

Developing appropriate keywords/search terms is an essential part of research. First, break your topic into components. Develop a list of synonyms and alternative terminology for each component. Think about broader and narrower concepts and word variants. What words can you exclude?

Topic: Image of African American Women in Advertising

image(s) or stereotyp(es)(ing) or depict(ion) or portray(al)...

african american(s) or black(s) or minorit(y)(ies)

women or gender

advertis(e)(ing) or media

Remember to be creative with your terminology! More examples:

people of color and environmental activism*
environmental justice
environmental justice and hazardous waste*
environmental equity
environmental discrimination
environmental racism
environmental injustice

Search Results

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:23:31 -0700

click on the title to see full record (including abstracts and descriptors)
to limit by publication type (peer-reviewed journals, conferences, books, etc.) click on the appropriate tab or link
if necessary,look for other limits (latest update, journal articles only, english only) and more advanced searches
select records to save to your personalized list; lists may be e-mailed, downloaded, printed

UC-eLinks - Find Article Text/Location

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:45:40 -0700

Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database is a bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:

For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.

Article Databases

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:37:16 -0700

Search an article database to find citations (title, author, title of journal, date, page numbers) for articles on a particular topic. The Library gives you access to over 200 article databases covering different disciplines.

1. Think about which academic disciplines might write about your topic. Examples: literature, film, anthropology, history...

2. Find the appropriate article database by subject (academic discipline or department). Look for "Recommended" databases.

Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject

Sample Searches - Article Databases

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:19:45 -0800

Sample searches in Proquest Social Science databases:

Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Ethnic Studies > ProQuest Social Sciences to search multiple social science databases

1. Example of a search using multiple terms, phrase searching, alternative terms, truncation,etc

african american* or black* (all fields + text)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (all fields + text)

keywords = searches most important parts of the record

* = truncation symbol or wildcard; child* = child, childs, children, childish, childhood

results too broad? try eliminating full text:

african american* or black* (all fields no full text)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (all fields no full text)

narrow even more: use an official subject term

african american* or black* (subject)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (subject)

limit to scholarly journals

2. look through your search results for additional useful terms

cannabis or marijuana (keywords)
decriminalization (keywords)

note other potential search terms such as: policy legalization marijuana laws etc.

3. to find more results, especially when the topic is too new for academic journal articles: broaden your terms

sb 1070 (keywords)

broaden your terms:

arizona (keywords)
immigra* (keywords)

Access World News: especially good for California newspapers

Library home > Articles > News Article databases > Access World News

California newspapers

(all text) undocumented or "illegal alien*"
(all text) education
(all text) richmond

Citation Management Tools

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:21:33 -0800

Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand!

Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.

RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up. Refworks Help is pretty good.

How to link from the Refworks record to a pdf on your hard drive

Exporting from OskiCat to Refworks

EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central. The Library's Guide to EndNote. And more Tips from EndNote.

It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.

Citing Your Sources

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:59:25 -0700

The UCB Library Guide to Citing Your Sources discusses why you should cite your sources and links to campus resources about plagiarism. It also includes links to guides for frequently used citation styles. Also:

MLA handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th edition. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
Doe Reference Reference Hall LB2369 .G53 2009
Main Gardner Stacks LB2369 .G53 2009
Many older editions available throughout the UCB libraries.
The Chicago Manual of Style (UCB-only access)
15th ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003. Searchable, online version of the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition).
Many print editions available throughout the UCB Libraries.
Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles--MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More (UCB-only access) Charles Lipson. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2006.
Many print editions throughout the libraries.
Columbia Guide to Online Style (UCB-only access)
Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor. 2nd ed. NY: Columbia Univ. Press. 2006.
Many print editions throughout the UCB libraries.

Zotero Tips

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:37:22 -0700

If you've never used Zotero before, use the QuickStart Guide to get started.

Change your preferences if you want Zotero to

set your default citation style
search the full text of pdfs you save
Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items

To use Zotero to find specific articles in our library's databases, set up the Open URL resolver with this link: http://ucelinks.cdlib.org:8888/sfx_local?

An in-depth discussion of the relative virtues of Endnote and Zotero,

How to Avoid Plagiarism

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:37:56 -0700

In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit when

You use another person's ideas, opinions, or theories.
You use facts, statistics, graphics, drawings, music, etc., or any other type of information that does not comprise common knowledge.
You use quotations from another person's spoken or written word.
You paraphrase another person's spoken or written word.

Recommendations

Begin the writing process by stating your ideas; then go back to the author's original work.
Use quotation marks and credit the source (author) when you copy exact wording.
Use your own words (paraphrase) instead of copying directly when possible.
Even when you paraphrase another author's writings, you must give credit to that author.
If the form of citation and reference are not correct, the attribution to the original author is likely to be incomplete. Therefore, improper use of style can result in plagiarism. Get a style manual and use it.
The figure below may help to guide your decisions.

This content is part of the Understanding Plagiarism tutorial created by the Indiana University School of Education.

And When You Find It...Evaluate It!

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:53:56 -0700

You already know that you should evaluate anything you find on the Internet. Here are some reminders of what to look for.

Google Research Tools

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:00:50 -0700

Google Scholar is an easy way to do interdisciplinary research, and with some settings changes can become even more useful. You may need a Google account to use some of these features.

Set up Google Scholar to display links to full text of articles that Berkeley subscribes to:

Open Scholar. Click on scholar preferences [upper right corner]. Under Library Links, enter the word Berkeley. Choose UC Berkeley eLinks and Open WorldCat - Library Search and Save your preferences. UC e-links will now appear in Google Scholar search results.

Set up a Google Scholar Alert to be automatically notified when new articles are added to Google on topics of interest:

Do your search in Google Scholar. Look in the green toolbar for the envelope icon, and click it. New items will be sent to your email account as they are found by Google.

Ever wanted to trace an article’s impact? Google now permits searching within citing articles.

Do a Google Scholar search. Click on the "Cited by" link under a citation and select the "Search within articles citing..." checkbox.

Research Advisory Service

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:34:47 -0700

Research Advisory Service for Cal Undergraduates

Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics (examples of research topics).

Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)

This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.

Ask a Librarian 24/7 Chat

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:03:23 -0700

Getting Help

clee@library.berkeley.edu (Corliss Lee) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:45:58 -0800

Other ways to get help: in person, by e-mail, contacting librarian specialists...

And of course: e-mail Corliss!