Perspectives on Inquiry MTU Library Resources

Is the World Flat? UN1001, Section R05 & R14 D. Johnson

Librarian: David Bezotte (dbezotte@mtu.edu, Phone 487-3041, Library-Room 203)

 

For Assistance - For individual assistance or instruction from a librarian, visit the Reference & Information desk on 2^nd floor, phone 487-2507, or use e-mail or instant messaging by clicking Ask a Librarian on the Library's website.

 

Guide to the Library -http://www.lib.mtu.edu/about/MTU_Library_Guide.pdf

Answers your questions about the basics of using the MTU Library.

 

Reference Collection - 2^nd Floor - The Reference Collection contains dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, directories, standards, codes, catalogs, etc.,and is a good place to find background information on an issue or start your research. The collection is arranged by subject, using the Library of Congress Classification System (LCCS) call numbers. An outline of the system is available at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html.

Magazines for Libraries - Z 6941 .K2 REF DESK - Provides reviews and evaluations of over 6,850 periodicals.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) BF 78.7 .P83 2001 REF DESK

Chicago Manual of Style Z 253 .U69 REF DESK

CQ Researcher (1959-present) H35.E2 REF

Reports on timely issues. Provides an overview, history, impact, positions and resources for further study. A comprehensive index is available at http://library.cqpress.com/researcher_index.pdf.

 

Locating Books & Periodicals

Books are located on the Third Floor in the Main Collection, shelved by Library of Congress call number.

Periodicals in are shelved by Library of Congress call number in these locations:

CURRENT JOURNALS (1^st Floor): Recent issues kept here until bound or reissued in microfilm/fiche.

SERIALS COLLECTION (Garden Level): Older volumes in print format.

MICROFICHE & MICROFILM AREA (2nd Floor, west): Older volumes on microfiche or microfilm.

Electronic journals are found under E-Journals on the Librarys web page.

 

Resources on the Librarys Web Page - www.lib.mtu.edu

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) To request material not available at the JRVP Library

To request books and articles from other libraries, complete an Interlibrary Loan Request Form, available by selecting Interlibrary Loan on the Library's website or visiting the Circulation desk.

 

JRVP Online Catalog

Contains records of materials owned by the MTU Library, including books, periodicals, videos, CDs, maps, government publications, and microformat materials. Two search interfaces, Basic and Keyword, allow the user to search for items by author, title, subject, call number, ISBN/ISSN, or keyword(s). Use the Location, Status, and Call Number information to find an item in the Library collections. To search for a periodical article, search by Journal Title for the title of the periodical (sometimes called the "Source"), rather than searching by article title or author.

 

Evaluating Information Sources - Consult these sites provided by other institutions:

Identifying Research Articles & Refereed Journals: http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/lsx/tutorial/section3.html

Evaluating Web Sites: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html

 

Government Information on the Web

FirstGov: www.firstgov.gov - Portal to federal and state government information. All sites linked by FirstGov are evaluated for accuracy and authority.

 

Citation & Style Guides

Concordia Universitys site on Citation & Style Guides: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html

Using APA Format: http://www.lib.mtu.edu/xmldata/course_guides/52.aspx

Using Harvard Style (Leeds Metropolitan University): http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/lskills/open/sfl/content/harvard/downloads/harvard_2004.pdf

 

Databases (Periodical & Newspaper Indexes)

To find citations to articles from journals, conference proceedings, and other publications, go to the Librarys website and select Databases. The resulting screen offers four options for finding databases:

(1) "Search for Databases" to search database titles and/or descriptions,

(2) "Databases A-Z" to browse an alphabetical list by title,

(3) "Search by Subject Headings" to view databases grouped by subject, and

(4) "Search by Providers" to view databases grouped by publisher/provider.

 

To select the databases that best meet your needs, look at the database descriptions and consider

Topics covered (General news? Engineering? Social sciences? etc.)

Time period covered (1980-present? Most recent year? Last ten years? etc.)

Types of publications indexed (Periodical articles? Newspapers? Books? etc.)

Levels of publications indexed (Popular/news? Academic/research/scholarly? Trade/professional? etc.)

 

• Many databases include some articles in full text. If you're viewing an article citation from a database and see the term Husky Fetch or the symbol , click on it for options for locating the article.

 

• Most of these databases may be accessed by MTU students/faculty/staff from off-campus by entering your ISO/Husky Mail user ID and password.

 

For Database Keyword Search Tips such as using truncation and Boolean & proximity operators, go to http://www.lib.mtu.edu/reference/tutorials/databasekeyword.aspx or select Tutorials on the Library's website.

 

Here are some databases recommended for this course:

ABI/Inform

Covers nearly every aspect of business, including company histories and new product development. Citations include abstracts and indexes of significant articles from current business and management periodicals. Includes some full text.

 

Thompson Gale

Computer Database - Computer-related product introductions, news, and reviews in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications and the application of technology. Includes full text.

Expanded Academic ASAP Scholarly and popular research on a variety of academic subjects. Includes full text.

General Business File ASAP - Industry events & trends, and the latest in management, economics and politics.

 

FirstSearch

The Wilson indexes (marked with * ) allow a Reviewed Journal Phrase field search for peer-reviewed journal.

*WilsonSelectPlus Full text articles from over 1400 periodicals covering research in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Business, Education and General Sciences.

*Readers Guide Abstracts Abstracts of articles from popular magazines.

*Applied Science & Technology Abstracts (ASTA) - Leads users to the latest findings in every area of science, engineering and technology. Covers trade and industrial publications, journals issued by professional and technical societies and specialized subject periodicals.

Article 1^st - Contains citations for items listed on the table of contents pages of over 12,600 journals in all subject areas.

EconLit - Includes citations & abstracts, from over 600 economics journals and other publciations.

Newspaper Abstracts - Indexes and abstracts U.S. and regional newspapers, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. The Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) is indexed beginning Jan 1, 1990.

*Social Science Abstracts - Covers periodicals in anthropology, economics, ethics, geography, law and criminology, political science, social work, sociology, and international relations.

*Wilson Business Abstracts - Complete and accurate indexing and abstracting of 345 leading business magazines.

 

LexisNexis Academic Wide range of business, legal, medical, and current affairs information. Extensive U.S. newspaper coverage in full text. Updated daily.

 

JSTOR -Back issues of over 200 scholarly journals dated from with 2-5 years. Titles from a wide range of fields are included, such as African & African American Studies, Business, Economics, Education, Feminist & Womens Studies, Finance, Geography, Latin American Studies, Middle East Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy & Administration, and Sociology.