Communication 206: Freedom of Speech

Professor Verdon

Research Resources, Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta, Spring 2008

Steps in library research: Overview

• Background information on a topic can often be found in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources. There are encyclopedias in the reference area on the first floor of Milne Library that cover most topics.  In addition, you can try the Gale Virtual Reference Library .
• Find books. Books often treat a topic more comprehensively than journal articles. Books can be a good place to find an overview of a topic. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of a chapter.
• Find articles.  Since journal articles are often more focused than books, they may provide more specific information than books. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of an article. Information in journal articles is usually more current than information in books. Journal articles are often peer-reviewed  (Peer-review is the process by which journal articles are reviewed by experts in the field before publication. An example of a peer-reviewed journal is Journal of the American Medical Association;  an example of a popular magazine is Time. )
• Consider supplementary materials such as internet sites. Since articles found on the internet have rarely gone through the peer-review process, they must be carefully evaluated.  It may be possible to find peer-reviewed journal articles by using Google Scholar; however, some of these articles may be author preprints and therefore may not be exactly the same as the final version.
• Organize the findings.
• Use the information to address the research topic.

Finding books

Library Catalog

Find books, videos, compact discs, reserves, and other materials. It does NOT have information about individual journal articles. The Advanced Search feature allows limiting by language, collection, document type, year.

To view detailed information about an item, click on the number link on the left of the entry.

Availability is shown by numbers to the right  (e. g. 1/0). The first number is the number owned by the library; the last number is how many are checked out.

Subjects are listed at the bottom of the detailed entry. These subjects will link to other materials on the same exact subject.

Note the call number for the item and consult Library Floor Plans to determine the location of the item.

 

A BASIC KEYWORD search allows you to search by fields such as author, subject, words in title, exact title.

 

Keyword or 'All fields' searches are useful if you do not know the precise subject, title or author. If you are unsure of the ending of a word or wish to search the stem of a word, use the wildcard symbol  * .

comput* (finds computer, computing, computation. etc.)

 

Keywords can be linked by the search operators “and”, “or”, and “not” to broaden or narrow searches:

 

baseball and japan (use of “and” narrows a search)

baseball or basketball (use of “or” broadens a search)

advertising not television (“not” eliminates records with the second term)

A BASIC BROWSE search displays an alphabetical list of entries. This is particularly useful when you don't know the exact author, title, or subject heading.

Baseball -- History

Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948

Baseball history from outside the lines: a reader

 

Hartwick College  (link on the Milne Library home page)

SUNY Oneonta students may borrow materials with a valid SUNY ID card.

 

WorldCAT (link the Milne Library home page)

A catalog of books owned by libraries world wide. Good for in-depth research of a topic. Use terms such as "Sources", "Correspondence", "Interviews", "Personal Narratives" to find primary source material. Interlibrary loan usually takes a few days but occasionally can take longer. Be sure to allow plenty of time!

 

Google Books

A good source for out-of-copyright books. Since the collections of several large research libraries have been digitized it may be possible to get on-line copies of books written during the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. 

 

Finding articles:

There are a large number of databases available to College at Oneonta students and faculty. A detailed listing is available on the Databases by Name A-Z list (link on the Milne Library home page).

 

Communication & Mass Media Complete

Includes selected full text covering many aspects of communication.

 

Communication Abstracts

A comprehensive source of information about communication-related publications on a world-wide scale. Communication Abstracts covers communication-related articles, reports, papers, and books from a variety of publishers, research institutions, and information sources.

 

Academic Search Premier (link in the Milne Library home page)

Provides full text articles for nearly 4,650 journals and magazines (including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications) and indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals in nearly every area of academic study. You can limit a search to one journal.

 

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe (link in the Milne Library home page)

Contains full text general news and reference information, as well as legislative, legal, business, financial, and health sources. Includes the full text of major newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Le Monde. An excellent source for both state and federal court cases.

 

Opposing Viewpoints

Includes articles and topic overviews in full text. Information provided may include viewpoint articles, reference, magazines, academic journals, news, statistics, and primary sources.

 

CQ Researcher

Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries of the issues. Full text. Five simultaneous users.

 

America History and Life (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z).

Abstracts of articles & dissertations covering U.S. and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Includes links to some full-text articles.

 

Central Search (a link on the Milne Library home page)

A good place to search when you are having difficulty finding an article. Search multiple databases for journal, magazine, and newspaper articles as well as the Milne Library catalog for books. Use the results list to find the citation for an article; the full-text is not always available.

When the full text is not in the database, follow these steps, beginning with number one, until you are able to obtain a copy of the article.

Primary Sources

"Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event or topic under consideration, either as participants or as witnesses. Examples of primary sources include eyewitness accounts, decrees, letters and diaries, newspapers and magazines, speeches, autobiographies, and treatises... By examining primary sources, historians gain insights into the thoughts, behaviors, and experiences or the people of the past. When using a written primary sources, it is important to read the source itself. Do not simply rely on another historian's analysis of the source." (Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, p. 4.)

"Primary sources may be published or unpublished. A book by Ernest Hemingway and newspaper review of Hemingway's book are both published, but the former is a primary source and the later is a secondary one. Alternatively, however, if researching how critics reviewed Hemingway's works, the newspaper reviews would be a primary source for that investigation. Newspapers, magazines, mail-order catalogs, government publications, corporate annual reports, and a host of other published items are primary sources of great significance". (D'Aniello, Charles A. Teaching Bibliographic Skills in History, p. 266

The Milne Library Catalog can be used to search for primary documents. Add terms such as Sources, Correspondence, Interviews, Personal Narratives to your search.

Newspapers and popular magazines:

Major Newspapers:

 

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by name A-Z)

Contains full text general news and reference information, as well as legislative, legal, business, financial, and health sources. Includes the full text of major newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Le Monde. An excellent source for both state and federal court cases.

 

New York Times Archive, 1851-2004  (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by name A-Z)

The New York Times archive provides full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. It is possible to limit by article type including: classified ad, display ad, editorial cartoon, letter, comic, editorial article, review, stock quote, weather, legal notice, and real estate transaction.

 

Los Angeles Times, 1971 - 2000

Available on microfilm in Milne Library. Selected coverage (without photographs and some free-lance articles) is available via Lexis-Nexis from 1985 to the present.

 

Washington Post, 1974 - 2000

Available on microfilm in Milne Library. Selected coverage (without photographs and some free-lance articles) is available via Lexis-Nexis from 1977 to the present.

Popular Magazines:

Reader's Guide Retrospective 1890 - 1982 (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z)

Index to popular magazines and journals. Many of the articles are available in either print or microfilm format in the Milne Library basement. Four simultaneous users.

 

The Nation (Digital Archive) 1865 -

Full text/full image version of The Nation magazine, "a dissenting, independent, trouble-making, idea-launching journal of critical opinion". Searchable by author, keyword, title, date range. Includes articles, book reviews, film reviews, poems, cartoons, and illustrations.

 

WorldCAT in combination with Interlibrary Loan can be used to obtain newspapers and popular magazines not in Milne Library, particularly if they are available in microfilm format.)

Court cases:

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by name A-Z)

Contains full text general news and reference information, as well as legislative, legal, business, financial, and health sources. Includes the full text of major newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Le Monde. An excellent source for both state and federal court cases.

Core Documents of the United States

Provides the full text of the basic documents that define our democratic society, including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Statistical Abstracts, U.S. Government Manual, Supreme Court Decisions..

Citations

Evaluating Internet sites

Evaluating Internet Sites:

*Anyone* can publish on the Internet. Therefore, it is important to learn to evaluate any information found on the net.

Five points to consider in the evaluation of a web site:

1. AUTHORITY: Who is responsible for creating the page? Does the URL contain .edu (education), .gov (US government), .org (organization) .int (international organization)? Or does the URL contain  .com (commercial) or .biz (business)? Is it a personal site (.name)? (Country codes also may be part of a URL. See Domain name registries around the world for a listing of country codes that can be used with a search engine such as Google: Advanced Search.)

2. CURRENCY   : Is there a date indicating when the page was created or updated? Is the information up to date?

3. COVERAGE: What is the purpose of the site? Does it address your research topic? Is it detailed or broad? 

4. OBJECTIVITY: Is the site expressing a slanted point of view or trying to sway your opinion?

5. ACCURACY: Can you verify that the information is correct? Are the facts consistent within the page?

Examine these web sites. Which information is accurate?

FDA approves new high-intensity sweetener Sucralose

Splenda/Sucralose Homepage

Sucralose Toxicity Information Center

Need more help?

Research/Information specialists are available to help you with your research most hours the library is open.  Reference librarians can also be reached by email ( libref@oneonta.edu. or  http://www.oneonta.edu/library/reference/ask.asp ) or telephone (607-436-2722).  In addition, Research Consultations  (a link on the Milne Library home page) are available for in-depth research assistance.

Nancy Cannon

OFFICE HOURS by appointment

Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta

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