1	English101 Library Research & Bibliography Professor Pamela Watkins Fall 2004 Censorship or Banning of Materials
2	Today we will cover the following issues Identify a research topic Formulate a thesis statement around the topic Explore general information sources Useful Censorship Research terms Select information sources Identify key concepts that describe information needs Achieve a manageable focus Choose the right format to retrieve the information Develop a search strategy
3	Identify a Research Topic Choosing a topic What are your interests? Sometimes your professor will assign the topic and at other times you can choose your own topic. Is there a topic you are interested in and want to learn more about? It might be a good idea for a topic? Use sources to get ideas such as the CQ Researcher’s Index, the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature (printed index), the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), the daily newspapers and the “10,000 Ideas for Term Papers, Projects, Reports and Speeches,” by Kathryn Lamm.
4	Identify a Research Topic (cont’d) You can also get ideas from class notes, syllabi, and readings. You may also browse current news items, articles or other information you have seen. What do you already know about your topic? Advantages and disadvantages of writing a research paper on a topic you already know.
5	Formulate a Thesis Statement Around the Topic Definition – A thesis statement is a statement that coheres all the material you’ve gathered into a unified piece. You can form a thesis statement prior to gathering research, but you may need to modify it based on what you’ve found. Your research question also helps you develop a thesis statement, which is the main point you want to make about your topic. Your thesis statement is usually stated in a single sentence at the beginning of your paper. It must be researchable and arguable.
6	Explore General Information Sources Background information on your research topic can be found in these basic reference information sources: Encyclopedias (General & Specialized) Dictionaries Biographies (Collective or individual) Autobiographies (Written by the subject) Handbooks Statistics Almanacs
7	Explore General Information Sources (cont’d) Monograph “A scholarly piece of writing of essay or book length on a specific, often limited subject” (American Heritage® Dictionary) On-line information Can include: Articles in a periodical index (full-text articles indexed in an online periodical database, such as Infotrac, are considered print … delivered online), Newspaper articles reprinted on a newspaper’s site, Online magazines (Salon.com), Weblogs (highly personal and subjective), Personal websites, Commercial websites, and Educational organization’s websites.
8	Useful Censorship Research Terms Censorship Freedom of expression First Amendment Freedom of speech Freedom of information Freedom of the press
9	Select Information Sources Journals & Magazines It is important to understand the difference between a "magazine" and a "scholarly journal". It can sometimes be difficult to make the distinction but here are several clues to help you with that process: Journals Magazines Scholarly Popular (News) Bibliographies No bibliographies Abstracts Advertisements Intended for a specific Intended for a general audience audience Refereed Non - refereed articles Very plain, no photos Colorful and flashy Target audience General audience Long articles Short articles
10	Select Information Sources (cont’d) Examples of Magazines (Popular)
11	Select Information Sources (cont’d) Examples of Journals (Scholarly)
12	Select Information Sources Primary Sources (cont’d) Primary Sources Material written or produced in the actual time being investigated. This implies that the researcher cannot go further back to any existing sources for this source. Examples: Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts, memoirs, autobiographies, government records, records of organizations Published materials (books and journal/newspaper articles) written at the time about a particular event Documentary: photographs, audio recordings, movies or videos Public opinion polls, field notes, scientific experiments, artifacts Reprinted primary sources Maps, oral histories postcards, court records, paintings, sculptures, consumer surveys, patents, schematic drawings, technical reports, personal accounts, jewelry, private papers, deeds, wills, proceedings, census data (Primary vs. Secondary Sources)
13	Select Information Sources Secondary Sources (cont’d) Secondary Sources Records generated by an event but written by non-participants in the event. Based on or derived from primary sources, but they have been interpreted or analyzed. Examples Encyclopedias, chronologies, fact books Biographies, monographs, dissertations General histories Most journal articles (except those written at the time) Most published books (except those published at the time, reprints of primary sources, or autobiographies) (Primary vs. Secondary Sources)
14	Identify Key Concepts That Describe Information Needs Is the issue a very current one? If so, what kind of sources are you most likely to need? Is it covering a period in history? How far back? What kind of sources might be appropriate? Is the issue controversial? If so, you’ll need to find information expressing a variety of points of view.
15	Achieve a Manageable focus How long is your final project? A five minutes presentation? A 250 word essay? A two page paper? A 10-12 page research paper? This will determine… How many sources should you cite? Most college instructors expect the majority of sources to be printed, rather than from the Internet. Remember, however, that full-text articles indexed in an online periodical database, such as Infotrac, are considered print…delivered online.
16	Choose the right format to retrieve the information Online Catalog (http:www.lahc.edu/library/) Electronic Databases – Infotrac, ProQuest Periodicals (journals or magazines) Printed Indexes (Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature) Internet www.google.com and http://lii.org Selected Reference Works Censorship in America (Ref Z658 .U5 H84 1999) Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoon and Blacklisted Animators in America (Ref NC1766.5 .C45 C64 1997) Intellectual Freedom Manual (Ref Z711.4 .I57 1992) Literature suppressed on Sexual Grounds (Z658 .U .S49 1998) Literature suppressed on Social Grounds (Z658 .U5 S69 1998)
17	Develop a Search Strategy There are mainly three steps to follow in developing a search strategy: 1. Identifying the key concepts in your thesis statement. For Example: Why are books banned? 2. Choosing related terms or synonyms for your key concepts. For Example: banned or censorship or freedom of expression as synonyms or antonyms. 3. Combining your terms using Boolean operators, such as and, or and not.
18	Develop a Search Strategy (cont’d) Using Boolean Operators to connect terms AND Narrows a search. A record must have all the terms in the citation OR Broadens a search. Either term may appear in the citation NOT Narrows a search by excluding articles containing the second search term
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20	Library Online Catalog Search the Library Online Catalog by subject to find books on: Censorship Freedom of the press Hate speech Internet Art censorship http://207.62.62.10:8003/db/MARION/HARBOR_subject.html
21	Library Online Databases The library has several online databases that contain material relevant to censorship. Online databases includes full text articles from magazines, journals and newspapers. Examples are: Infotrac (Journals & Magazines) Indexes 2,800 titles with full text to 1,641 titles. Covers a variety of disciplines, including Astronomy, Religion, Law, History, Psychology, Humanities, Current Events, Sociology, Communications and the General Sciences. http://www.library.edu/library/databases
22	Library Online Databases (cont’d) Newsbank - America's Newspapers (Current) (Los Angeles Times, Long Beach Press-Telegram New York Times, Sacramento Bee, Washington Post) Los Angeles Times Historical (1881-1962) New York Times Historical (1851-2001)
23	Accessing the Online Book Catalog & Electronic Databases From Campus Connect to the LAHC Library Homepage http://www.lahc.edu/library The Online Book Catalog and Electronic Databases are available to students, faculty and staff from campus computers without a password From Home Connect to the LAHC Library Homepage You need a password Remember to stop by the Reference Desk to get the Passwords for the Electronic Databases. You do not need one for the Online Book Catalog
24	Evaluate Information Sources Are they up-to-date? Check date of publication Is the author credible? Check the author’s credentials Is the content objective? Is it useful? Is it well written? Is the information accurate? Does it provide good coverage?
25	Censorship Websites http://www.ala.org/bbooks/ (American Library Association) http://www.ncac.org/index.html (National Coalition Against Censorship http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html http://www.indexonline.org (Index on Censorship is a bi-monthly magazine for free speech) http://www.ericnuzum.com/banned/
26	Bibliography The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000 Lamm, Kathryn. 10,000 ideas for term papers, projects, reports and speeches: intriguing, original research topics for every student’s need. New York, NY: Macmillan USA, c1998. Library of Congress Subject Headings. Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, c1994.