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Library Research Guide Updated for 2009-2010

Image credit: Guide to Research by miseldine

The 2009-2010 Library Research Guide for Peninsula College has been updated for the current and coming academic years. Although research is an iterative process (often accompanied by caffeine), the guide proceeds in a chronological fashion.

First, get an overview and background information on a topic, which will be useful in developing a thesis. Library reference books (e.g., specialized and subject encyclopedias) can often provide in-depth overviews written by scholars. For example, the Library has the International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the reference collection.

Wikipedia can also provide overviews. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia article at any time, and the articles are written by unidentified and unknown authors. Nonetheless, Wikipedia might provide references to scholarly and reliable sources.

Second, maintain a list of important names, search terms, and dates which might be used in database or Web search. Consult thesauri of subject headings to find additional search terms.

Third, armed with an overview and search vocabulary, search the library article databases for articles and the library catalog for books.

The 2009-2010 Library Research Guide also lists additional search resources: the local public library system (NOLS), interlibrary loan, WorldCat, LC classification, evaluation criteria, links to source documentation (APA, MLA, etc.), and links to various Web search engines. All that in just two pages!

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