Gary Handmanghandman@library.berkeley.edu643-8566

Doing Research Online: Doing Research Online: A Crash CourseA Crash Course

Where do you plugthis damn thing in?

1. Describe organization and content of library information universe

2. Introduce selected online sources for finding books journal articles, news, media

3. Discuss how to develop search strategies4. Discuss how to select article & news

databases (and determine what’s in them)5. Introduce a group of basic moves and

features common to many online catalogs and indexes.

6. Practice using these features in selected databases.

The Information The Information UniverseUniverse •BooksBooks

•Journals (Magazines) & Journals (Magazines) & Newspapers Newspapers

•Government docsGovernment docs•Maps & other geophysical Maps & other geophysical

datadata•Media (video, sound Media (video, sound

recording, etc.)recording, etc.)•Photographs & other Photographs & other

graphicsgraphics•Computer files (e.g. CD-Computer files (e.g. CD-

ROMS, data files, web ROMS, data files, web resources)resources)

•Dissertations & theses Dissertations & theses •ManuscriptsManuscripts

•Other special collectionsOther special collections

The guy next to meis soooo hot!

The Information UniverseThe Information Universe

The guy next to meis soooo hot!

…But how do you find this stuff?

TheThe InformationInformation UniverseUniverse

Library Catalog(s)

Journal/NewspaperIndexes (article databases)

Library Catalog(s)

PathfinderPathfinder: UCB Library holdings only

MELVYLMELVYL (CDL cat): All 9 UC Campuses

•An inventory of what the library owns

•Search by Author, Title, Subject

•Whole books and print and electronic journals, NOT what’s inside of those publications

NOTE

WELL

The Information UniverseThe Information Universe

Online CatalogsOnline Catalogs

--Pathfinder--MELVYL (CDL cat)

Full-Text Online ebooks ejournals [but NOT full-text articles]

Books or journals in Stax

The Information Universe: Books

From ethnic conflict to stillborn reform : the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia / <2005>Author: Horowitz, Shale Asher. Published: College Station, TX : Texas A&M University Press, c2005.Location(s): MAIN: JN6531 .H64 2005

Get da Book in da Stax

Call #

Look it Up in Pathfinder or MELVYL by Author, Title, or Subject :

The Information Universe: Books

But Be Aware!: Subject Access to Books Can be Tricky!But Be Aware!: Subject Access to Books Can be Tricky!

From ethnic conflict to stillborn reform : the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia / <2005>Author: Horowitz, Shale Asher. Published: College Station, TX : Texas A&M University Press, c2005.Location(s): MAIN: JN6531 .H64 2005

Subject HeadingsEthnic conflict -- Former Soviet republics -- Case studies. Post-communism -- Former Soviet republics. Democratization -- Former Soviet republics. Ethnic conflict -- Former Yugoslav republics. Post-communism -- Former Yugoslav republics. Democratization -- Former Yugoslav republics. Yugoslav War, 1991-1995. Former Soviet republics -- Politics and government. Former Soviet republics -- Economic conditions. Former Yugoslav republics -- Politics and government. Former Yugoslav republics -- Economic conditions. 

The Information Universe: Finding Articles

Online Article & News Databases

(Indexes/Abstracts)

• Allow subject/author searching in a group of journals in a particular discipline or topical area.

• Produced by different commercial publishers; often look/act differently from one another.

• Regularly updated (yearly, etc.)

• Many come in both print & online

• Online versions are licensed and limited to the users of a particular institution.

• Not accessible via general web (with a few exceptions)

I know! I’lldo my paper onMarilyn Manson!

Choosing an Article Database Choosing an Article Database (Index)(Index)Indexes/Abstracts come in various “flavors”

--from narrow discipline focus to general/pop lit

--from citation only to abstracts to full-text

--links to library holding – no links (you need to look up the journal holdings in another catalog)

--Some journals are indexed in multiple databases

--The same journal may be full-text in one db and citation only in another

Articles/NewsArticles/News(how do you (how do you

find this stuff?)find this stuff?)

Jumping Off point for Finding Jumping Off point for Finding Article & News DatabasesArticle & News Databases

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/

Find Information / Articles / Find Information / Articles / Article Databases by SubjectArticle Databases by Subject

ororNews Article Databases

US NewsUS News

LexisNexis Academic Included are over 6,000 individual titles of international, national and local newspapers and wire services; radio and television transcripts; and business, medical, industry, and legislative magazines, journals, and newsletters.

OnlineNewspapers.com Links to the online editions of over 10,000 newspapers -- international in scope.

American Journalism Review News Link Links to more than 3,400 U.S. newspapers and 2,000 foreign newspapers. U.S. and Canadian newspapers are cross-indexed by category, state and province.

Outside the USOnlineNewspapers.com Links to the online editions of over 10,000 newspapers -- international in scope.

ABYZ News LinksA portal to online news sources from around the world.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Free news source (with archives) covering Russia, Transcaucases, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

World News Connection 1996 – presentTranslated transcriptions and summaries of radio and television broadcasts, newspaper articles, conference proceedings, periodicals and non-classified technical reports, representing nearly every country in the world via the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS).

LexisNexis Academic Included are over 6,000 individual titles of international, national and local newspapers and wire services; radio and television transcripts; and business, medical, industry, and legislative magazines, journals, and newsletters.

Lexis/NexisNews Transcripts

Articles/NewsArticles/News(how do you (how do you

find this stuff?)find this stuff?)

Jumping Off point for Finding Jumping Off point for Finding Article & News DatabasesArticle & News Databases

Find Information / Articles / Find Information / Articles / Article Databases by SubjectArticle Databases by Subject

ororOften best to begin with Often best to begin with

general articles dbsgeneral articles dbs

Media Resources CenterMedia Resources Centerhttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRChttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC

Vanderbilt TV IndexVanderbilt TV Indexhttp://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/(items in archive can be rented for (items in archive can be rented for review on videotape for a fee)review on videotape for a fee)

The Information Universe (Now)

But Remember: Not everything is online!!!!!:

•Article Databases: Generally only go back 10-20 yrs online (some exceptions – e.g. Historical Newspapers)

•Not every publication is indexed

•Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the books and journal universe is currently available in full-text

Online is Cool

Remember Also:•Not every topic has lots written about it, either in books or journal lit.

--Research on very current topics--Research on radically specific topics--Research on topics off the beaten

academic track or off the pop culture radar

•UCB has tremendous (but not infinite) resources: ILL for some things, but for others…

The Information Universe (Now)

What to do if nothing is turning up:

•Tweak your topic: Broaden it / select a different angle•Rethink your search strategy (new keywords, new concepts, etc.)•Bail out completely and choose another topic

A few cautionary words about research on the Net

LibraryLand

The NetGoogle Rocks!

How to Begin? Before you click: THINK

Formulate your search in terms of keyword and key phrases:

Reflection of the fear of uncontrolled science and technology and nuclear annihilation in the science fiction and horror films of the 1950’s

How to Begin? Before you click: THINK

Formulate your search in terms of:

•KEY WORD Searches : --Look for words anywhere in record: title, subject, abstract and full-text (if available)

•PHRASES:--Looks for words in the exact order entered

Common Search Features:

•Basic and Advanced Search Screens

•Trunction: “wild card” that allows you to scoop up broader results:* # or ? Depending on db

--e.g.: Advertis* will give you:advertise, advertising, advertisers, advertisements

•Search by keyword or by phrase•Search specific fields (e.g., SUBJECT, TITLE)•Use of AND, OR, NOT

<Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson>< Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen>< Bob Dylan not Bruce Springsteen >

Common Search Features:

--Save list of good stuff--Mail Articles/Citations to yourself

Connecting from off-campus

One news article One journal articleOne TV transcriptOne video

GROUP I: War crimes against women in Bosnia

GROUP II: US war crimes (current) in the Middle East

Group III:Rwandan genocide: legal (criminal) prosecution