The college student's research companion : finding, evaluating, and citing the resources you need to succeed

Most students faced with writing a research paper probably start at the same place--Google. Here's a cutting-edge guide that will save your students from fruitless, random web searching. Arlene Quartiello, formerly an academic librarian who now teaches college English, and Jane Devine, coauthor of Going Beyond Google, provide up-to-date guidance for using traditional and online sources.

Students will learn to select a topic, effectively find and evaluate the best information in both print and electronic formats, and produce accurate and complete citations based on current versions of important styles guides and web resources.

Each chapter includes exercises that reinforce the instruction and guidance. A companion website accompanies this new edition to give readers hot links for all of the book's URLs, and supplementary materials including additional exercises and examples that help clarify how to apply the techniques.

Written in an easy, breezy style and filled with real-world examples, illustrative diagrams, and screen shots, this is the ideal guide for anyone aspiring to write an excellent research paper on their own or following this text in a research skills or information literacy course.

• List of Figures and Tables p. ix
• Preface p. xi
• Acknowledgments p. xiii
• Chapter 1 Library Logistics: Devising a Research Plan p. 1
• Choosing Your Research Topic p. 3
• Narrowing Your Topic p. 4
• Planning Your Research p. 8
• Types of Sources p. 8
• Informational Formats p. 8
• The Information Cycle p. 9
• Web-Based Resources p. 10
• Books p. 11
• Periodical Articles p. 12
• Other Resources p. 13
• How and Where to Find Sources p. 13
• Using Other Libraries p. 14
• Planning Your Time p. 14
• Exercises p. 16
• Chapter 2 Reliable Resources: Evaluating Information p. 19
• The PACAC Method p. 20
• Purpose p. 21
• Persuasion and the Use of Appeals p. 22
• What Web Addresses Reveal about Purpose p. 23
• Audience p. 24
• Authority p. 24
• Primary versus Secondary Sources p. 26
• Currency p. 27
• Accuracy p. 28
• Content p. 29
• Exercises p. 30
• Chapter 3 The Wayward Web: Finding Good Sites p. 33
• The Content of the Web p. 35
• Companies p. 35
• Nonprofit Organizations p. 35
• Government p. 36
• Schools p. 36
• Individuals p. 36
• Social Networking p. 37
• Wikis p. 38
• The Structure of the Web p. 38
• Searching Techniques p. 42
• What are you Really Searching? p. 44
• Searching Tips p. 46
• Exercises p. 50
• Chapter 4 Database Directions: Honing Your Search p. 53
• The Structure of Databases p. 55
• Searching Databases p. 58
• Keyword Searching Using AND p. 58
• Keyword Searching Using OR p. 60
• Truncation p. 61
• Keyword Searching Using NOT p. 61
• Combining AND, OR, and NOT p. 62
• Problems with Keyword Searching p. 64
• Field-Specific Searching p. 65
• Searching by Subject p. 66
• Other Useful Database Features p. 68
• Federated Searching p. 68
• Exercises p. 69
• Chapter 5 Book Bonanza: Using the Library Catalog p. 71
• Searching the Online Catalog p. 73
• Searching by Title or Author p. 74
• Searching by Subject p. 75
• Searching by Keyword p. 78
• Understanding the Classification Systems p. 79
• Dewey Decimal Classification p. 80
• Library of Congress Classification p. 81
• E-books p. 85
• Subscription E-book Databases p. 85
• Public Domain Texts on the Web p. 86
• Downloading E-books p. 87
• Exercises p. 88
• Chapter 6 Pertinent Periodicals: Searching for Articles p. 91
• Types of Periodicals p. 92
• Choosing Which Periodical Database to Use p. 94
• Databases on your Library Website p. 94
• Free Periodical Databases on the Web p. 96
• Print Indexes p. 97
• Periodical Database Records p. 97
• Searching Periodical Databases p. 99
• Subject versus Keyword Searching p. 99
• Broadening Your Search by Searching the Full Text p. 101
• Narrowing Your Search p. 101
• Limiters p. 101
• Proximity Operators p. 102
• Field-Specific Searching p. 103
• Getting Your Hands on the Articles p. 103
• Formats p. 104
• Periodical Organization p. 106
• What If your Library doesn't have it? p. 106
• Exercises p. 107
• Chapter 7 Ready Reference: Getting Answers p. 109
• Reference and the Web p. 109
• Topic Selection and Background Information p. 110
• Encyclopedias p. 110
• Britannica Online p. 111
• A Word about Wikipedia p. 111
• Subject-Specific Encyclopedias p. 112
• CQ Researcher: An Encyclopedic Guide to "Hot Topics" p. 113
• Exercises p. 114
• Using Reference Sources to Understand Your Other Sources p. 114
• Dictionaries p. 115
• Exercises p. 115
• Using Reference Sources to Find Supporting Information p. 116
• Finding Statistical and Geographical Information p. 117
• Exercises p. 120
• Finding Chronological Information p. 120
• Exercises p. 121
• Finding Biographical Information p. 121
• Exercises p. 122
• Finding People and Organizations p. 122
• Exercises p. 123
• Finding Quotations p. 123
• Exercises p. 123
• Using Reference Sources to Find Additional Sources p. 124
• Using Reference Sources to Write and Cite p. 124
• Exercises p. 125
• Chapter 8 Integrated Information: Using Sources p. 127
• Taking Notes: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing p. 127
• Quoting Your Sources p. 127
• Brackets p. 128
• Ellipses p. 128
• Paraphrasing p. 129
• To Quote or to Paraphrase? That is the Question p. 130
• Summarizing p. 131
• Composing Summaries for Annotated Bibliographies p. 132
• Noting Source Information p. 133
• Avoiding Plagiarism p. 133
• Citing Your Sources p. 135
• Citation Styles p. 136
• Incorporating Notes into Your Paper p. 140
• Citing Websites p. 140
• Citing Periodical Articles p. 141
• Citing Books p. 142
• Exercises p. 143
• Appendix A Answers to Exercises p. 147
• Appendix B Common Subscription Databases p. 157
• Appendix C Citation Style Guide p. 161
• Index p. 173
• About the Authors p. 183