Assessing and Finding Sources for Technology & Society

Nicole Branch, Sociology Librarian

SOCI 49

January 20, 2016Image courtesy of Flickr user throgers.

Today we will…

• Distinguish between different types of sources

• Define searchable key words for technology & society topics

• Identify & search relevant databases

Background image courtesy of Flickr user Paree.

My Topic

Background image courtesy of Flickr user Paree.

Source types.

Image courtesy of Flickr user sky noir.

Breaking Down Source Types

• Scholarly

• Popular

• Trade/Practitioner

• Reference

Scholarly

• author: experts (such as academics)

• audience: scholars and researchers in the field

• purpose: make available original research

• references: frequent citations or extensive bibliography

Popular

• author: journalist or freelance writer

• audience: general, non-expert readers

• purpose: entertain, persuade, or inform readers

• references: no citations or bibliography

Reference

• author: usually editor, not author, listed

• audience: general, non-expert readers

• purpose: provide background information on a topic

• references: sources either not cited or a short bibliography provided for further reading

Trade/Practitioner

• author: practicing professionals (e.g. teachers, nurses, business)

• audience: working professionals in that profession

• purpose: share techniques or trends within profession or industry

• references: sources sometimes cited.

Identify the Source Type

• Go to the Pop Quiz link on the guide for this class

• Try to identify the types of sources listed

• Review

Define, Refine & Focus Your Topic

• Define Black twitter

• Refine Black identity and politics on Twitter

• Focus How have African Americans used Twitter to advance political or social

causes? Why are certain groups drawn to Twitter to build a sense of

community? In what ways has Twitter represented race and racism in the United

States?

Identify Key Words

How have African Americans used Twitter to advance political or social causes?

Identify Key Words

How have African Americans used Twitter to advance political or social causes?

Refining Keywords

• Broader terms

• Narrower Terms

• Synonym Terms

Finding the conversationImage courtesy of Flickr user spyros papasyropoulos.

Identify a Database

• Determine primary subject areas

• Identify specialized databases

• Search multiple sources

Search & Refine

• Identify subject terms

• Use subject limiters

• Identify key figures in the conversation

• Grab citations & permalinks

Nicole Branch, Social Sciences Librariannbranch@scu.edux5436

Image courtesy of Flickr user Thomas Hawk.