Information Sources for English 3323:

Technical Writing

Kevin DreesEngineering LibrarianCreated June 2004Updated March 2005drees@okstate.eduEdmon Low Library Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK KD 6/04

Content of this instruction: Critical thinking skills

Keyword vs. subject search Information Cycle: scholarly vs. non-scholarly material Primary vs. secondary sources Subscription databases from Library via the web vs Web

search engines Knowledge base of the library

Discipline/Subject Specific Databases Format

Article, technical reports government documents

Availability (Print/Electronic) Subject experts

DisciplinesBusiness/FinancialEngineeringAgriculture

FormatsArticlesTechnical ReportsGovernment Documents

AvailabilityElectronicPrint Note: using both the print and electronic

will increase the odds of finding useful information and better “composite sketch” of the topic, company, or industry

Critical Thinking – deciding about how to search and what types of sources to use – driven by audience analysis. 1. Keyword vs. subject search2. Information Cycle: scholarly vs. non-

scholarly material3. Primary vs. secondary sources4. Subscription databases from Library

via the web vs Web search engines

Critical Thinking – 1. Keyword vs. subject search

keyword search – Synonyms: targeted, exact, specific

Example: company name

subject search – use when keyword fails. Synonyms for subject search: classification,

category, broadened searchingExample:

industry, product type

Critical Thinking – 2. Information Cycle:

Analysis increases along the cycle

scholarly vs. non-scholarly material

Web (scholarly/non-scholarly) vs subscription database (scholarly except for news accounts)

Critical Thinking – 3. Primary vs. secondary sources

preference of primary source materials over secondary

Primary source material: the article, speech, etc., verbatim – a

good approach to get exactly what was said

Secondary source materialA summary someone wrote by looking at

the primary source. May contain an analysis in the context of the discipline.

Critical Thinking –4. Subscription databases from Library

via the web vs Web search engines

Understanding the distinction

Knowledge Base Subject Specific Databases

Business/Financial Engineering Agriculture

Format article, technical reports government documents

Availability (Print/Electronic)

Business/FinancialGoal: to increase your searching ability

in business and financial sources keyword search –

company name

Subject search – Industry Product type

ElectronicHoover’sFactivaBusiness Source EliteProQuest DirectEdgar

Print

D & B Million Dollar Directory –NAICS (North American Industrl Class.

System) 2000SIC (Standard Industrial Class.) Manual Standard and Poor’s Register –

Corporations International Directory of Company

Histories

Print cont. – definitely consult:Value line investment survey.Stand & Poor’s Industry SurveysOklahoma Manufacturers RegisterOklahoma Directory of Manufacturers

and ProcessorsD & B Regional Business Directory

Summary - Business/Financial keyword (specific) vs subject (category)

searching Subject searching

Value line investment survey – composite stats S&P Industry Survey – many tables and graphs

Articles – description of the industry or the company itself

Further assistance – Librarians, reference desk.

Engineering Electronic

Compendex EBSCO

Acad Search Elite ASTA (Applied Science and Technology) Biological Abstracts (multiple years) Medline

INSPEC IEL (IEEE Electronic Library) Science Direct Web of Science

Agriculture Electronic

ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers)

CAB Abstracts EBSCO

Agricola - compiled by the U.S. National Agricultural Library (NAL)

Biological Abstracts (multiple years) Biological & Agricultural Index

USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)www.usda.gov

Technical Reports - defined Are written to convey new developments or

final results of scientific and technical research. Are usually funded by government departments

or corporate bodies. Deliver technical information to the funding

organization. Provide a forum for peer information exchange. Anne Graham, Barker Engineering Library, MIT, grahama@mit.edu, http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/types/techreports/definition.html, Accessed August 14, 2004

The most important resources for locating tech reports and other info produced by the Government for this technical writing course. Library Catalog

Regular search Limited to gov docs

Science.gov – site searches 30 Government agency databases and makes

use of 1700 agency selected websites pertaining to science. May not be able to pull the full text from this source. Contact

Gov Docs Gov Docs Dept – 5th Floor of Library

Gov Docs Librarians Print vs electronic over date ranges Identify agencies relevant to your topic

Tech Reports - locating

Tech Reports - locatingNTIS http://www.ntis.gov/

All (nearly) government publications are available from NTIS (National Technical Information Service)

OSU Gov Docs will request the item in Microfiche – take the NTIS record (abstract and other data) to Gov Docs- 2 weeks- patron photocopy the mf copy

Government documents - defineda record of activities of government’s numerous

agencies, regulatory bodies, and departmentscontent ranging from agriculture to zoology and

impact on all academic disciplines. Authorship by agency, a unique classification

system, and a variety of output formats often confound users,

Primary source materials readily available from government sources include verbatim testimony obtained from congressional hearings and environmental impact statements.

Government Documents – identifying relevant materials Search the following in this order

Library Catalog Regular search Limited to gov docs

GPO Access from the OSU Library Indexes and Databases Page

GPO Monthly Catalog from the OSU Library Indexes and Databases Page

Google UncleSam from the OSU Library Indexes and Databases Page

Gov Docs Dept – 5th Floor of Library Gov Docs Librarians Print vs electronic over date ranges Identify agencies relevant to your topic

Government Documents Primary source material:

Example: Congressional hearings appear Congressional LexisNexis – via Indexes and Databases

page. Science.gov – www.science.gov Thomas - (legistative information on the Internet

http://thomas.loc.gov/

Secondary source material Example: search for Congressional hearings in a

source with major newspapers like New York Times –

ProQuest

How can I tell it is a Gov Doc A government agency: EPA, etc Found the publication in the “GPO Monthly”

(Catalog of US Gov Pubs) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html

Call numbers in Gov Docs 5th floor Libr SuDocs (slashes and colons) Jackson numbers (3 letters)

OSU catalog limited to Gov Docs on the limit tab_____________________________

Exception to the above – sometimes non-Gov publisher items are placed in Gov Docs _

Government websites via agency or service Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/ Catalog of US Gov Pubs http://

www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html EPA www.epa.gov Science.gov www.science.gov NTIS (National Technical Information Service)

www.ntis.gov/ USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) www.usda.gov Dept of Labor http://www.dol.gov/

Business stats

SummarySearch respective databases & print

sourcessubject (category) searching as well as

Keyword (specific) Locate primary sources as neededVisit Gov Docs – Library, 5th Floor