MyResearch (Humanities) Module 3 Sharon Rankin Sean Swanick Helena Reddington.
My Research: Humanities Module 2 Sharon Rankin Sean Swanick [
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Transcript of My Research: Humanities Module 2 Sharon Rankin Sean Swanick [
My Research: HumanitiesModule 2
Sharon RankinSean Swanick
[
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. Obviously those two modes of thought are in some tension. But if you are able to exercise only one of these modes, whichever one it is, you’re in deep trouble.”
--Carl Sagan
“The Burden of Skepticism.” Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 12, Fall 1987.
The research mindset…
Skepticism in action…
After today’s workshop, you will be able to: Develop an effective search strategy for a research
topic Find relevant material for your topic using the
library catalogue Search general academic databases for article
literature Locate information beyond McGill
Learning outcomes
The Research Process
Clara M. Chu, “Literary Critics at Work and Their Information Needs: A Research-Phases Model,” Library & Information Science Research 21, no. 2 (1999): 263.
It can seem long and circuitous…
The Research Process
Christine D. Brown, “Straddling the Humanities and Social Sciences: The Research Process of Music Scholars,” Library & Information Science Research 24, no. 1 (2002): 88.
Long and circuitous = normal…DON’T PANIC!
Case study: The New Woman, 1890-1920
Cybill Shepard in the movie of Henry James’s 1878 novella Daisy Miller
By 1890 a new, more modern culture was emerging in the United States....As women pushed the boundaries of the private sphere to participate more fully in wage earning, education, the professions, or community service, the concept of “true womanhood” was pushed aside in favor of the “New Woman.” Lucille A. Adkins, "Women's Movement, United States, 20th Century," in The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, edited by Immanuel Ness. Blackwell Reference Online. Accessed February 12, 2013, http://www.blackwellreference.com/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9781405184649_yr2011_chunk_g97814051846491608 .
Case study: The New Woman, 1890-1920
How did the idea of the “New Woman”
impact depictions of domesticity
in American literature?
Sample research question
Relevancy
Retrieval(# of search results)
Broad Questions
Narrow Questions
High = lots of articles
Low = very few articles
High = directly relevant articles
Low = mostly irrelevant articles
How questions influence search results
How did the idea of the “New Woman”
impact depictions of domesticity
in American literature?
Break it down: pull out key concepts
Strategies:
Generate synonyms and related terms
• Brainstorming• Concept maps• Reading articles and books• Mining bibliographies• Using thesauri and subject headings
“New Woman” “domesticity” “American literature”
feminismFirst Wave feminism
women’s suffrageSuffragists
Progressivismwomen’s rights
marriage family
gender femininity sexuality
“True Womanhood”
American novelsAmerican poetry
Henry JamesWilla Cather
Edith WhartonKate Chopin
Mina Loy
American literature -- 19th century -- History and
criticism. American literature -- 20th
century -- History and criticism.
Generating keywords
Your turn
Boolean operators
Combine terms
AND
“New Woman” “domesticity” “American literature”
feminismFirst Wave feminism
women’s suffrageSuffragists
Progressivismwomen’s rights
marriage family
gender femininity sexuality
“True Womanhood”
American novelsAmerican poetry
Henry JamesWilla Cather
Edith WhartonKate Chopin
Mina Loy
American literature -- 19th century -- History and
criticism. American literature -- 20th
century -- History and criticism.
Boolean Operators
AND AND
“New Woman” domesticity
OR
“New Woman” “domesticity” “American literature”
feminismFirst Wave feminism
women’s suffrageSuffragists
Progressivismwomen’s rights
marriage family
gender femininity sexuality
“True Womanhood”
American novels American poetry
Henry JamesWilla Cather
Edith WhartonKate Chopin
Mina Loy
American literature -- 19th century -- History and
criticism. American literature -- 20th
century -- History and criticism.
Boolean Operators
OR OR OR
domesticity marriage
NOT
American literature
Poetry
NOTE: The symbols used will vary from one database to another.
Truncation
* ! ?Suffrag*
SuffrageSuffragistSuffragistsSuffragetteSuffragettes
Use to retrieve variant endings or plurals
#
Wildcard
* ! ?wom?n woman
women
Use to replace character(s) within a word
#
NOTE: The symbols used will vary from one database to another.
Quotation marks Use for phrase searching
Example: “New Woman” “First Wave Feminism”
Parentheses Device that allows you to control the order of your search
Example: (“New Woman” OR suffrag*) AND (domesticity OR marriage)
More advanced search techniques
(“New Woman” OR “First Wave Feminism” OR “women’s suffrag*”)
AND
(domestic* OR marriage OR family OR gender OR sexuality)
AND
(“American literature” OR “American poetry” OR “Kate Chopin” OR “Willa Cather” OR “Mina Loy”)
Putting it all together
Putting it all together
McGill WorldCat vs.
Classic Catalogue
One Catalogue, two ways to search
McGill WorldCat
Classic Catalogue
Advanced Search – Classic Catalogue
Advanced search in WorldCat
Your turn
Library catalogue exercise
General academic databases
http://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/connect
EZProxy: “EZproxy is a quick, easy, and convenient method to gain off-campus access to McGill Library subscription databases and other online resources.”
VPN recommended. Install it on your computer. If you have any problems, call 514.398.3398.
Off-campus access
Your turn
Using Boolean logic, run some searches in your subject area using one of the general academic databases.
Save at least one relevant article to your EndNote library.
Exercise
Use the Google tips handout to have more control over your searches.
Set up Library Links in Settings.
If using citation management software, set up for direct export in Settings.
Take advantage of the Alert option.
Maximizing Google Scholar
Your turn
Run some searches in Google Scholar.
Use at least 2 of the Google search tips from the handout.
If you are happy with the search results, set up an alert.
Exercise
What will you get in your results?
Academic journal articles
Book chapters from Google Books
Theses and dissertations
Searching in Google Scholar
For more details: http://www.mcgill.ca/library/find/theses
Theses and Dissertations
eScholarship ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
27 500+ full text McGill theses• Allows searching by faculty
advisor
McGill theses from 1934 to present day• Full text 1997-• Selected full text before 1997
Also contains: journal articles, conference papers, technical reports, book chapters written by McGill faculty and students
Also contains: theses written by students from North American and European universities
Use for: McGill-specific search requirements
Use for: Broader scope of current research
1. Conduct a keyword search in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses to find a thesis related to your research.
Check the bibliography to see if any articles could be useful for your research
2. Search eScholarship to find a thesis supervised by your current supervisor, or by a professor in your department.
Specialized Resources
Borrow in person from other libraries BCI
http://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/otherloans/CREPUQ
Interlibrary loan COLOMBO
http://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/otherloans/interlibrary
Access beyond McGill
Allows you to borrow books from other universities in Quebec and Canada.
Obtain a BCI card at any Library Services Desk on campus.
BCI (formerly CREPUQ)card: what is it?
Use when McGill and other local universities do not have an item.
Administered through COLUMBO; instructions here.
Interlibrary loan: what is it?
What do you need to borrow books from Concordia?
BCI card
Which will retrieve more results?
1) “new woman” OR feminism
2) “new woman” AND feminism
ANSWER: 1
Name a multidisciplinary, general academic database database we used today.
Academic Search Complete, Web of Science, Google Scholar are all good examples.
Name a source for locating theses and dissertations.
Proquest Dissertations and Theses Full-Text, eScholarship@McGill, Google Scholar
Review
Liaison librarians http://www.mcgill.ca/library/contact/askus/liaison
Subject guides http://www.mcgill.ca/library/find/subjects
Subject-specific databases
Next time…
Complete the brief Module 2 survey online:
bit.ly/myresearch-module2
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