Wilmington University
PHI314 Ethics in Information Technology
PAPA rubric
EVALUATION
CRITERIA
1
Unsatisfactory
1 point
2
Developing
2 points
3
Acceptable
3 points
4
Accomplished
4 points
Topic development
Paper lacks
organization
clarity and
focus
Minimal
organization,
lacks clarity
and exhibits
imprecise use
of language
Somewhat well
organized and
focused
Well organized,
clear and precise
presentation of
ideas
Topic Coverage
(PAPA). Presented
appropriate analysis
and included
content from good
sources. (readings,
cases, laws, class
work)
Scant or
incomplete
coverage of 4
topics with
weak analysis.
No use of data
to support
analysis.
Minimal
coverage of
topic with little
analysis. Major
aspects of
topics were
poorly
addressed and
used minimal
data and
examples.
Covers most
aspects of the
topic.
Moderate
amount of data
presented as a
foundation for
analysis.
Adequate
analysis.
Thorough coverage
of most aspects of
the topic. Ample
amount of data
used in
presentation of
analysis. Gives
examples from
cases, laws, class
work. Clear
evidence of critical
thinking provided.
Followed
assignment criteria
Assignment
criteria not
followed. Did
not relate
PAPA to
academic,
personal or
professional
experience.
Minimal use of
assignment
criteria.
Demonstrates
little
understanding
of assignment
Moderate use
of assignment
criteria.
Demonstrates
some
understanding
of assignment
Most of the
assignment criteria
were followed.
PAPA was related
to the students
academic, personal
or professional
experience.
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5
Exemplary
5 points
SCORE
Extremely well
organized and
easy to read.
Clear, logical and
focused with no
evidence of
“padding”.
Extremely
thorough
coverage of all 4
topic areas. Indepth analysis.
Exceptional
amount of data
from cases, laws,
class work
presented.
Exceptional
critical thinking
skills.
All the assignment
criteria were
followed. PAPA
was related to the
students
academic,
personal or
professional
experience.
_ X2
_ X6
_ X5
Wilmington University
PHI314 Ethics in Information Technology
PAPA rubric
Evaluated research
and research was
obtained from
library resources
subscription
services and other
sources generally
accepted as
legitimate and valid
preferably from
subscription
services from
computer
professional
organizations.
No attempt is
made to
evaluate
information
and its sources.
No sources
listed or very
poor research
sources used.
Journals not
used.
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Ineffective
evaluation of
information
and its sources.
Minimal and/or
incorrect
consideration
for authority,
accuracy,
objectivity,
currency,
context, and
coverage of
information
and its sources.
Wikis or Blogs
were used. No
journals from
computer
professional
organizations
or library
resource
subscription
services.
Basic
evaluation of
information
and its sources.
Some
consideration
for authority,
accuracy,
objectivity,
currency,
context, and
coverage of
information
and its sources.
Minimal
amount of
research from
websites,
technical
sources and
journals from
computer
professional
organizations
or library
resource
subscription
services.
Effective
evaluation of
information and its
sources. Considers
the authority,
accuracy,
objectivity,
currency, context,
and coverage of
information and its
sources. Uses
some good
resources from
websites, technical
sources and
journals from
computer
professional
organizations or
library resource
subscription
services.
Highly effective
evaluation of
information and
its sources. Fully
considers the
authority,
accuracy,
objectivity,
currency, context,
and coverage of
information and
its sources. Uses
multiple excellent
sources from
websites,
technical sources
and journals from
computer
professional
organizations or
library resource
subscription
services.
_ X5
Wilmington University
PHI314 Ethics in Information Technology
PAPA rubric
Writing style was
appropriate for
work at this level.
Spell checked and
proof read
Far below
expectations
for work at this
level.
Excessive
spelling,
punctuation
and
grammatical
errors.
Below
expectations
for work at this
level. Errors in
spelling,
punctuation
and grammar.
Just meets
expectations
for work at this
level. Some
errors in
spelling,
punctuation or
grammar
Identified.
Work appropriate
for this level of
student. A few
minor errors found
in spelling,
punctuation or
grammar.
Work exceeds
expectations for
this level of
student. No errors
found in spelling,
punctuation or
grammar.
FINAL SCORE ___ /100
Requirements: Typed, doubled spaced, 1” margin, 12 pt font, 3 or 4 page paper (no more, no less)
NO PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED LATE
Version 2 – February 8, 2013 - mjh
_ X2
Research Strategies
Many instructors assign a topic for a research paper, but sometimes they do not provide
you with a topic. Either way, it will be your task to prepare a document that will most
likely be graded. Use the following four steps to keep yourself moving in the right
direction.
Step 1: Determine your information need.
How much, and what types of, information will you need to complete the assignment?
How will the information be presented? Are you writing an essay? A term
paper? Giving a speech?
How much information do you need? How long does the paper need to be? A
2-paragraph essay may only require one source. A 15-page term paper could
require dozens of sources.
What is the purpose of the assignment? To inform? To analyze? To
persuade? Will you need facts and statistics? Do you need to give an opinion?
Do you need to present both sides of an issue?
Is your topic limited to a certain subject? Or do you get to choose? If it is
limited to a certain subject, how much do you already know about it? What
questions do you have about it? Does the nature of the subject require the
information to be up-to-date (technology, a recent event, etc)?
Has your instructor specified a certain number or type of sources? Some
assignments require that you have a set number of different types of sources,
such as 2 books, 2 articles and 1 internet source. Make sure you are aware of
any such requirements before you start.
Step 2: Identify and develop your topic.
When you need to select a topic, here are a few things to remember:
Choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your life.
List the words that are used to describe your topic
Turn your thoughts and words into a question. For example, suppose you
would like to explore the topic of global warming. Think about what it is about
global warming that you want to find out, and frame a question, such as “How will
global warming impact the type of job I’d like to pursue?”
Step 3: Read General Background Information.
Read a general encyclopedia article or website on the top two or three topics you are
considering.
Step 4: Develop a Search Strategy
A search strategy consists of the keywords in your topic sentence.
Topic Sentence: College students engage in risky behavior.
Keywords:
college students
risky behavior
Always identify synonyms or related words to help you obtain more results. Consult
Merriam-Webster’s Thesaurus Online- http://www.m-w.com/ for additional terms.
Synonyms for risky behavior:
risk-taking
risk-taking behavior
Think about different ways to define risky. Merriam-Webster’s Thesaurus offers these
synonyms:
dangerous
grave
grievous
hazardous
jeopardizing
menacing
parlous
perilous
serious
threatening
unhealthy
unsafe
venturesome
Choose examples of specific risky behaviors:
high-risk drinking
substance abuse
sexual risk-taking
Obtaining a variety of terms allows you to develop a more sophisticated search
strategy.
Step 4: Search the Delaware Library Catalog and
Library Databases to find background information
and resources on your topic.
Use the Delaware Library Catalog or WorldCat.org to find books on your topic available
in libraries. Both the Delaware Library catalog and WorldCat.org also list journal titles,
videotapes, DVDs and CDs that the library owns. The Wilmington University Library
subscribes to many electronic scholarly databases that can be used to search for
articles about your topic. Many databases also provide the full text of the article.
Step 5: Find Internet Resources.
Topic-oriented websites can provide you with useful leads in your research. For
example, try using:
The Internet Public library: http://www.ipl.org/
refdesk.com,
fedstats.gov,
“Virtual Library” (http://vlib.org/)
“Librarians Internet Index” (http://lii.org/).
Step 4: Cite what you find.
"Citing a source," means that you are telling the reader of your paper where you got a
specific quote, fact, graphic, or idea. This allows the reader to check up on your
information, to make sure you have:
drawn on authoritative sources
used them fairly
copied from them accurately
included all important details
and interpreted them correctly
Author’s Names
Journal Date
Smith, G., Simmons, J., Flory, K., Annus, A., & Hill, K. (2007).
Thinness and eating expectancies predict subsequent binge-eating and
purging behavior among adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 116(1). Retrieved from PsycARTICLES database.
Article Title
Journal Volume &
Issue Number
Retrieval information
Name of Subscription Service or
Database
Journal Title
All courses at Wilmington University use the “APA Style Manual”. APA stands for
American Psychological Association. The APA has published this manual to help
writers, students, and professionals in the field of psychology prepare and write papers.
This system has also been adopted by many other fields as well
Because the field of publishing is constantly changing, updates in APA style can be
found at the APA Publication Manual Web site: http://www.apastyle.org
What is a library database?
A library database is an online resource that the library subscribes to that
contains articles and information from print sources such as magazines,
newspapers, journals, and reference books. There are two different types of
databases that our library subscribes to:
Article Databases
An article database enables you to search through thousands (sometimes millions) of
different magazines, journals and newspapers to find articles on a particular topic.
Some of the articles you will find are Full Text, which means you can read (or print out)
the entire article right there online. Other times the database will only provide you with
an abstract, or summary of the article. Other times, the database will only give you a
citation, which tells you where you can find a print version of the article.
Reference Databases
Reference Databases provide reference information (facts, statistics, background
information) from many different print sources. For example, we subscribe to
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, which is an online version of the 29-volume set of print
encyclopedias. Reference Databases are usually more subject-specific than the article
databases, so that each one covers something like Business, Law, or Science &
Technology, to name a few.
Databases are not "internet" sources
Although you access our databases through the internet, the articles you find in them
are taken from published print sources. Most of the things you find in our databases
cannot be found by searching Google or Yahoo. These are subscription services that
the library pays for. They are every bit a part of our library's collection as the books on
our shelves, and unless you want to buy your own subscription, you must go through
the library's website to access them.
You must logon to use these databases from off-campus
Because these subscription services are paid for by the library, you can use them from
any Wilmington University computer on our network and you will not have to logon. If
you are trying to access the databases from an off-campus computer (from home, or
work, or Wyoming), you will be prompted to log into Blackboard first. From the Library
homepage, select the link for Electronic Databases
(http://www.wilmu.edu/library/accessoffcampus.aspx ) to be presented with an
alphabetical list of databases to which the Library subscribes. Select the database you
want use, and you will then be prompted to log into Blackboard with your username and
password.
Wilmington University Library Databases
Databases come in all shapes and sizes, and choosing the right one for your topic is the
first step in using them. For instance, you're not going to find very much information on
hybrid cars if you're searching a nursing database. So consider your topic first and then
select a database relevant to searching on that topic.
Wilmington University Multidisciplinary Databases
Multidisciplinary databases are usually more general and cover a wide range of topics.
Database Name
Subjects Covered
Master File Premier
general academic, arts & humanities, social sciences, science and
technology
Academic Search
Premier
general academic, general interest, medicine, education, literature
WorldCAT
Catalog of library catalogs from around the world
National Newspapers
Full-text of New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A.
Times, and Christian Science Monitor
Some of the Wilmington University Reference & Subject-Specific
Databases
Database Name
Subjects Covered
CQ Researcher
law, current events, politics, controversial issues
Access Science
electronic version of the McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and
Technology
Business Source Complete
business database providing full text for more than 2,300 journals
Encyclopedia Britannica
general reference
Mental Measurements
Yearbook
comprehensive guide to over 2,000 contemporary testing instruments.
CINAHL
Comprehensive source of full text for nursing & allied health journals.
Computers & Applied
Sciences Complete
covers the spectrum of the applied sciences, including traditional
engineering challenges and the business and social implications of
new technology.
provides research support for criminal justice, law enforcement,
Criminal Justice Periodicals
corrections administration, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family
Index
law, and industrial security.
Education Research
Complete
covers areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration,
policy, funding, and related social issues.
ERIC
The Educational Resource Information Center, contains more than
2,200 digests along with references for additional information and
citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and educationrelated journals.
PsycInfo & PsycBooks
scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all
in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s.
Opposing Viewpoints
pros and cons on a wide variety of controversial social issues
Sage Journals Online
Sage Journals Online provides access to approximately 460 PeerReviewed Full-Text Journals published by Sage covering the
disciplines of Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science,
Technology, and Medicine.
SocIndex
comprehensive social science research database with hundreds of
full-text journals.
Which database would you use to answer the following questions?
What are the latest nursing techniques for a stroke?
What are some arguments for and against legalized gambling?
How have laws on inter-racial marriage evolved?
How many people live in Bangladesh?
General Database Search Tips & Strategies
Each database is different, so it may take you a while to get acquainted with a new one.
There are some general tips and strategies you can use whenever you search a
database. Later in the lesson, you will see examples of many of these strategies in our
sample searches.
Don't type an entire sentence into the search box. Think of the most important
two or three words that deal with your topic. Remember, the more words you
use, the fewer hits you will get, and vice-versa.
Be flexible with your search terms. Think of synonyms, related words, and
broader and narrower terms. Think of all the words other people might use to talk
about your topic.
Be careful with spelling. Computers do exactly what you tell them to do, so if you
spell a word wrong, it doesn't know it. It's looking for exactly what you typed.
Pay attention to which search field you are searching. Where is the database
looking for your search terms? In a subject heading? In the title of the article? In
the full-text of the article? These will all bring up different results.
Most databases use a controlled vocabulary with official subject headings.
This means that they've organized all the articles into topics with subdivisions,
narrower, broader, and related terms. You can use these subject headings to get
ideas and guide your search. This will enable you to get articles that are about
your topic, rather than the ones that just mention it.
On the other hand, sometimes it's necessary to use a keyword search to find
your search terms anywhere in the article. Keyword searches should be used in
these cases:
o When the thing you're searching for is so rare (or new) that there are no
official subject headings for it (yet.)
o When you're looking for a very specific phrase. For example, there might
be tons of articles that list diet as a subject, but you're only looking for
things that mention South Beach Diet. This might be too specific to have
its own subject heading.
o Some types of articles (such as newspapers) aren't indexed at all, so they
simply don't have a controlled vocabulary. In these cases, keyword
searching may be your only option.
One technique that librarians and researchers use is to identify subjects
headings listed for an article to get more ideas. For example, let's say you're
looking for articles on low-carb diets. You did a keyword search on
carbohydrates and brought up 5000 articles that mention them. The first few
articles aren't really about your topic, but the fourth title is exactly what you're
looking for. You look at the official subject headings for that article and one of
them is High Protein Diet-- Evaluation. You never would have thought of the
phrase "high protein diet evaluation" on your own, but now you know the
language (controlled vocabulary) that this database is speaking. You can use
this knowledge to conduct a subject search to find similar articles.
There are many ways to expand or limit your search. (Expanding means you'll
get more articles, and limiting means you'll get fewer articles.) Often,
databases will let you limit your search to scholarly journals, to full-text
articles, or to certain dates. You can also combine different search terms to
get different results. This is called a Boolean search,
Boolean Searches
Boolean operators are words such as and, or, and not that you use to combine search
terms. The operator you use will either broaden or narrow the results of your search.
Operator
AND
Use
limits your search
Example
cats AND dogs
cats AND dogs AND
birds
OR
expands your search cats OR dogs
cats OR dogs OR birds
NOT
excludes specific
terms
cats NOT dogs
AND
An AND search says, find me articles that contain both of my search terms. Searches
for cats AND dogs will retrieve articles that contain both the word "cats" and the word
"dogs." If an article only contains the word "cats" but not the word "dogs", that article will
not be retrieved.
You can combine as many search terms as
you like, but it will limit your results even
further. A search for cats AND dogs AND
birds will only bring up articles that mention
all three.
OR
An OR search says, "find me anything that mentions either this term or that term."
Searches for cats OR dogs will retrieve all the articles that contain the word "cats", the
word "dogs", or both. You can also add more search terms into the mix, with the
understanding that this will further expand your search.
As you can see, using the Boolean operator OR will expand your search. This is useful
if you are not finding many articles using the operator AND. However, if you are
retrieving hundreds of articles you may want to refine your search and try using the
operator AND for a more focused search.
NOT
A NOT search says, "find me anything that mentions this term but not that one."
Searches for cats NOT dogs will retrieve all the articles that contain the word "cats",
but excludes from that list anything that uses the word "dogs." You have to be very
careful when using this operator, as it will severely restrict your results and you may
miss something important. An example of when to use NOT might be when you're
looking for articles about spam (the lunch meat) and you keep getting things about
SPAM (the junk e-mail.) You could do a search like, spam NOT email.
A Complex Boolean Example
Boolean searches can get quite detailed by using parentheses to separate phrases.
Let’s say the topic is: How does pollution legislation affect whales and dolphins?
We could phrase our search: (whales OR dolphins) AND pollution AND (legislation
OR law)
This will bring up articles that contain:
1. Either the word "whales" or the word "dolphins"
2. The word "pollution"
3. Either the word “legislation" or the word "law"
(whales OR dolphins) AND pollution AND (legislation OR law)
Most (but not all) databases will assume that you want to use the operator "and".
This means if you type "whales dolphins pollution legislation law", the database will
assume you mean "whales AND dolphins AND pollution AND legislation AND law".
Unless all of these words are present in an article, the search will not retrieve any
articles. In a case like this, the more terms that are entered the less results will be
found.
Searching Ebscohost’s Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier is a good general place to look for articles on a wide range
of topics, from business to social sciences to science and technology. Its biggest
advantage is that it has thousands of citations as well as thousands of full-text articles.
In addition, you can quickly jump to other Ebscohost databases or combine searches
across different databases.
Above you will see the interface for all Ebscohost databases which includes:
three search boxes,
option to select different search fields,
and “limit” options including “Full Text”, Scholarly (or Peer Reviewed) Journals,
and a date range.
Now let’s do a search in this database on “multiracial” marriage. Enter the term
“multiracial” in one search box and “marriage” in another. Your search results in 39
“hits”.
You can see the citation, suggested subject headings for narrowing your
search and, in some cases, a link to the “Full Text” (electronic version of
the article).
The Difference Between HTML Full Text and PDF
Some databases will give you the option of reading an article in HTML (or just Full
Text) or reading it as a PDF file. A PDF file is an image replica of the article exactly as it
appeared in the original source. (In order to read a PDF file, you must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.)
The suggested subjects includes “interracial” marriage, which, when clicked, leads to
other, perhaps more relevant, citations. See next page.
I’ll open the record for item #2 by clicking on the title of the article.
Here you can obtain further information including an “abstract”, which summarizes what
the article is about. Click on the link for “Full Text” to view the document.
How to Find Periodicals (or specific articles)
We've already talked about how to find articles on your topic. But what do you do if you
have a citation for an article and you want to know if it is available full-text in another
database or available in print through the Wilmington University Library? To find out if
your desired article is available electronically in another database, you can use our
“Library Journal Locator” database to help you find these things.
Let's say you were searching Academic Search Premier and found a citation for an
article that you'd really like to read, but it only gave you the abstract and doesn't have
the full-text available. Don't despair! The article that you want is titled, "Improving
Mathematics Teaching" and it's from the February 2004 issue of Educational
Leadership. By using the “Library Journal Locator”, you can search to find out whether
it’s available in on the library databases.
The results show that this title is available electronically in several databases. Click on
one of these to locate your desired issue.
To summarize:
What is a library database?
Why is a library database not an "internet" source ?
List some Library databases you would use to:
o find general academic journal articles?
o find current newspaper articles?
o find biographical information?
o find background information on a scientist's work?
What is the advantage of using a (controlled vocabulary) subject search?
In what cases would you use a keyword search?
What do AND, OR, and NOT do to your search results? (Limit, expand, etc.)
What do Full-text, abstract, and citation mean in terms of library databases?
What is a PDF file?
What do you use the Library journal Locator for?
Evaluating Sources
Not all information is created equal. Evaluating information requires critical thinking.
It involves identifying the type of information you are looking for and understanding the
advantages/disadvantages of various types of sources. To this end, we will consider:
The different formats of materials
The difference between magazines & journals
Four evaluation criteria to apply to sources
Evaluating web pages
Sources of Information
Information comes from lots of different sources. Here we will evaluate four different
formats that information can come in: reference materials, books, periodicals, and web
pages. The nature of your topic may determine which format is best for you, but often a
combination of these is the best way to find information.
Reference materials
Reference materials include dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, atlases, and
manuals. They provide quick facts or statistics or give you a brief overview of a topic.
Reference Strengths
Quick facts from an
authoritative source
Good for getting research ideas
& background information
Reference Weaknesses
Lack in-depth details
You will need to move on to other
sources for any substantial amount of
information
Books
Books, particularly scholarly books, are what most people think of when they say the
word, “Library”.
Book Strengths
Book content is focused and delves
deeply on topics, with opportunity for
analysis and detail.
Books go through an editorial
process to check facts, clarity, and
typos.
Books provide excellent background
or historical information. Web pages
or periodicals older than 10 years can
be difficult to locate.
Book Weaknesses
It takes a long time to write and
publish a book.
Books are not always the best
source for topics where information
is constantly changing, such as
technology or medicine.
Books are also not the best source
for information on recent or current
events.
Periodicals
Periodicals are published every day (daily), or every week (weekly), or every month
(monthly), or every year (annual) and so on. They are publications that come out
periodically (hence the name). They include newspapers, journals, and magazines.
Periodical Strengths
They are an excellent source for
current events or topics that change
rapidly, such as science or technology.
Like books, periodicals go through an
editorial process to check facts, clarity
and typos.
Not all periodicals are created equally.
Scholarly periodicals are “peer
reviewed” and edited more extensively
than magazines.
Periodical Weaknesses
The scope of articles in
periodicals is not as extensive or
in-depth as books.
Some scholarly journal articles
may be too specific or technical
for a general audience to
understand.
Web Pages
Web pages are readily available to anyone with an internet connection. Many people
use a web directory or search engine such as Yahoo or Google to locate web pages.
Convenience makes them the first information choice for many people. However, there
are differences between web pages and library resources.
Web Strengths
There are many different points of
view on the web. Everyone has a
voice.
There are lots of different formats
of information on the web (text,
images, audio, video, interactive
media.)
The web can be very up-to-date.
Often events appear in "real time,"
as they happen.
Web Weaknesses
The web is not very organized and
finding what you need is often like
looking for a needle in a haystack.
Many websites lack quality control,
which means there is lots of
inaccurate, misleading, or biased
information.
For a complete list of the web's
shortcomings, see Ten Good
Reasons to Use the Library.
Which of the above formats would you use for the following information needs?
You want late-breaking news on events from this morning.
You want to know who the U.S. president was during World War I.
You're looking for an analysis of the newest types of fertilizer for field crops.
You need as much information as you can find on Martin Luther King's life.
Magazines vs. Journals
What is the difference between a magazine and a journal? Magazines are considered
popular works, whereas journals are considered scholarly. What does that mean?
Evaluating Journal Articles
Definition
Content
Scholarly (Refereed, Peer-Reviewed)
Non-Scholarly (Popular)
Journal Articles
Journal/Newspaper Articles
Scholarly articles are "peer-reviewed" by
Non-scholarly articles are meant to
other experts in the field. Are also
inform or entertain readers rather
sometimes called "refereed articles."
than provide in-depth analysis.
Content of articles usually reports on
Content of articles often reports on
original research or experimentation.
other research or events rather than
presenting original research.
Bibliography
Articles usually list references in footnotes
Articles are seldom footnoted and the
or endnotes.
source of information is seldom
given.
Illustrations
Authors
Illustrations, if any, are usually graphs and
Often are illustrated with glossy or
charts that support the subject content.
color photographs.
Articles are written by identified experts in
Author's name is often not supplied.
the field who are often affiliated with a
Authors are usually on the staff of
named university or research center.
the magazine or are freelance
writers.
Length/Depth
Articles are generally long and contain in-
Articles are often short and intended
depth coverage of the topic.
to provide an overview of a topic
rather than an in-depth analysis.
Advertising
Contain few if any advertisements.
Usually contain many
advertisements.
Publisher
Language
Frequently, articles are published by a
Publishers are marketing to the
scholarly professional organization (e.g.
general public and usually make their
American Chemical Society, American
publications available in stores and
Psychological Association).
newsstands.
Authors write in the language of their
Articles are directed towards the
discipline. Readers are assumed to have
general public and written in non-
some knowledge of the field.
technical language.
Web Page Evaluation Criteria: Accuracy, Authority, Currency, and Objectivity.
Evaluation Criteria
Criteria
Authority
Characteristics
An authoritative source makes clear:
•Who is responsible for content
•Author’s credentials
•Identification of parent organization
•Parent organization’s qualifications
Problems
•Often difficult to determine authorship
of Web resources
•If author’s name is listed, the
qualifications are frequently absent
•Publisher responsibility often not
indicated
•Contact information often not listed
Accuracy
An accurate site presents information
•Almost anyone can publish on the Web
that:
•Many Web resources not verified by
•Is detailed and comprehensive
editors or fact checkers
•Is recent, where appropriate
•Includes lies, inaccuracies, distortions,
•Lists sources for presented information
myths, dubious data and stereotypes
•Links to reputable outside sources
•No links to outside sources for
additional information are listed
Currency
A Web site with currency indicates:
•No dates on Web pages
•Date the page was written
•May present stale information
•Date the page was placed on web
•May include dead links
•Date the page was last revised
•Factual information often not dated
Objectivity An objective source:
•Presents information with a minimum of
bias
•Is fair, balanced and reasonable
• Is without conflict of interest
•May advocate one point of view (bias)
•Failure to differentiate advocacy vs. fact
•May be difficult to determine goals/aims of
site sponsor
•Can serve as a means for advertising
(infomercial)
Evaluating Web Pages
The “World Wide Web” has often been referred to as the “Wild Wild Web” because
there is no quality control for the web. It is up to you to evaluate web pages since there
is no librarian making decisions about “selecting” what to collect, as they do in the
library. Often there is no way of finding out who the author of a web page is, when it was
published or last updated, or the sources consulted in compiling the page. You need to
be especially careful when using web pages as information sources.
Generally, .edu and .gov sites are probably the most reliable for information, but even
with these you have to be careful. Remember that many personal web pages are
hosted on .edu sites (often represented with a tilde, ~), and government sites may be
biased toward that particular agency's agenda.
.org sites can have lots of valuable information, but special interest groups who have a
specific agenda often run them. They may not be the most objective source.
.com sites are the most varied type of domain. They can be very helpful, accurate, and
reliable sources of information, and they can also be full of lies, misconceptions, halftruths, and hoaxes.
Sometimes, the domain code is the only thing separating one site from another.
For example, if you are trying to get federal student aid, you need to fill out a FAFSA
(Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. The official site for these forms is found
at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. You can also go to http://www.fafsa.org and get all kinds of
different student aid information for free from a non-profit site. If, however, you mistype
the URL and go to http://www.fafsa.com, you will find a commercial site that will charge
you $49.99 to fill out this free government form. This is one example where examining
the URL is very important.
Lesson Review
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each format of materials
(reference, books, periodicals, and web pages)? Can you identify which format
would be best for a particular research question?
Can you list three differences between popular magazines and scholarly
journals?
What does "peer review" mean?
What are the four evaluation criteria? Do you know how to apply them to a book,
article, or web site?
How Do You Find Things in a Library?
There are three ways to find books and AV items (music, videos, books on tape, etc.) in
a library:
1. Ask a librarian. This is always an option to keep in mind, particularly when
you've run out of ideas. But since the aim of this lesson is to teach you to find
things on your own, we won't focus on this method.
2. Browse the shelves. Unless you enjoy looking for needles in haystacks,
browsing the shelves is not the best way to find what you're looking for. This can
sometimes give you ideas if you have to write a paper, but even then, it's best to
know how the books are arranged so you can browse by subject. (We'll deal with
how books are arranged in the library on the next two pages.)
3. Use the Delaware Library catalog. If you're looking for something specific, this
is quickest and most efficient way to find books and AV items in the library.
What is a Library Catalog?
If you used libraries 10 - 20 years ago, you might remember going to the card catalog.
This was a big cabinet full of small shelves that held a bunch of 3" X 5" cards. Each
card represented a different book in the library and told you where to find it.
Well, today most libraries have replaced their card catalog with an electronic online
version, but they still have the same purpose: To tell you what materials reside in the
library and where to find them.
What are some features of online catalogs?
Since you can access the catalog through the internet, you don't have to be in
the library to use it. You can search your local library's collection from your own
home to find out if they have what you're looking for, before you make the trip
there. You could even search the collection of a library halfway across the world.
Online catalogs allow you to search through thousands of records in seconds,
and you can manipulate your search in many different ways. You can combine
different search terms or restrict your search to only a certain format, such as
DVDs, for example.
Online catalogs don't just tell you what the library owns, but will also tell you
whether the item is available right now or checked out.
Many online catalogs are system-wide, which means you can search the
collections of dozens of libraries all at the same time.
Many online catalogs allow you to request items, renew items, and check your
account from the convenience of your computer.
Librarians love their online catalogs so much they often give them names. Some
examples of catalog names are WebCAT, WorldCat, and DelCat. These are
often abbreviations or acronyms.
The Wilmington University Library belongs to a statewide library catalog system
called the Delaware Library Catalog. All materials owned by the Wilmington
University Library can now be searched by using this system. Please be sure to indicate
“Wilmington University Library” in the drop down box on the Delaware Library Catalog
search page. Materials owned by other participating Delaware libraries may be
requested by logging in with your ID number.
The online catalog used to find materials owned by other libraries around the
world is called WorldCAT. The WorldCAT catalog contains records from the merged
catalogs of thousands of libraries with records for every conceivable material type. Use
this catalog for searching and placing interlibrary loan requests for books.
How Are Books Arranged in a Library?
Call Numbers
Every book in the library has its own call number. This is a combination of
numbers and letters that is taped to the spine of the book.
A call number is like a book's address. It tells you where to find a book on the
shelf.
When you find a book you want in our catalog, it will give you the call number.
You need to write down this number so you can find the book on the shelf.
Wilmington University Library, like most academic libraries, uses the Library of
Congress (LC) Classification System.
Because books using the LC system are classified by subject, books on the same topic
will be shelved together. Once you find the call number of a book on your topic, you can
browse the shelf for other books like it.
How to read an LC call number
This system uses a combination of letters and numbers.
Each LC call number starts out with a letter (usually two letters), followed by a
number, then a combination of letters and numbers. (Example: QH 366.2 .P54
2002 )
Read the letters in alphabetical order.(A, B, BF, BE, D...Q, QA, QB, QH, etc.)
Read the number as a whole number. (1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 366, 2453,
etc.)
The third part is a combination of letters and numbers. Read the letter
alphabetically and the number as a decimal (.P54 = .54, .P724 = .724, .P9 = .9)
The last part is the year the book was published.
What do the letters and numbers mean?
LC separates the world of knowledge into 20 major categories, each represented
by a letter. For example:
o J = political science
o L = Education
o Q = Science
These 20 major categories are further divided by a second letter. for example:
o QA = Math
o QC = Physics
o QK = Botany
These letters are further divided by numbers. for example:
o QA 71 - 90 = Instruments and Machines
o QA 150 - 272 = Algebra
o QA 440 - 699 = Geometry, Trigonometry, Topology
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION OUTLINE
Listed below are the letters and titles of the main classes of the Library of Congress
Classification.
A
General Works (Reference Books)
M
Music
B
Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
N
Fine Arts
D
History: General and Old World
P
Language and Literature
E
History: America, U.S
Q
Science
F
History: North America
R
Medicine
G
Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
S
Agriculture
H
Social Sciences
T
Technology
J
Political Science
U
Military Science
K
Law
V
Naval Science
L
Education
Z
Bibliography, Library Science
The first thing to keep in mind when searching a catalog is to pay attention to which
field you are searching. Ask yourself these questions:
Do you want to know if we own a specific book (The Grapes of Wrath) or a
specific movie (Citizen Kane)?
Are you looking for something by a certain author (Stephen King) or musician
(Paul McCartney)?
Are you looking for information on a certain subject (diabetes)?
The answer to this question will determine which search field you choose. (Title,
Author, or Subject, for example.)
Here is what a “Quick” search in the Delaware Library Catalog looks like:
To search the Delaware Library Catalog, please review the following steps:
1. To begin searching, type a term in the search box under Quick Search.
2. To narrow your search, select one of the following options before clicking the
Search button. Some systems may require that you click an option button, such
as Author or Title, to begin your search.
o
o
Words or phrase
Author
Title
Subject
Series
Periodical title
3. Our link to the Delaware Library catalog will default to the Wilmington University
Library, but you can also select a library branch, group of libraries, or catalog to
search in the Library or Catalog box. You may select ALL to include all
branches or catalogs in the search.
o
o
o
o
What do the search fields mean?
Keyword: This will look for your search terms anywhere in all the fields. This can
bring up a lot of irrelevant things, so it's best to use it as a last resort if you
haven't had success with any of the other types of searches.
Title: This will take you to an alphabetical list of all of the titles in the catalog,
starting with the search terms you entered. Use this to find specific titles that
you're looking for.
Author: This will take you to an alphabetical list of all the authors (or performers
if it's music) in the catalog, starting with the name you entered. This is always
organized with last name, first name, so if you enter "paula abdul", it will find
you people whose last name is Paula.
Subject: By using the “Begins With” button feature, this will take you to an
alphabetical list of the controlled vocabulary for the catalog. (As with authors,
names are always listed here as last name, first name.) This list of subject
headings will not only tell you what official terms are being used, but will also
provide related references and subheadings.
See the below screen capture for a “Begins With” subject search results list for the
search term “diabetes.”
In the screen capture above, notice the number to the right, this tells you how many
items are associated with each subject. You could click on the general diabetes subject
heading with 3 titles, or you can choose some of the related terms, such as diabetes in
children or diabetes mellitus. In addition, you can use the subheadings to get more
specific with your search. Perhaps you are only interested in diabetes complications, so
you could choose diabetes complications.
If a Delaware Library Catalog Search Quick Search is not giving you the right results,
you can conduct an advanced search by clicking on the Custom Search tab located at
the bottom of the Quick Search Box.
By clicking the Custom Search tab, you will be directed to a Power Search form
In the Power Search mode, you can:
Conduct keyword searches
Combine different terms
Limit your results to a specific year or range of years
Limit your results to a certain type of resource (such as books, or DVDs, or CDs,
for example)
See the below screen capture for an example of the Power Search option.
Power Search
Power Search or Advanced Search combines search elements to refine a search or
limit a search based on criteria configured by your library. You can also produce a
browse list of specified items, or perform a call number search. Searches can include a
single word or several words with operators and special punctuation. Use Searching
Tips if you need help.
Combining Search Elements
You combine search elements in Power Search using Boolean operators. You can
combine words or phrases, author, title, subject, series, and periodical title searches.
Type a Word or Phrase for a typical search.
Type an Author to search for the name. You can search for an author by the first
name, last name, or initials. However, searching by an author's last name
produces a more complete list of search results.
Type a Title to search for an item by title. The search ignores articles as well as
other stopwords.
Type a Subject to search the subject index.
Type a Series to search for a series title.
Type a Periodical Title to search the periodical keyword index.
Click Search start your search or Reset to start over.
Limiting the Search
Use Power Search to limit your search based on criteria configured by your library.
If available, select a Library to limit your search to a specific library branch or
group of libraries, or select ALL to search in all branches.
If your library has holdings in a variety of languages, select a Language.
If your library has holdings in a variety of formats (such as printed music, maps,
and equipment), select a Format.
Select an Item Type to search under if you are familiar with your library's item
types.
Select a shelving Location in your library.
You can have your search match on a particular part of a catalog record (such as
keywords only) by selecting a portion to Match On.
In the Pubyear box, type the year the item was published.
You can sort your power search results by selecting criteria in the Sort By box.
Click Search to start your search.
The Search Results Page.
After you have selected a topic from the subject list (or if you did a keyword search), you
will get a list of all the items that matched your search.
Please see the screen capture below for an example of your search results page.
For each item on this page, you will see the Title, Author, Call #, Location,
Publication Year, and Material Type. By clicking on the title of the item, you will see
specific information about the resource, including the catalog record.
E-Books
In addition to books and AV materials, the library subscribes to several hundred
electronic books. These books are cataloged, so you may run into quite a few of them
when you search the Delaware Library Catalog. E-Books will have a call number that
ends with “EB” and for copies states “Click on URL”. Once you are in the item record,
you will see a link like this:
As the Link states, this book is “accessible through the World Wide Web”. However,
you will need to set-up your personal account in order to access the book from off
campus.
Review
Pay attention to the assignment below, as it will give you practice with The Delaware
Library Catalog and many of the search concepts discussed in this lesson, and may
help you to answer some of the review questions.
What are three methods to finding things in a library?
What is a library catalog and what can it do? What is the name of the catalog
Wilmington University belongs to?
What is a call number? What system of assigning call numbers is used by the
Wilmington University Library? What does an LC call number look like?
What is a search field? Why is it important which one I choose?
What is the difference between a keyword search and a subject search? Which
one will give you a larger number of results?
What information do you need from the catalog to find a book on the shelf?
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