MIT Research
Research in Education
A CURRENT VIEW OF THE DIGITAL TERRAIN:
Web - information effectively free of charge.
Deep web - the good stuff you pay for.
Database - information broker buying from publishers and selling to libraries.
Article - a research paper or chapter draft written and published by a scholar.
Peer review - process to establish fairness and accuracy in academic publishing.
Paid subscriptions.
Physical collections.
STEPS TO EFFECTIVE RESEARCH:
Step 1: Maintain a comprehensive research log.
Careful records are the foundation of any research.
Word file.
Blog post.
Email string.
Pen and paper.
Step 2: Assess your topic on the web.
Controversial among librarians and faculty.
Google - to get your bearings on organized presence online.
Wikipedia - opportunity to add your research to web community.
Step 3: Engage the scholarly literature.
Library catalog user interface (institutional passwords) - Evergreen catalog
Periodical literature - library Subject Categories page
IMPORTANT DATABASE TITLES
ERIC- Education Resource Information Center, US Dept Education
JSTOR - Johns Hopkins publishers catalog, interdisciplinary content
Proquest Direct - the Walmart of scholary information (Walmart in a good way), includes newspapers
Ebscohost - ethnography, sociology, some arts
TANGIBLE MATERIALS
Evergreen catalog - books we have here
Summit Consortium - borrowing coop with other college libraries in OR and WA
Worldcat - hyperbolically titled but still extemely useful library union catalog
Step 4: Close your research log.
Save and organize your notes.
Back them up.
Print them and look them over.
Email them to yourself.
Contact info
Jules Unsel, unselj@evergreen.edu
Ref desk, Mondays, 9am-noon; Wednesdays, 5-9pm