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