SW175 Land Peoples and Cultures of the Southwest, 2010
Professor Mark Levine, Block 1, 2010
Professor Peter Haney, Block 2, 2010
BLOCK 1: INTRODUCTION TO TUTT
The MOST Important Thing First
The Reference Desk, located in the lobby of Tutt, is the place to go for research help of any kind. We are familiar with the many resources of the library, and can assist with all your research needs. Students who utilize the Reference Desk save time, a precious thing on the Block Plan. This desk is staffed by librarians 7 days a week. (9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday nights, and during daytime hours Friday and Saturday). You can also phone us (x6662) or IM us.
FINDING BOOKS at TUTT (and beyond)
Use the TIGER online catalog.
Try a “WORD” search first.
Examples:
hopi and dance
“water rights” (to search as phrase)
hispanic* and politic** (truncation)
- When searching, try the most specific terms first.
- Note the hot-linked Subject Headings toward the bottom of the record. These will help you locate more precise terminology. Follow their trail…
- If your most specific terms yield no results, try broader terms.
- Be sure to note: LOCATION, CALL NUMBER and AVAILABILITY
- Remember you are re-searching!
“How can I identify and get books “beyond Tutt?”
To locate titles held by other academic libraries in the state, use Prospector, which includes the holdings of all the major academic libraries in the state in one catalog. To order a book from Prospector, you just need to provide your name and TIGER number (located on the bottom of your Gold Card). Books borrowed through Prospector arrive in 3-5 business days, and can be checked out for 30 days with one renewal.
FINDING ARTICLES
The library subscribes to nearly 100 databases covering a wide range of subjects. Many articles are now available full-text, but some are still in print (on the second floor in alphabetical order), and a few are on microfiche or microfilm. If it is not available at Tutt, the article can be ordered through InterLibrary Loan.
Although a Google search can yield relevant material, in most cases using the periodical databases subscribed to by the library will find scholarly, more relevant material in a shorter time. If you don’t know which database to use, or how to get started, ask at the Reference Desk.
“How do I get to the article databases?”
From the Tutt Library homepage, click on “Find Articles,” then Database by Subject. For this class, click on Southwest Studies to locate databases that contain articles most relevant to this discipline.
A good history database to use for this class is America, History & Life located on the Southwest Studies database page.
Each database will use its own unique Subject Headings (or “descriptors”) – they may be unlike those used in the TIGER catalog. Remember to keep re-searching by trying other terms, and following the Subject Headings trail.
“I know the article I need; I just don’t know how to find it”
If you need to know if the library has the full text of the article you need, use the Find Journals link on the Tutt Library home page. Type in the name of the journal needed, and follow the links to the full text. You can also do a “Journal Title” search in the catalog to find the same information. If the article is full text, check the coverage dates and follow the links provided.
“What if I need an article that’s not full text or at Tutt?”
- Many of our online periodical databases now provide a way to order articles from the search screen. Always follow the paw prints to check for full text.
- If the article is not available full text, then look for an “ILL” (InterLibrary Loan”) button. You must register (one time) to use this system, called “ILLiad”:http://coloradocollege.illiad.oclc.org/illiad/logon.html.
- Your article will arrive electronically. Over half of requested articles come in 24 hours!
FORMATTING YOUR PAPER
Click on the link on the Tutt Library homepage called How Do I…Cite Sources to see online examples of the major styles (MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian). For SWS175, you will be using the Chicago Manual of Style. You can also check out any of these style guides in book form. If you would like to learn to use the RefWorks bibliographic software, the library provides training sessions several times a Block.
WHAT ELSE DOES THE LIBRARY HAVE?
DVDs, VHS tapes, newspapers, hiking maps, topographic maps, atlases, government documents, chronologies, statistics, and more. Our Special Collections houses rare books, artist’s books, zines, local history, the college archives and lot of interesting, one-of-a-kind items.
RESEARCH TIPS
- Learn to follow the “research trail.” Whenever you find an on-target article or book, make sure you carefully examine the bibliography at the end of that item. Then work on locating the ones that look the most relevant.
- Use the library databases (not Google) to find scholarly articles.
- Allow time and be persistent. Research always takes longer than you think it will, and good sleuthing takes doggedness.
- Stay organized. Make sure you keep a record of the complete citation for every item you use or order. Re-constructing a bibliography after the fact is a painful experience.
- Look critically at what you have found. Question the source, the author, and the perspective. Are the articles from scholarly or popular periodicals? (Journals vs. magazines) What are the qualifications of the author? Does the author have an obvious (or subtle) bias?
- Ask for assistance. It is a sign of wisdom rather than weakness.
BLOCK 2: DIGGING DEEPER
Overviews and background information
Background information can be found in specialized encyclopedias in the reference collection (1st floor lobby), such as Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West and Handbook of Hispanic Culture in the United States
Use the Tiger catalog to locate books in the library on your subject. Use the back-of-book index to locate relevant chapters, or just read chapter one. Without having to read the entire book, this might provide you with a good overview on your topic.
Finding Articles
For this assignment, click on Southwest Studies to locate databases that are likely to have information on your topic.
Remember to try several databases, and continue to tweak your terminology. There is not just one way to locate relevant information, just as there is rarely just one place to look. (You are “RE-searching” after all).
Newspapers
If your topic was covered in newspapers, you may want to see how the story was reported. We have many online historical newspaper archives
Legal cases
The text of legal cases at the state and federal level are available through Lexis Nexis Academic
NEED ASSISTANCE?
Stop by, call or IM the Reference Desk, or
Contact me: Lisa Lister at x6242 or llister@coloradocollege.edu