Two Rules: (1) 20-Minute Rule; (2) Library Homepage;   

Housekeeping: (3) Check Your Library Account

Getting Ready for Research

The starting place for your library research is with the "research question." Think about your topic:

How much do you know about your topic? What are some keywords for your topic? Is your topic covered by the News Media? What personal interest do you have in your topic? Do you have any strong views about your topic?

Evaluating Books

Article Searching: [ Research Many Journals At Once]

You can search for articles using databases or indexes. Many provide the full text of the article. Most databases can be accessed 24/7.

Academic Search Premier (Ebsco)

OneFile (includes Expanded Academic) (Infotrac)

Westlaw (Campus Research)

Journal Searching  [Research Single Journals]

Do a Journal Finder Search in Skyline. If Auraria owns the title, try an Online search!

Evaluating Magazine and Journal Articles

Does it cover your topic? Read the first few paragraphs Can you understand the words? How current is the information? Look at the date. Is an older journal article ok? .....Too old to be useful? Would you use this journal article for your project?

Statistics

Evaluating Web Pages

FIND A WEB PAGE ON YOUR TOPIC AND EVALUATE IT

Name of web page:  _____________________________________________________

Web page address (URL): ________________________________________________

Author:  _______________________  

Is the author reliable ?   ______________________

Company or organization that publishes the page:  ______________________________

Does the web site provide information about the organization?  _________________

Is this a reliable company ?   __________________________________

What is the purpose of the web site? 

________ To provide reliable information

________ To sell you something

________ To convince you of something

________ To entertain you

Is the information on the web site accurate?  (You will need to compare the information you find on the web site with information from other sources known to be reliable.)

_______________________________________________________________________

Would you use this web page in your research?  _____  Yes        _____No       _____Maybe



QUESTIONS? Come to the reference desk or contact us at (303-556-2585) or e-mail me at:  William.Tietjen@cudenver.edu

Good luck with your research!                 Return to Top