Research Tools

Dear All,

I wanted to give you an overview of the library resources, since I was concerned that some of the information was rushed during yesterday's class:

Here is the link to the library's site:  http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/

Here is the link to the English 120 library guide (which has helpful tabs about narrowing topics, finding sources, and citing them): http://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/english120?hs=a

Remember that you can always chat with a librarian on the library's homepage, even late at night, if you're working and have a research-related question.

Also, note that Cuny+/Books is where you should click to search for books, and Databases/Articles is where you should click to find articles.  When searching the databases, I suggest choosing one based on the type it is or the subject you are studying.  The database that we used briefly in class was Academic Search Complete, which is a great place to get started because it has an extensive collection of articles.  In order to log in to the databases, you need to use the same login information as your Hunter email account.

For your research paper you are required to use five sources from the library.   And, within these five sources, I encourage you to use one article that is peer-reviewed.  Do you remember what this term means?  It indicates that an article is "scholarly," meaning that it is written and reviewed by scholars and experts within a field.  For example, if I were researching the effects of the media on body image, I would most likely be able to find a peer-reviewed article written and reviewed by psychology professors/researchers about the mental process of internalizing seemingly perfect body images from the media.  There is an option on some databases to select only peer-reviewed articles.  This option is on the left side of Academic Search Complete.

We will practice more with databases on Monday, and you will have time to begin doing your own research.

I have posted a reading about the technicalities of research, which you should read by early next week.  I have also adjusted next week's schedule a bit, so that your research paper thesis is now due on Thursday, and we will hold a workshop that day.

Have a nice weekend!