Selecting Your Topic || Searching the Web || Locating
Journal Articles || Look for Books
Introduction
An integral component of the scientific process is a literature
search for background information. The purpose of this lab is
to become familiar with research techniques.
Select your topic from this list,
or choose your own topic (must be approved by Mr. Anderson)
Searching the Web
The World Wide Web is a terrific tool for information gathering.
The two initial "challenges" Web-searchers encounter
are a) too many hits, and b) irrelevant results. To prevent (or
cut down on) this problem, do not begin your quest for
scientific information by using an "all-purpose" search
engine such as Yahoo, Excite, LookSmart, or Ask Jeeves. Instead,
try some of the targeted resources listed on the high school
library's science
page, specifically the chemistry section.
The next challenge is determining if what you found was worth
finding. Make sure you get a copy of Ms. Ryder's Guide to Web
Site Evaluation which will tell you what to look for before
using information from the Web in your paper.
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Locate an article in a scholarly
journal
What do we mean by a scholarly journal? What's the difference
betwen a journal and a magazine? Journals present scholarly articles
and original research. They usually appear only a few times per
year unlike magazines, which are generally published either weekly
or monthly. Journals are not meant for general readers, but for
professionals and students doing serious research.
The high school library subscribes to many databases online,
but for this assignment a database called Expanded Academic
ASAP is recommended. This database contains scholarly journals,
news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images.
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Search local libraries for books
Computerized library catalogs are called "Online Public
Access Catalogs" or OPACs. The Jericho High School Library's
catalog is not only computerized but it is available via the
Internet. We call the Internet version of our catalog the Web
Gateway.
If you are in school click here
to access our Web Gateway; if you are not in school, click here.
Search Jericho Public Library's collection for
books on your topic. The public library's OPAC is called ALISweb.
When you search this catalog you must remember that you are searching
all Nassau County public libraries, not just Jericho. Click here
to access ALISWeb.
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