Getting Started in the LibraryThis library guide points you in the direction of some basic library resources for completing library assignments and writing research papers in this course. Many of these resources are available from the library's homepage at http://www.lib.ipfw.edu/, so you may want to bookmark both the homepage and this guide.
Searching IUCAT for Books and PeriodicalsSearch IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog), to find books and periodicals (scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, and other serials), or library materials such as music CDs, electronic resources, and videos. Materials at the Fort Wayne Helmke Library are designated by the library location FORTWAYNE.
IUCAT searches from on-campus computers will show only materials held by the IPFW Fort Wayne Helmke Library. To search all IU libraries, choose ALL from the Select Library pull-down menu on the search screen.
Sometimes IUCAT will lead you to articles in periodicals, but the most efficient way to locate articles is to use a periodical database or index to search many periodicals simultaneously.
Learning about IUCATSave time in the long run by investing a half-hour with our interactive Searching IUCAT Tutorial. It is an easy way to grasp fundamental search techniques and try your hand at practice searches designed to reinforce your knowledge. Also check our other IUCAT Guides for help in using IUCAT to your best advantage.
Choosing the Type of SearchUse the default Basic Search search option to find important keywords or phrases in an IUCAT record, in any order. Choose this search when you are unsure of the exact author or title of works on your topic.
Choose the Begins With (Browse) option from the box labeled More IUCAT Searches to find words or phrases exactly as typed, letter-for-letter, searching from left to right. Choose this search to find known authors or titles. Step 1. Enter term(s) in Title, Author, or Keywords Anywhere search boxes.
Step 2. Under Library, leave Fort Wayne Helmke Library as default, or change to ALL.
Step 3. Click the Search button.
Keyword Search ExamplesKeywords Anywhere will search for words anywhere in a record. This search is the default when the Enter key is used instead of clicking the button.
Example: writing or composition (finds records containing either word)
Example: teaching and censorship (finds records containing both words)
Example: morrison toni (finds works by or about Toni Morrison)
Author will search for first or last names in any order in the author fields of a record. Included are personal names, organizations, agencies, corporations, conferences, etc.
Example: morrison toni (finds works by Toni Morrison, yields the same results as toni morrison)
Title will search for important words in the title. Do not use initial articles: a, the, la, das, etc.
Example: color purple (finds The Color Purple)
Example: writing tutors (finds The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors)
Subject will search for important words in the official Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).
Example: american literature and (wom?n or feminis$)
Finding Periodicals in IUCATStep 1. Choose Periodical Title Search from the box labeled More IUCAT Searches.
Step 2. Enter the periodical title. Choose Keyword or Exact depending on the search you need.
Step 3. Select the correct record from the Search Results screen.
Step 4. In the IUCAT record look for the URL (for Electronic Resources available Online) or Holdings (for printed periodicals) to find what specific years and volumes are available at IUCAT's FORTWAYNE location.
Step 5. When the library owns the printed volumes you need, write down the call number and location. The call number and IUCAT Shelving Locations will help you determine where an item will be shelved in the library. Or if the resource is available online, follow the URL link to the full-text content.
Locating Books and Periodicals in the LibraryBooks, printed periodicals, and other library materials are shelved in Library of Congress Classification (LC) call number order. The call number and IUCAT Shelving Locations will help you determine on which floor of the library an item will be shelved.
Searching for Periodical ArticlesThe most efficient way of finding a high-quality periodical article , is to search a periodical database or index that provides descriptive abstracts, subject indexing, and often, the full-text content of articles. Check out the interactive Finding Articles Tutorial to learn the basics of choosing and searching the Academic Search Premier database. Below is a selection of databases useful for your course. For a complete list, see the library's Find Resources By... page. Select a resource by Subject, Title, or Type (choose Abstracts, Databases, & Indexes).
Databases for this Course
ERIC (EBSCOhost)
Content: | The ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, to provide extensive access to education-related literature. ERIC contains more than 1,000,000 abstracts of ERIC documents and journal articles on education research and practice from over 1,000 education journals dating back to 1966. ERIC documents, identified by ED number, are mostly non-journal materials such as unpublished research, reference materials, school board policies, theses, or curriculum guides. Many of these are available full text (dating back to 1993) via a link to the Institute of Education Sciences ERIC Web site. One advantage of using the EBSCOhost interface is the ability to search it concurrently with the Professional Development Collection (EBSCOhost) which provides an array of full-text content. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Other Indiana residents are authorized to use the State of Indiana's Inspire Project link to access this database. Users with an Internet service provider not based in Indiana (AOL, MSN, EarthLink, etc.) must first register for an INSPIRE password account. IPFW library owns the printed Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) semiannual and annual cumulations 1969-1991 (Reference Z5813 .C8). |
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Education Full Text (Wilson)
Content: | Offers abstracts and indexing of articles for more than 600 English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. As the name implies, over 250 of the titles are provided full text, cover to cover, as far back as 1994 with indexing back to 1983. Notable features include the ability of limiting searches to only peer reviewed or full-text items and links out to Web sites cited in an article. The database is updated daily. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). IPFW's license allows an unlimited number of simultaneous users. |
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MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost)
Content: | Produced by the Modern Language Association, this international resource contains bibliographic references (without abstracts) to articles in more than 4,000 journals as well as books, book chapters, proceedings, and dissertations in the fields of literature, modern languages, folklore, and linguistics. Covers 1926 to the present; updated 10 times a year. Journals indexed are listed in the MLA Directory of Periodicals. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). IPFW library owns the printed index 1921-1993 (Reference Z7006 .M64). IPFW's license allows an unlimited number of simultaneous users. |
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Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost)
Content: | Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in nearly 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers, updated daily, in a wide range of fields including business, education, science and technology, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. Limit to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or full-text articles only, if desired. Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. A complete list of titles covered is available. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Other Indiana residents with an Internet service provider not based in Indiana (AOL, MSN, EarthLink, etc.) must first register for an INSPIRE password account. |
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Professional Development Collection (EBSCOhost)
Content: | Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in nearly 800 journals aimed at professional educators, updated daily, with more than 500 titles available full text. Limit to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or full-text articles only, if desired. Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s to present. Use care in searching this database or Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) together with the ERIC (EBSCOhost) interface. Results display ERIC records (with ERIC-supplied full abstracts and detailed subject descriptors) intermixed with records from EBSCOhost's full-text collections (with shorter abstracts and restricted subject vocabulary). A complete list of titles covered is available. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Other Indiana residents with an Internet service provider not based in Indiana (AOL, MSN, EarthLink, etc.) must first register for an INSPIRE password account. |
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Databases for English W130-W131-P131 Composition StudentsLibrary Tour
Searching IUCAT Tutorial and Finding Articles Tutorial
Foraging for Information Worksheet (PDF)
CQ Researcher (CQ Press)
Content: | CQ Researcher investigates one of the "hot" topics in the news every week and presents concise and well-balanced information from all sides of the issue. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and technology. Each report is written by an experienced journalist and includes a "Pro/Con" segment, a chronology, and a bibliography. Full-text reports are available dating back to October 1991. Reports produced since January 1996 are available in PDF format as well. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). IPFW library owns the printed annual cumulations of CQ Researcher 1991 to present (Reference H35 .E353). IPFW's license allows five simultaneous users. |
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Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (Thomson-Gale)
Content: | Provides information from all sides of current event issues including statistics, links to Web sites, and full-text articles from more than 30 major magazines and newspapers. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center utilizes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources. A complete list of titles covered is available |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). IPFW's license allows nine simultaneous users. |
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Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost)
Content: | Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in nearly 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers, updated daily, in a wide range of fields including business, education, science and technology, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. Limit to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or full-text articles only, if desired. Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. A complete list of titles covered is available. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Other Indiana residents with an Internet service provider not based in Indiana (AOL, MSN, EarthLink, etc.) must first register for an INSPIRE password account. |
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Is Your Article Scholarly or Popular?University instructors often ask students to use articles from scholarly journals rather than from popular magazines for their research assignments. The following Is Your Journal Scholarly? (PDF) summarizes major differences between scholarly journals and popular magazines. Which type of source have you located?
What about Full Text?Full text means that the text of the article is available in PDF or HTML digital format. Graphics and tables are not automatically included unless the database producer has rights to publish them. Many of the library's licensed databases offer the full-text content of periodical articles. IPFW students, faculty, and staff now have access to more than 20,000 full-text journals. Find them in E-Journal Finder.
When an article you need is not available full text in the database you are using, choose  to see all of your delivery options. You may be able to access the full-text content in another database, request the article from another library through Document Delivery Services, or make a photocopy of the article if the printed periodical is owned by Helmke Library.
When a Resource is Not Available in the LibraryRequest Delivery is an IUCAT feature that allows IPFW faculty, students, and staff to request materials held by other Indiana University Libraries and to have them delivered to Helmke Library (see the IUCAT Request Delivery Fact Sheet).
You may also request any item that is not available at Helmke Library through Document Delivery Services (DDS). DDS borrows books and provides photocopies of periodical articles from other library collections. The service is free for IPFW faculty, staff, and students.
Searching the InternetFor some information needs, the Internet may supplement library resources. To begin an Internet search, try one of the many search engines on our Internet Search site. One that works well is Google, which ranks results by number of links leading to a site. The section on Subject-Oriented Tools includes directories that have evaluated and selected sites for specific subject areas, such as the Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Because the World Wide Web is a massive, tangled directory of knowledge producers, research, facts, and entertaining tidbits of information, you must be critical about the material you find there. Quality and validity are not assured when anyone can publish anything, anytime, without the benefit of scholarly peer review. There are many useful guides and tutorials to help you understand how to navigate and evaluate Web sites, including Is Your Web Site Credible?
Finding Internet Sites for this CourseTo begin an Internet search, try one of the many search engines on our Internet Search site. One search engine that librarians use frequently with success is Google, which ranks results by number of links leading to a site.
Several specific Web sites which may be useful are: CompPile which provides access to a bibliography of journal articles, review essays, notes and comments, books and edited collections in post-secondary composition, rhetoric, ESL, discourse studies and technical writing published between 1939 and 1999.
Computers and Composition Online, which is the refereed online companion journal to Computers and Composition: An International Journal. States its goal as being " ...a significant resource for scholar-teachers interested in the impact of new and emerging media upon the teaching of language and literacy in both virtual and face-to-face forums."
National Council of Teachers of English This association's website provides links to useful publications and teacher resources.
EServer TC Library presents "...a comprehensive single location from which to access the best resources currently available online" for professional, scientific, and technical communicators. Useful to students, teachers and managers alike.
Style Guides and Useful Tools for WritingA variety of style guides are on reserve at the Service Desk on the first floor. These tools help you organize and write your paper, and format in-text references and bibliography lists. For more information, also see our Style, Publishing, & Writing Guides.
Style Guides for this CourseThe most frequently recommended style guides in the humanities include the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (both official Modern Language Association guides). MLA's Web site provides examples for documenting materials retrieved online. Follow the path from MLA Style Frequently Asked Questions About MLA Style.
And Finally, Ask a LibrarianLibrarians and skilled information assistants are always available to assist you. Visit the Service Desk to meet an information assistant who will help you get started. You are welcome to make an appointment with Your Subject Librarian if you need more in-depth assistance.
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skekloff@ipfw.edu
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
260-481-6011
Fax: 260-481-6509
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Sue Skekloff M.L.S., M.A.
Reference & Information Services Librarian; Liaison to English & Linguistics, Human Services, Organizational Leadership & Supervision, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Women's Studies; Training & Staff Orientation Coordinator
Helmke Library, LB 162 |
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