COMM 5002 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS THE LIBRARY, RESEARCH SKILLS, & RESOURCES Presented by Megan Lowe, Coordinator of Public Services

Introduction: Orientation  First things first: the Library occupies the first five floors of the Library Building; currently it is sharing space with a variety of other departments on campus, such as the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Recruitment & Admissions  Those departments have their own hours, different from the Library’s  And even Library-related departments may have different hours from the overall Library  Always check departmental websites to be sure

Orientation  The Library departments you will likely use during the research process include  Circulation – this is where you check materials and study rooms in and out; if you request materials through Interlibrary Loan (ILL), you’ll pick them up here  Reference – if you need research assistance, at any point in the process, including navigating resources, evaluating materials, and incorporating resources, the Reference Department can help you  Serials/Media – unbound periodicals and micromedia (like microfilm) are housed here

Orientation  The Circulation Desk, 1 st floor, is open during regular semesters: Monday-Thursday – 7:30am-2am Friday – 7:30am – 4:30pm Saturday – 10am – 4pm Sunday – 12noon – 2am  The Reference Desk, 1 st floor, opens at the same time as the Circulation Desk, but it closes at 9pm Sunday – Thursday, but is open until 4:30pm Friday and 4pm Saturday

Orientation  Serials/Media is NOT open the same hours Monday – Thursday – 7:30am – 4:30pm Friday – 7:30am – 11:30am Saturday – Sunday, CLOSED  So…if you need to access physical, unbound journals and magazines, you’ll need to go to Serials/Media during those times  Physical, BOUND journals are housed in the STACKS

Orientation  The Stacks represents the books that can be checked out – our largest collection  The Stacks are housed on floors 2-5  Bound journals look like books – they are several issues or volumes of a serial bound together in a hardcover binding  Bound journals are shelved with the books, NOT in Serials, so they can be on any floor that Stacks are housed on  Bound journals can be checked out like books

Orientation  We’ll look at how to locate physical journals in the Library’s holdings shortly, but…  …remember, though, that the VAST majority of our resources are available electronically via our website - books and journals alikehttp://  You can access the Library’s resources from the comfort of your own home, which we’ll see later

Before hitting the Library’s resources….  Keyword searching is how you’re going to be conducting most of your searching. Keyword searching is the combination of key words (get it?) with operators (AND, OR, and NOT) to produce search strings  Remember, keywords will come from your thesis statement, but you ought to include related words and concepts as well  When using phrases – like quantitative study – you need to put the phrase in quotation marks: “quantitative study”

Search string: examples  “quantitative study” and communication  “content analysis” and quantitative and communication  quantitative and method and communication  research and quantitative and method or study  quantitative and research NOT qualitative * Use AND not + or &. Pay attention to number (singular vs. plural) and spelling.

A few more tips…  DO create a list of keywords  DO underline/highlight/bookmark  DO take notes/sticky notes  DO get organized  DON’T multitask  DON’T procrastinate  DON’T plagiarize

LET’S DO THIS We know we need scholarly resources on communication, specifically with regards to quantitative methods. We know keywords and search strings we can use. We have the skills we need to get started. So we start with the Library’s website

I CAN’T FIND WHAT I NEED!  Despite our vast holdings, sometimes the Library doesn’t have what you need  You might find a citation in a database that’s NOT available in full-text, or you might find a resource (in a bibliography) that the Library doesn’t carry  What then?  Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is the next step; it’s a free service whereby we borrow materials or get copies of things we don’t we don’t have for you

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)  In order to use ILL, you will need to set up an account (which we’ll see shortly)  This is a free service on the Library’s end; sometimes other libraries charge for materials  The Library does NOT pay these fees; the Library will help you make arrangements to pay the fee, but we cannot pay it for you  We will NEVER borrow something with a fee without letting you opt out first

ILL  ILL materials have different due dates and higher fines that ULM Library materials – get ‘em back on time!  ILL is NOT a same-day or next-day service; books can take weeks to obtain  For articles, those can either be faxed to the Library, or delivered to you electronically, so that’s faster  So, give yourself plenty of time when requesting materials

ILL  In order to request materials through ILL, you have to have an ILL account  This can be set up and accessed through the Library’s home page LET’S GO GET ONE

After the Searching’s Done…  You have the resources you need, either digitally or physically, if you’ve printed them out  This is when underlining/highlighting comes into play, as well as notes and sticky notes  Documentation is also important, in order to avoid plagiarism – several of our databases (like Ebscohost) will generate citations for you

Need a Hand?  If you need help with the research process – at ANY point in the research process – you can ask the librarians for assistance – that’s what we do!  We also check documentation (quotations and citations) for accuracy  If you’d like someone to check your writing (grammar, spelling, and syntax), you can go to the Write Place on the 3 rd floor of Walker Hall

RECAP  When doing research, make sure you have a manageable (narrow) topic  Create a list of keywords and search strings  Bear in mind that you need scholarly resources, which can be found in the Library  Search the Library’s resources using the keywords and search strings, bearing in mind the tips we discussed  Make sure you document your resources!

RECAP  Select databases based on your research needs – for a class like this one, communication databases would be best, BUT! Think outside the box – incorporate psychology databases as well.  Use parameters like “scholarly/peer-reviewed” and “full text” – and even publication date – to make the results lists more manageable  Some databases will create citations FOR you – take advantage of that for accurate citations!

RECAP  If you can’t get full-text of an article through the databases, or find a book you need, or locate a resource from a bibliography, in the Library’s holdings, don’t panic  You can request these materials through ILL  But remember: you need an account  You set up and access that account on the Library’s website  Sometimes ILL takes time, so don’t wait to request

RECAP  The librarians can help you with research, from start to finish!  The librarians can also help you with citations and documentation  The Write Place can help you with writing – they can check spelling, grammar, and syntax  Most of these services can be found on the 1 st floor of the Library (that’s also where you check out books, study rooms, and make copies)

Library Databases for COMM  EDS – comprehensive search of electronic resources  Ebscohost  Academic Search Complete  Communication and Mass Media Complete  Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection  JSTOR

Question & Answer Time!

Remember, if you need research help, all you have to do is ask the librarians. You can…  Visit the Reference Desk, Library 1 st floor  us at  Call us at (318) Thanks for your cooperation!