MSE 101W Library Research Workshop Applied Sciences Librarian, SFU Surrey Shane Plante

Have you had an SFU Library research session before? (A) Yes (B) No (C) Don’t remember Checking in

The plan Finding your topic Researching your topic Evaluating your sources Getting help Questions (at any time)

finding your topic

Finding your topic You will be writing two different papers about a topic related to computing science or technology. 1)An informative paper 2)A persuasive paper The topic must have “social, environmental, or ethical implications” “controversy or opposing views” associated with it

Finding your topic A few places to find a topic: Background sources –Encyclopedias / handbooks –Textbooks –Books News sources

researching your topic

Researching your topic Sample research question: Should employers be allowed to electronically monitor employees?

Researching your topic Two keys to finding what you want: Good words to use for your search Good places to search

Researching your topic Two keys to finding what you want: Good words to use for your search Good places to search Q: What are some search words and related concepts for this sample topic? Electronic employee monitoring

Researching your topic Two keys to finding what you want: Good words to use for your search Good places to search

Researching your topic Two keys to finding what you want: Good words to use for your search Good places to search You want to find authoritative sources to support your work. 1)Based on the results you can see in screenshots, rank the places to search on your handout. 2)Why did you rank them in this order?

Researching your topic Where did the search results come from? a)Google Scholar b)Google c)Fast Search d)Academic Search Premier

SFU Library Google Deep Web

Researching your topic Two keys to finding what you want: Good words to use for your search Good places to search –See: MSE 101W research guide for a good list of places to search.

Researching your topic journal articles books summarize recent research textbooks, reference books, encyclopedias

Finding background information

{ always access through SFU Library } Library Search SFU Library’s homepage search options: Fast Search Catalogue

Evaluating your sources You’ll want to find authoritative sources on your topic. Are either of the articles on your sheet scholarly articles? a)How can you tell? b)How can you use one scholarly article to find additional relevant sources?

Evaluating your sources PopularScholarly AuthorNo affiliation providedAffiliated with an academic / research institution AbstractNoYes LengthShortLong ImagesFor aesthetic appealResearch findings displayed as graphs, charts, etc. LanguageEasy to understandElevated, specialized CitationsNone at all, or very fewYes, many ReviewEditorPeer-reviewed

Evaluating your sources PopularScholarly AuthorNo affiliation providedAffiliated with an academic / research institution AbstractNoYes LengthShortLong ImagesFor aesthetic appealResearch findings displayed as graphs, charts, etc. LanguageEasy to understandElevated, specialized CitationsNone at all, or very fewYes, many ReviewEditorPeer-reviewed You can also consider the same elements of websites and other documents. There is a section on the MSE 101W research guide on “Internet Research: Finding and Evaluating Resources.”

Image credits Gears by Mark Shorter Stethoscope by Olivier Guin Airplane by Dmitry Baranovskiy Curious by Stephen Borengasser Glasses by Cor Tiemens Rock Climbing by Paul Phillips Surveillance by Luis Prado Crowdsourcing by Iconathon Map by Michelle Ann Fishing Hook by Laurent Canivet Russian Doll by Dmitriy Lagunov Signpost by Juan Pablo Bravo Juggle by AnsteyDesign Thinking by Timothy Dilich All icons used were published with CC-BY licenses or are in the public domain. They all come from The Noun Project: thenounproject.comthenounproject.com In order of appearance:

The library provides many ways to get help: - In-person at the reference desk - Telephone - - IM - Text message - Student Learning Commons Getting help

Any questions?