Introduction Primary and secondary sources Searching for sources Search engines Online databases Blogs Talk About It Your Turn Tech Tools in this presentation Advanced Google Features Technorati LOC Online Catalog Online Library Catalogs Online Databases

Searching for sources is an exploration to find essential information for your research project.

For example, primary sources about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII might include the diary of an internee historical photographs A primary source is an original creation by someone who observed or participated in an event. A primary source might be any of the following. Autobiographies Letters s Interviews Diaries Photographs Amache Relocation Center Colorado, 1942.

Tanforan Assembly Center by Hisako Hibi Art objects, pieces of creative writing, or any firsthand information such as a speech or videotape. Primary sources are essential to research. Additional examples include Original artwork Poetry Videotape Newspaper articles Speeches Poems, such as those written by children in Japanese- American internment camps. Articles in newspapers, journals, and magazines that present firsthand information. San Francisco News March 2, 1942

A secondary source writes or talks about a primary source. Here are some examples of secondary sources. Articles Essays Biographies Reviews Critiques Histories A newspaper review of an exhibit of art by internees. Secondary sources about Japanese internment include A book written by a historian. nytimes.com

For example, this book compiles the reflections of many different people on the internment of Japanese Americans. Secondary sources can be helpful if you are interested in securing varied viewpoints.

The Library of Congress contains many digital primary source materials in its online archives, including photographs and audio and video recordings letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, and memoirs documents produced by government agencies such as the Office of the President

The Library of Congress also contains secondary sources that synthesize and interpret primary sources. For example, this speech by Representative Michael M. Honda of California commemorates the life achievements of a Japanese-American internment camp detainee.

The Library of Congress online catalog is a database of records of the library’s vast collection of materials. The main search page includes links to catalogs of audio and visual holdings basic and advanced search pages

To conduct a basic search of the LOC online catalog, click Keyword and enter one or more search terms related to your research topic. Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase. Click Begin Search to display the search results.

American Memory, a special collection offered by the Library of Congress, provides access to more than 10.5 million digitized primary sources that document American history.

In your search for information, you will undoubtedly use both print and digital sources. Almanacs Atlases Bibliographies Biographical sources Dictionaries Directories Encyclopedias Handbooks Indexes and abstracts Yearbooks Print sources The use of traditional sources available in print and microfilm continues to be a foundation for research.

Digital resources refer to any source of information that can be accessed using a computer. Web sites E-journals and books Digital image, audio, and video resources CD-ROMs, diskettes, and other media Databases Many sources, such as letters, maps, historic documents, and other primary material traditionally presented in printed form, have been digitized and now are available from free Web sites or subscription services on the Internet.

Your school or local library probably has an online catalog of its collection. search for resources in many ways, such as by subject or keyword Searching for sources in an online catalog allows you to: determine whether resources are available add resources to a list for easy reference

You can use online catalogs to search for sources from public and university libraries around the country. You can then request sources through interlibrary loan. To request a resource through ILL, you will need to enter basic information about yourself the resource the pickup location

Click any entry in the search results for additional information about the resource and a list of nearby libraries where you can find it. WorldCat.org provides free access to a view of WorldCat, an online catalog of library content and services. You can use WorldCat.org to search for resources in over 10,000 libraries worldwide.

The Internet offers a wide variety of search engines. No one search engine gives access to all the information you might want. Become familiar with various search engines and their features. (webfetch) © 2008 InfoSpace, Inc. All rights reserved. (dogpile) © 2008 InfoSpace, Inc. All rights reserved. (Yahoo!) Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2008 by Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. (Altavista) Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2008 by Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.

The AND operator instructs the search engine to search for both keywords you specify. The OR operator tells the search engine to search for either word. It’s easy to type your search terms into any search engine, but using some keyboard features can help you refine your search. The NEAR/ADJ operators look for keywords in proximity to another keyword. ADJ stands for adjacent and will return fewer hits than NEAR. Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2008 by Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.

You can also use keyboard features to exclude search terms or isolate certain keywords. The NOT/- operators exclude documents containing a specific keyword. Put NOT or “-” in front of the word you want excluded. Parentheses set up groups of operations that must be performed before other parts of the operation can be completed. Use parentheses to isolate parts of a query. Sub-queries included in parentheses are processed before all other parts of the query. Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2008 by Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.

Google Advanced Search allows you to refine a query by filling in special fields or using a series of drop-down menus. You can find results containing all of your search words an exact phrase at least one of your search words no specified words This search shows results for the exact phrase “Japanese internment.” The exact phrase appears in the top search field in quotation marks.

In addition, you can use the Advanced Search page to limit your search by Language File Format Date (find results updated in past 3 months and so on) Occurrences (find results where search terms occur in the title, text, or URL) Domain (find results from a particular site or domain you select) Similar (find pages similar to a page you specify) Links (find pages linking to a page you specify)

Other places you can look for sources of information include online databases. A database is an electronic filing system from which a computer can quickly select and secure desired pieces of information. Your school or district might provide subscriptions to online databases. Databases can contain both information that cannot be found through search engines and resources that are particularly beneficial for research.

EBSCO provides online access to more than 150 databases and thousands of e-journals. ProQuest is a group of databases that cover a wide spectrum of topics from genealogy to the latest scientific breakthroughs. ERIC provides free access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials. ERIC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

MEDLINE is the National Library of Medicine bibliographic database covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. MEDLINE contains over 16 million references to journal articles in life sciences. LexisNexis Scholastic Edition gives students experience searching for vital source material in four areas: news, legal research, legislation, and statistics.

A blog is a Web site that offers commentary, news, or more personal online journaling. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and online media related to its topic. Most blogs are interactive and primarily textual, although some focus on art, photographs, sketches, audio, and music.

Blogs can be useful sources of information, especially if you want to include a firsthand account as a source in your research. Blogs serve as discussion communities about particular issues. Blogs provide a regularly updated online journal of information and opinions. Blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

Technorati is a blog search engine that organizes and ranks millions of frequently updated Internet pages. You can perform a general search of your topic on Technorati’s home page— but expect a long list of results. You can also use tag-based bookmarking for blog posts found on the Advanced page to create a more relevant list.

Discuss these questions with your classmates. 1. For what types of research topics would the Library of Congress prove most useful? For what types would search engines be more appropriate? 2. What search strategies do you think will make your research process more efficient? Why? 3. How have you used primary sources in past research projects? How will you use them now? 4. Have you ever used a blog as a research source? How did it help you in your research?

Follow the steps below to explore methods for locating primary and secondary sources. 1. Select a research topic of interest to you. 2. Use four search methods to locate primary and secondary sources of information for your topic. You can choose from the LOC online catalog, online library catalogs, search engines, online databases, and Technorati. 3. List at least four quality sources you find and state the method you used to find each.

Research topic: The role of baseball in American culture during the 19th century 1. 1.Method: American Memory (from LOC online catalog) 2.Method: Online library catalog

Research topic: The role of baseball in American culture during the 19th century 1. 3.Method: Advanced Google search 4.Method: WorldCat.org

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