POLS 2910: Introduction to Library Research Timothy Bristow – Scott Library Political Science & Public Policy Librarian

Class Goals: Learn how to construct an effective keyword search Learn how to use the Library Catalogue and Periodical Indexes to find relevant information Learn how to manage your research using RefWorks Prepare you to work on your POLS 2910 assignments

Keyword Searching: 1.Prepare your search by writing out your research question and then identifying the key concepts 2.The same concept can often be expressed in multiple ways, so consider alternative keywords: synonyms 3.Construct your search using language that the database understands to get the best possible results: syntax 4.Search, examine the results, and modify your search

How has Canadian policy on climate change developed over the past two decades? QUESTION:

Library Catalogue: The Library Catalogue is a database containing records for materials in all York Libraries Use the Catalogue to find books, government reports, and other government documents – not journal articles Advanced Search will give you more control and often better results when searching for a topic

Periodical Indexes: Periodical Indexes are databases that contain records of journal articles in a particular subject area Use the Library’s online Subject Guides and the POLS 2910 Course Guide to identify useful indexes The indexes contain records for many articles that we have at York and for some that we don’t

RefWorks: RefWorks is a free online program that can help you to manage and cite your research sources You can export a record for each of your sources to RefWorks and then organize them in folders You can also use RefWorks to automatically create a bibliography for your paper

Getting Help: Visit the Research Questions Desk at the Scott Library Ask a question online with askON Consult the POLS 2910 Course Guide