In this assignment, you will also be searching library catalogs, which vary in search techniques. It is crucial that you read Research Strategies, chapters three and four very carefully, even if you consider yourself to be a computer whiz. There is a logic to finding information on databases, and you must understand that logic if you want to be efficient in retrieval. For information on the use of Trinity Western's library catalog, go to http://www.twu.ca/library/Flash_Tutorials/e-library_interface_overview_demo/e-library_interface_overview_demo.htm

Keywords and Controlled Vocabularies

The most difficult concept for students is the difference between keywords and controlled vocabularies. They are not at all the same, and you need to study the difference until they become very clear to you.

A significant number of assignment #2's submitted by students are returned because the controlled vocabulary/subject heading search was done incorrectly.

The most important thing to remember is that controlled vocabularies are search terminology created by librarians. There is no opportunity to revise them or mess with them in any way. You have to take them as given. Keywords, on the other hand are created by you. You have the power to shape them any way you want. Keywords are words found in titles, etc. Controlled vocabularies like subject headings, on the other hand, tell you what a book or article is actually about. They are a way of pulling together everything on a subject regardless of what words are used in titles.

With keyword searching, consistently the biggest problem I see is that searchers start with too MUCH terminology. I recommend that you start with two search words. If that produces too much material, then add a word or two. Simplicity generally wins over complexity in keyword searching. Remember that, for an AND search, every word you add eliminates results from your list. Some of those results might potentially be useful. Keep searching simple unless lack of sufficiently narrow results calls for more complexity.

Here's a tip that could make the difference between success and failure in this assignment:

The easiest way to identify subject headings is to do a Keyword Title search in our catalog, open the catalog record for a relevant book, and see what subject headings were used. You can then click on any subject heading link to find the other books identified with that subject.

One of the results is The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus. Click on its title, then click on the catalog record link to get the full record. The linked subject headings are displayed. Clicking on any one will get you all the results in the catalog that use that subject heading:

Alternatively, you can attempt to identify a relevant subject heading in our catalog basic search by choosing the Browse function and selecting Subject, then inputing a subject heading. The problem is that this is going to require guessing. Tools to help you identify relevant subject headings are available:

You can find lists of LC Subject Headings in the big red print volumes available in most libraries. The Library of Congress also has an abbreviated version of its controlled vocabulary subject headings system available online at http://authorities.loc.gov/ (Note that this is not a catalog in itself, just an index to subject headings).

To use it, do the following:

     1. Click on "Search Authorities."
      2. Choose the Subject Headings option in the lower box, then type into the upper box a good
guess about what the subject heading might be. You will get a display of various related headings.
      3. If you see your term opposite a button that says "References," click on the References button .

In the case of a search for "Evangelism" clicking on References leads to a page that will tell you that
the proper heading is "Evangelistic Work:"

If the subject heading you guessed is an authorized heading, the button opposite it will say
"Authorized Heading."

Note: Once you have identified a subject heading that is authorized, you must then go to a library
catalog (like the TWU catalog and use that heading in a subject browse search in that catalog. The index described above is not a catalog itself, just an index to identify subject headings. Most academic library catalogs in North America use the Library of Congress Subject Heading system.

Our catalog has "authority control," a cross-reference system to guide you to correct subject
headings when you are using Subject [Starts with]. You will now find cross references among the
subject headings, for example:

RefWorks is a bibliographic manager, a tool available to you to help you organize your bibliographies, use them in writing your papers, and format your papers using either Turabian Notes format (for theological subjects) or APA 6th edition format (for counseling and other social science topics). In basic form it works like this:

1. You sign up for an individual account through the library home page (www.twu.ca/library).
Find the link for RefWorks and on the next page click on "Click here to log into RefWorks."
If you do so from off campus, you will be asked for your TWU e-mail account user name and
password in order to get to RefWorks. Once you have the RefWorks login box, click on the link
to sign up for an individual account. Follow the instructions to create your individual account, whose user name and password you will use to log into the box like the one pictured below:

2. Once you are in RefWorks for the first time, be sure to turn on the new RefWorks 2.0 version, which is easier to use than the classic version. You will find the link to turn it on in the upper right corner next to your name:

There are tutorials to help you in the right column of the first screen in RefWorks 2.0:

3. Once you have signed up for an individual account and created your own user name and
password, you can use RefWorks to download citations from catalogs and journal databases.
There is more explanation on how to do this with books in the assignment below.

4. You will create folders in which you can keep downloaded items.

5. At any point, you can click on "Create Bibliography" to create a bibliography of your citations from
any folder, using either the Turabian Notes 7th edition format (Not the Turabian Reference List
format) or the APA - American Psychological Association, 6th edition format.

6. You can also download software called Write-N-Cite (for Windows or Mac) from the RefWorks website to your Microsoft Word Program (does not work with other word processors). This will enable you to create citations and form a bibliography with a few clicks of the mouse. (This function will only be available later in Fall 2011 for RefWorks 2.0).

7. Click HERE for instructions on using the RefWorks search function to get the results of the above searches loaded into RefWorks.

BUT, do not be lulled into a false sense of security - RefWorks is complex and may take you an hour or two (or possibly longer) to learn well enough to do basic operations.

Assignment #2 (to top of page)

Read Research Strategies, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five: Section 5.1 and Chapter Six [ 4th edition, 2011].

For your topic:

State your research question.
Do an Internet search on your research question, using a search engine. Google is highly recommended, though any of the engines described in the textbook, section 6.4, are also fine [Do not use Google Scholar, which will be covered in a later assignment.]
List the actual searches you did, in the form you used (e.g. abortion and Canada), each search on a different line. Include only what you consider to be successful searches. Thus:
            abortion and Canada
            Canada abortion law
                        and so on.
List the Internet addresses (URLs) for three good websites that had good quality as well as relevant information for your research question. Don't just choose the first 3 sites you find, but select high quality, highly relevant sites.
For each website you choose, briefly summarize what the content is and seek to evaluate its credibility (e.g. Who produced it? What biases do you see? Are there references to other literature?, etc.)

Some Tips:

       1. Avoid just inputting one word, but actually try some word combinations. But keep total word combinations to 5 or less. Sometimes just one word combination will nail it. Build your search terms from terminology in your actual research questions whenever possible. Note: I'm very interested in seeing what your actual search terminology was, not just your results.
       2. Most search engines do not use truncation.
       3. I am especially interested in quality and in relevance of these sites to the issue each of your research questions is addressing. On evaluation of websites, you might want to access the helpful tutorial at:
http://www.twu.ca/library/Flash_Tutorials/assessing_online_resources_demo
/assessing_online_resources_demo.htm

Go to the TWU library catalog at (http://library.twu.ca/). [Do not use the search function in RefWorks as a substitute. It does not have the features you need. For more on RefWorks and other formatting options, see the end of this assignment.] For information on the use of Trinity Western's library catalog, go to http://www.twu.ca/library/Flash_Tutorials/e-library_interface_overview_demo/e-library_interface_overview_demo.htm.

For your research question, start with a keyword search in titles by doing a Keyword Title search for relevant books. Be very sure you have set the catalog for Keyword:

Indicate what search words or word combinations you tried (e.g. Homeless* AND Philadelphia). If one search doesn't work, use lateral thinking to find other ways that title keyword could be used to produce relevant results, but avoid multiplying the various search combinations you use. Instead, use critical thinking to come up with a few narrow and highly relevant terms.

Be sure to indicate what successful Keyword Title combinations you used. List each search you did on a separate line:

Kingdom Luke
Kingdom Gospel Luke, etc.
Make a list of ten books relevant to your research question. Include author, title, place of publication, publisher and date and use either Turabian Notes (=Turabian Bibliography or Chicago) or APA format. Turabian is to be used for most topics, but APA can be used for psychology-related topics. You MUST list all books in this assignment in either Turabian Notes or APA format. For information on ways to do this, see the backgrounder above.
Put an asterisk next to the most highly relevant titles . These ones will be helpful in guiding you to the correct subject headings to use for the next part of this assignment.

For your your research question, do a Subject Heading search in the library catalog for relevant books. If you do not know which subject headings to use, try looking through the catalog entries of the highly relevant books you already found through your Keyword Title search. Open their catalog records and discover the subject headings that have been used for them. (Information on this is in the background above).

Be sure to indicate what subject headings you used, listing each on a separate line. Be sure they are actual subject headings rather than your own keywords.
Make a list of ten books relevant to your research question. Include author, title, place of publication, publisher and date and use either Turabian Notes (not Turabian Reference List) or APA format. (Your list can include book titles that are the same as those found in Keyword Title, if you wish, though the two lists might be quite different)

Some Tips:
1. Click HERE for instructions on using the RefWorks search function to get the results of the above searches loaded into RefWorks.
2. If you are using RefWorks, you will need to create a separate folder for the results of each of your searches so that you can run "Bibliography," put your results into proper format, then copy and paste your bibliographies into the proper places in the assignment template. If you find this too challenging, please try one of the other options in the background statement above.

Comment on which search (subject heading or keyword title) was most profitable, and on how much overlap there was in results found by each search (i.e. how many results were the same).