Agenda:

1. Objectives
2. Research organizer
3. Finding information for your topic
4. Class time to work on your proposal/essay

Objectives:

By the end of class, you will be able to:

1. Find the ENGL 2205 library course guide for this class
2. Observe a demonstration of LibrarySearch to find scholarly sources
3. Use at least one search tool to find a scholarly article
4. Use at least two different search strategies to find scholarly articles

What do you want to learn today?

1. One question survey - help me learn a bit more about you and your library experience (enter code 5345 8793)
2. Tell me what would be most helpful for you to learn today 

You can upload this to your Google Drive.  
1.  Open the document
2.  Go File >> Save As  and save to the desktop
3.  Open Google Drive
4. Click My Drive >> Upload File

Developing Your Topic:

• "Unpack" your assignment and your selected essay option - review line by line
• Begin thinking about your argument or point of view
• Underline the words that will be the key terms in your searching.
• Brainstorm for synonyms.

Quality

Quality refers to how trustworthy and reputable your source is.

1. Purpose: Consider the purpose of the source.  Why did the authors write it and how do you know that?
   • Is it fact or opinion?  Is there bias?  (Does the source favour one thing over another in an unfair way (sometimes referred to as one-sided)?
   • Consider the audience of the source.  Who did the authors write it for and how do you know that?
2. Authority: Consider who wrote the source and who is responsible for the source.  Are the authors experts on the topic and how do you know that?  Who is responsible for this information - a company, a government, a university, personal?  How do you know that?
3. Currency: Consider when the source was published or written.  How recently was it written and how do you know that?
4. Reliability: Consider the information from the source.  Does your source provide details about where they got their information - such as references?
5. Relevance: What does it have to do with my topic?

When searching English Literature, consider:

1. Author (as subject)
2. Author's work(s)
3. Themes in author's works / similar themes in other works
4. Analysis/ methodology (ie. rhetorical analysis)
5. Criticism / critical
6. Filter out review articles

General Searching Tips:

Less is More: Start with one or two words and then add one additional term at a time

• cannabis
• cannabis depression

Phrase searching: Use "quotation marks" around key ideas made up of multiple words

• "mental health"
• very useful when you have a specific phrase containing common words

Truncation: Use an asterisk * to find different endings to your keywords

• teen* = teen, teens, teenager, teenagers, teeny
• canad* = canada, canadian, canadians
• cannab* = cannabis, cannabinoids, cannabidiol, cannabin

Use limits: These refine (narrow) your search using different restrictions

• Date (last 10 years)
• Peer-reviewed (for articles)

You can combine all the above in your search:

• cannabis "mental health" teen*

What are the best tools for the information that I need?

General Search Tools

• These search multiple disciplines.  Not as strong for finding discipline-specific topics (ie.  stress - psychology or stress - engineering)
• Examples include: LibrarySearch, Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar

Subject Specific Search Tools

• These tools are focused on a specific discipline, such as psychology, economics, biology, etc.  Use the subject guides to help choose a subject specific search tool

For literature, consider:

1. Article databases, under Articles, in the English subject guide
2. Oxford Reference Online, under Background Sources, in the English subject guide

Citing and Referencing in MLA

1. Use the "cite" feature in most search tools to get you started with most resources
2. Use the MRU citations guides and resources to find additional help for MLA, including guides, and videos. 
3. Use the Service Desk on the 1st floor of the RLLC for assistance as well as the library chat feature on the library website.
4. Make an appointment with Student Learning Services