In today's class:

1. Library-related knowledge check
2. Brief review of scholarly articles
3. In-class activity to prep for your library assignment
4. Questions / Identify knowledge/skills gaps
5. Class time to work on assignment

Let's Get Started:

1. What is your previous academic library experience?
   • Go to Menti (enter code: 4649 6410)
2. How confident am I with...?
   • Go to Menti (enter code: 8310 4289)
3. Two Questions in Jamboard (respond to one or both questions)
   • What would you like to learn or discuss in today's class? 
   • What would you like to know about the library, its tools or its services?

Research Paper - selected requirements

1. At least three (3) relevant images
   • Do not need to come from scholarly sources
2. At least four (4) scholarly secondary sources
3. MLA citation style

You have been asked to complete a library assignment in the coming weeks where you are required to find two scholarly sources that are based around the theme identity. You have been provided with a very detailed prompt, that outlines how your assignment should be formatted (MLA citation style) and asking you answer the following questions about each source:

1. What are the author's credentials and what makes them qualified to write about this topic?
2. What makes this source a suitable scholarly source? 
3. How does this source relate to your chosen topic? 

Doing Research

When you seek to find sources related to a topic of interest for your academic writing, you are demonstrating a number of skills:

• You are able to synthesize a variety of information and integrate it into your own work.
• You are able to investigate the dialogue that has occurred related to an area of interest and engage in that conversation through your academic writing.
• Using good, credible reliable sources will elevate the accuracy and authority of your own work.

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Information, in any format, is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method.  The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences (ACRL par. 13).

• Information creations are valued differently depending on the context and purpose for which they are created
• Audience matters. Certain things are created for certain purposes and it doesn't really make one format of information better than another. It is up to us to determine what information process best fits our information need.
• In your own creation process, understand that your choices in what type of information you use, impacts the purpose for which the information product you create will be used and the message it conveys. 

Common Sources of Information

Encyclopedias
Strengths: short, contains background information on a topic, normally a great starting point when you are just learning about a topic
Weaknesses: too short, print encyclopedias are out of date quickly, Wikipedia has reliability issues

Books and Book Chapters
Strengths: Provides an in-depth investigation into a topic
Weaknesses: too long, sometimes hard to tell whether it is scholarly

Scholarly Journal Articles
Strengths: often based on research findings or extensive review, written by experts, reviewed by experts, provides evidence
Weaknesses: Sometimes written using discipline-specific language or terminology, hard to understand,

Media Sources (news, online magazine articles)
Strengths: Good for current information
Weaknesses: Sometimes biased, sometimes written to entertain, often not written by experts, often not reviewed by experts

Websites & Social Media
Strengths: Highly accessible, includes government info
Weaknesses: It is hard to assess credibility and reliability...anyone can post online or create a website

Lectures, Ted Talks, Interviews, Recordings, Testimony
Strengths: Primary, first-hand accounts
Weaknesses: It is hard to assess credibility and reliability...single perspective relying on the accuracy of memory.

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?

Visual for Quality and Relevence

Author Credibility

Books: Check the foreword/preface/introduction and back cover of the book.  These sections usually provide information on the author's credentials/areas of expertise, etc.  

Articles:  An author of a scholarly (or academic) article will usually include their credentials or affiliations. 

Websites: Check to see if there is an author listed on the site.  Check to see if there is an "About Me/Us" link. 

Other options

• Web or database search: Check to see if the author has written other sources on this topic.  Can you locate them by their institutional affiliation?

Scholarly Publications

• Often referred to as academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed 
• Written by experts in a particular field
• Keep others interested in that field up to date on the most recent research and findings. 

What is peer-review?

• When a source has been peer-reviewed it has undergone the review and scrutiny of a review board of colleagues in the author's field.  They evaluate this source as part of the body of research for a particular discipline and make recommendations regarding its publication in a journal, revisions prior to publication, or, in some cases, reject its publication.

General Characteristics

1. Author: Expert in the field
2. Review: Reviewed by other experts (peers)
3. Audience / Language: Written for scholars and students; uses academic language
4. Content: Original research and criticism; uses previous research literature for background
5. Citations: Always

Examples:

1. Peer-reviewed articles
2. Scholarly books (can be challenging to identify)
3. Literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis

Activity: Ranking Sources by Credibility

Step 1: Skim the five sources (do not read them all)

Step 2: Rank the five sources from most credible (1) to least credible (5)

Step 3: What makes it a credible source?  Why is it not a credible source? 

Step 4: What do we know about the authors of the five sources?

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 (Use the subject guides to help identify these)

• 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

Background / Reference Search Tools (Use the subject guides to help identify these)

• Useful for finding background information on your topic, finding key people, understanding key concepts and locating other readings.  Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.

General Searching Tips:

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

• suffrage
• suffrage Canada

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

• "suffrage movement"
• very useful when you have a specific phrase containing common words

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

• suffrag* = suffrage, suffrages, suffragette
• canad* = canada, canadian, canadians

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:

• Canad* "suffrage movement" parliament

Using LibrarySearch

Things to remember when using LibrarySearch:

1. Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.

2. Use the pin icon to save books and articles. 

3. Use the filters on the right. Common filters are Availability, Resource Type, Peer-Review and Date.

4. Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan.

5. When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get It or Full-Text section to get the item.

Additional LibrarySearch Features

1. Description / Subject Headings
2. Access Options (physical location, online access)
3. Tools (Cite-It, Permalink)

Citing and Referencing in MLA and APA

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 and APA, 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

Agenda

1. Review assignment requirements
2. Finding Images
3. Citing Images in MLA
4. Creating Captions for Images in MLA
5. Student Evaluation
6. Two Questions in Jamboard

Research Paper - selected requirements

1. At least three (3) relevant images
   • Do not need to come from scholarly sources
2. At least four (4) scholarly secondary sources
3. MLA citation style

What is An "Image"?

"Images" include paintings, prints, photographs, diagrams, drawings, maps, charts, and plans.  Most images found in print or electronic materials are copyright protected.  In most cases for student work though, images may be available through library database subscriptions or found on the internet and you can use them in your papers as long as you cite them.

Example of an image found in an online database. 

The Girl with the Pearl Earring (Vermeer) permanently resides in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.

Fig. 2. Jan Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, painting, Circa 1665-6.

Work cited entry

Vermeer, Jan (Johannes). Photo of Girl with the Pearl Earring. "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Circa 1665-6.  Credo Reference, http://ezproxy.midlandstech.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fbridgemancul%2Fgirl_
with_a_pearl_earring_c_1665_6_oil_on_canvas%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D2507.  Accessed 27 August 2021. 

Example of an image found on the web

Fig. 1. Flowers in Monet's Garden (Warner).

Works Cited Entry

Warner, Mike. Photo of Monet's Garden. "Monet's Garden." 6 Oct. 2017, Flickr, flic.kr/p/ZsF6q1. Accessed 3 November 2021. 

Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI)

I'd love to hear your feedback about your experience with my instruction in today's class, March 7.  Your feedback is important and I use it to inform my teaching practice and class content.  It is also used as part of my overall evaluation.  Please complete the evaluation form.  I greatly appreciate you taking the time to complete it.