Library Project - Assignment #4

The Library Project http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/library Danielson Library: 1-860-412-7272 Willimantic Library Learning Center: 1-860-412-7285

Part 4: Finding Articles Articles in magazines and journals cover very specific topics. Using articles in your research is one of the best ways to learn about the most current information in any field of study. You are probably familiar with magazines and journals in their print formats. However, the QVCC Library subscribes to thousands of e-journals. Magazines and journals provide the most current research on specific topics. Part 4 of The Library Projects requires you to search for full text articles on your crime topic inside of a database called MasterFile Premier. You will probably need to narrow your topic so that your search results in a manageable number of possible articles.

Step 1 - Access MasterFile Preimier 1. 2. 3.

From the QVCC Library Website, click the Research tab. Find Databases & Articles, and click on on-campus or off-campus depending on where you are. Note: If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log into myCommnet. Find the link to MasterFile Premier at the top of this list.

Step 2 - Narrow Your Topic •

Limit your results to Full Text before you begin your search in MasterFile Premier. Limit your results Full Text

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If your crime topic is too broad your results will yield hundreds of articles. To narrow your results and find more relevant articles, you can search for multiple keywords at the same time. Add keywords by inserting the word and in between them.

1 keyword

2 keywords

1 phrase

1 phrase and 1 keyword

Step 3 – Understanding the MasterFile Premier results list Here’s an example of results from the search for the phrase gang warfare.

Length of article

Author

Summary of article

Read or print the article Title of magazine Title of the article Click here to see the citation screen

Save articles during your search

Step 4 – Print the citation screen It’s a good idea to print the citation screen for an article because you’ll need the information when you create bibliographies and Works Cited pages.

You can borrow subject terms to improve your search

Print, email, save, cite, and store articles

The Library Project

Name _________________________________

http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/library Danielson Library: 1-860-412-7272 Willimantic Library Learning Center: 1-860-412-7285

Due date ______________________________

Assignment for Part 4: Finding Articles •

Continue with your crime topic. Think about how you can narrow your topic.

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Find MasterFile Premier and search for articles on your topic. See handout for help.

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From your results list, select a good article (read abstract) that is 2-10 pages in length.

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Click on the article title and print the citation screen. Print the full text of the article.

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Read the article and highlight or underline important information.

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Answer the questions on a separate piece of paper, typed, double spaced, and in complete sentences. Spelling and grammar count.

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Staple the article, the citation screen, the questions, and the answers. Respect the due date. A penalty will occur for each class the assignment is late.

The Questions for Part 4 1.

One last time, what is the topic you are researching? (10 points)

2.

Write down the keywords you used to search for your topic (i.e. gang warfare and cities). (10 points)

3.

How many results were in the results list that you selected your article from? (10 points)

4.

List the Subject Terms from your article’s citation. (10 points)

5.

Briefly explain (3-4 sentences) your search. Overall, was the search was difficult or easy? Did you ask for help or search on your own? How long did it take to find an article? What was most frustrating about your search? Feel free to add anything else. (20 points)

6.

Briefly summarize in about 8-12 sentences the most important points of your entry. This summary should demonstrate that the article you selected goes with your keyword search. In other words, if you searched using the words “drug abuse” and teenagers and treatment, your article summary should be about that topic. Reminder: Summarizing means putting things into your own words. Do not simply copy lines from the entry. This is a form of plagiarism. (30 points)

7.

Find a sentence in your article that is particularly important or interesting or distinctive. Using “quotation marks,” type the sentence word for word. Draw an arrow in your printout to indicate where your quotation came from. Next, briefly explain in your own words why you selected that particular sentence. (10 points)