First Year Seminar - Cheeseburger in Paradise

Dr. Judith Amburgey-Peters
Information Resources Compiled by Donna Jacobs

An important factor in your academic and professional success will be how well you develop the ability to determine when you need information, and to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively. One goal of this research assignment is to help you begin to strengthen your information literacy skills. This web page and the in-class library instruction session will:

• provide suggestions for developing a search strategy;
• suggest specific reference sources and general browsing strategies to use as a starting point;
• introduce you to techniques for using important tools such as library catalogs, research databases and the World Wide Web;
• show you how to locate the books, periodicals, and other references you retrieve in your search of catalogs and databases;
• give you advice on how to evaluate the quality of the information you gather;
• discuss the importance of the ethical use of information.

Remember—The primary goal of the library staff is to help you to develop the skills needed to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. If you have questions, ask for assistance at one of the staffed service points in the library or contact a librarian by telephone or e-mail.

Selecting Your Search Topic

Before you can begin searching for information, it is important to define your research topic. Take the time to write down a sentence or two in which you state your topic as specifically as possible, including the aspects of the topic that you wish to investigate. Remember, this is just the starting point. You will continue to refine your topic as you locate relevant information.

For example, if your research paper deals with food biotechnology, you might start with the following search topic:

Locate information about the scientific and ethical issues related to genetically modified foods.

Finding Background Information

Before researching a topic in depth, it is useful to read some background information of the kind found in encyclopedias and dictionaries. These sources are helpful in placing the topic in a broader context and providing related subjects and terms to use as keywords as you continue your search.

The following sources may provide useful background information for your research on topics related to food biotechnology.

Title	Location/Call Number
Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics	Ref BJ63 .E44 1998 v.1-4
Encyclopedia of Ethics	Ref BJ63 .E45 1992 v.1-2
Encyclopedia of World Poverty	Ref HV12 .E54 2006 v.1-3
Encyclopedia of Bioethics	Science Ref QH332 .E52 2004 v.1-5
Encyclopedia of Genetics	Science Ref QH427 .E54 2001
Encyclopedia of Human Biology	Science Ref QP11 .E53 1997 v.1-9
The Statistical Handbook on Technology	Ref T21 .B47 1999
Concise Encyclopedia of the Ethics of New Technologies	Science Ref TP248.23 .C664 2001
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America	Ref TX349 .E45 2004 v.1-2
Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food	Ref TX370 .S63 2006
Cambridge World History of Food	Science Ref TX353 .C255 2000

Access Science: McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Online This is the electronic access version of the 10th edition of McGraw-Hill’s Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, a highly technical encyclopedia in the sciences. The Web site provides fully searchable content from more than 8,500 articles in the latest edition of the encyclopedia as well as definitions from McGraw Hill’s Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, biographies of more than 2,000 scientists, bibliographies containing more than 28,000 literature citations and a well-developed subject directory of Web links. Encyclopedia Britannica Online This is the electronic access version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. In addition to 12 dedicated research tools, the Web site includes the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus. Wikipedia According to information posted on its Web site, “Wikipedia is first and foremost an online encyclopedia and, as a means to that end, an online community of people interested in building a high-quality encyclopedia in a spirit of mutual respect.” Anyone can contribute a new article, or edit an existing article. The online encyclopedia contains information on almost any topic. It is updated immediately so that the information is very current. Caution! Wikipedia’s strength is also its weakness. Because anyone can edit almost any page, it is essential that users confirm information in other sources to ensure reliability.

Possible Keywords

As you consult various reference sources, you will find keywords and concepts that are relevant to your topic. It is a good idea to keep a list of keywords to search in other reference sources, library catalogs and databases. Remember, you will probably continue to refine your search topic as you locate more information. You will add new terms and delete other terms as you continue your research.

Some of the following concepts and keywords might be helpful as you search for information about food biotechnology.

Food Biotechnology	Groups/Organisms Affected	Issues
genetically modified foods GMOs genetically engineered foods genetically modified crops transgenic plants insect resistant plants herbicide resistant plants novel foods functional foods FlavrSavr (long life) tomato	environment producers farmers organic farmers multinational corporations Monsanto consumers treated organisms (animals)	ethical safety economic political consumer protection consumer choice regulation labeling food supply hunger pest control herbicide resistance

Developing Your Search Strategy

Once you have consulted reference sources for background information and developed a list of concepts and keywords, you are ready to search some of the tools that will provide access to books, magazine and journal articles and other documents relevant to your topic. Because most of these tools are available electronically, it is tempting to type a few words into a database without thinking about how the terms are related to each other. You can save time and improve your retrieval by taking a few minutes to develop a search strategy that combines terms logically and takes advantage of the search features provided in the database your are using. Search Strategies and Techniques provides tips and techniques for designing and implementing search strategies.

Library Catalogs

Library catalogs contain listings of the materials owned by (or accessible from) their respective libraries. Materials listed in library catalogs include books, government publications, electronic resources, scores and recordings, media, and periodical titles (but not the articles contained in the periodical). Library catalogs also provide information about locations of materials and current availability.

The CONSORT catalog includes the merged catalogs of the College of Wooster, Denison University, Kenyon College, and Ohio Wesleyan University. You can search the merged catalog or the individual catalog of one of the CONSORT colleges and access the OhioLINK catalog.

OhioLINK is a consortium of more than 80 Ohio academic libraries, including Ohio State University, Kent State University, Cleveland State University, and Case Western Reserve University. The OhioLINK Central catalog is the database of all books and other materials owned by all the OhioLINK member libraries.

See Searching Library Catalogs for a brief summary of the contents and search capabilities of the CONSORT and OhioLINK catalogs.

Organization of Library Materials

As you locate relevant reference sources and books by using the library catalog, you may find that books shelved nearby also contain useful information. That is because most of the materials in the library are arranged by subject according to the Library of Congress Classification System. See Organization of Library Materials in the Guide to Library Research in Science for more information about library classification systems, reading call numbers and physical locations of materials in the College of Wooster libraries. Some of the call number ranges that contain materials that may be relevant to your topic are listed below.

Library of Congress Classification

Classification	Content
GN  301-674   407	Anthropology  Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology   Nutritional anthropology
GT  2850-2960	Manners and Customs  Eating and drinking customs
HD  9205  9675 .D53	Economic History and Conditions  Food additives industry  Dietary supplements industry
QP  141-185.3	Physiology  Nutrition
QR  115-129	Microbiology  Foods
RA  601-602  645 .N87  645 .O23  784  1258-1260	Public Aspects of Medicine  Food and food supply in relation to public health  Nutrition disorders  Obesity  Personal health and hygiene. Nutrition  Food poisons
RC  596  620-627	Internal Medicine  Food allergies  Nutritional diseases
RM  214-258	Therapeutics. Pharmacology  Diet therapy
S	Agriculture (General)
SB	Plant Culture
SF	Animal Culture
TP  248.65 .F66  368-456	Chemical Technology  Food biotechnology  Food processing and manufacture
TX  341-641   361   370   391   501-597    551-560   643-840	Home Economics  Nutrition. Foods and food supply   Diet and nutrition of special classes and groups   Junk food. Convenience foods   Vegetarianism   Examination and analysis. Composition. Adulteration    Dietary studies, food values, experiments, tests, etc.   Cookery

Superintendent of Documents Classification

United States Government Publications are cataloged by issuing agency, using the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) Classification System. Each item is assigned a call number and arranged on the shelves with other items published by the same department or agency, regardless of subject. For this reason, browsing in government publications is very inefficient. See the Superintendent of Documents Classification System section of Organization of Library Materials for more information about reading SuDocs call numbers and locating government publications in Wooster’s libraries.

Newspaper Indexes

Newspaper indexes provide access to articles in newspapers, and are especially useful for finding information on current events. The College of Wooster Libraries subscribe to several print newspaper indexes, which are located in the Reference section of Gault Library. In addition, online access to many newspaper indexes and full text access to newspaper articles is available through the Databases by Title page. Current issues of print newspapers are shelved on Level 2 of Andrews Library. Back issues are stored on microfilm or microfiche. For a more detailed list of research links related to news, see the News Sources page.

Selected Newspaper Indexes

Alternative Press Index [FirstSearch] (1991-present) Alternative Press Index Archive (1969-1990) Indexes alternative, radical and left-wing journals, newspapers and magazines, covering topics on cultural, economic, political and social change. America’s Newspapers [Newsbank] This collection of online full-text newspapers includes 17 Ohio newspapers, plus other major newspapers from other states. Content includes local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries and people in the community. Christian Science Monitor Index [Ref AI21 .C57C57] Indexes the Christian Science Monitor, with coverage from 1987 to the present. Ethnic NewsWatch [ProQuest] This database indexes and provides full-text of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic and minority press. Google News Archive Search Google’s newest feature directs searchers to both paid and free digital content from the archives of newspapers and magazines that may date back as far as 200 years. Participating publications include The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian and LexisNexis. LexisNexis Academic [LexisNexis] Provides indexing and full text access to sources in news, business, legal research, medical, and general reference sources. The news categories include: general news; today’s news; US news; world news; wire service reports; transcripts of television and radio news broadcasts; reviews, entertainment and sports news; campus news, including Chronicle of Higher Education and student newspapers; and, non-English language news, including Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, and German. New York Times Index [Ref AI21 .N45] Indexes the New York Times from 1913 to the present. Newspaper Source [EBSCOhost] Provides indexing, abstracts and full-text for 233 news sources, including newspapers, wire services and television and radio news transcripts. Most of the coverage is from 2000 to the present with some going back to 1995. Official Washington Post Index [Ref AN2 .W36B4] Coverage is from 1971 to the present. The Wall Street Journal Index [Ref HG1 .W26] Coverage is from 1955 to the present

Finding Citations to Articles in Periodicals

To gain access to information in periodicals, you will need to become familiar with periodical indexes and abstracts. By looking up your topic in a relevant periodical index, you can determine what articles have been written and find complete bibliographic citations to those articles. In addition to the bibliographic citation, abstracts provide a brief summary of the article cited. Most periodical indexes are available as electronic databases. A complete list of the databases available at the College can be found on the Databases by Title page. The following are a few databases that will be helpful for your assignment.

Selected Periodical Indexes

Academic Search Complete [EBSCOhost] Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications, including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for 1,000 journals. Academic Search Complete is updated daily. AGRICOLA [EBSCOhost] AGRICOLA provides citations to journal articles, monographs, theses, patents, software, audio-visual materials and technical reports. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, agricultural products, alternative farming practices, and food and nutrition. Auxiliary subjects that support NAL’s Information Center activities, such as agricultural trade and marketing, rural information and animal welfare are also included in the database. Alt HealthWatch [EBSCOhost] This full text database contains articles from 180 international reports, proceedings, association and consumer newsletters, and journals, as well as pamphlets, booklets, special reports, original research and book excerpts, focusing on complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness. Coverage is from the early 1990s to the present. LexisNexis Congressional [LexisNexis] Provides indexing and full text access to documents related to the activities of the United States Congress. MEDLINE [OSearch] (1953-65), (1966- ) and (2002- ) Contains bibliographic citations and author abstracts from more than 3,900 biomedical journals covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. Updated monthly, with coverage from 1996 to the present. Religion and Philosophy Collection [EBSCOhost] Provides indexing, abstracts and access to full text of articles found in more than 300 journals covering world religions, major denominations, political philosophy and moral philosophy. Sociological Collection [EBSCOhost] Provides indexing, abstracts and links to full text of articles from more than 250 sociological journals covering social behavior, human relationships, culture and social structure.

Finding Book Reviews

Subject Guide: Reviews This guide lists a few resources for locating reviews of books, films and theatre productions. Academic Search Complete [EBSCOhost] Find book reviews in the database by limiting the document types retrieved to “Book Review.” LexisNexis Academic [LexisNexis] Locate book reviews by selecting the news category “Arts & Sports News” and the news source “Book, Movie, Music & Play Reviews.”

Understanding Citations

Print and electronic bibliographic databases or bibliographies from books or periodical articles will provide references to many types of literature on your topic. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether a citation refers you to a book, a book chapter, a periodical article, or some other type of document. See the Understanding Citations lesson of the Five Colleges of Ohio Information Literacy Tutorial for guidance with regard to deciphering citations found in bibliographies and databases.

Do We Have That Journal?

After you have retrieved citations to relevant articles from print and electronic databases, you will need to determine whether the journals are available at Wooster and how to access them. The College of Wooster libraries provide access to more than 35,000 electronic journals, in addition to our print and microform journal collections, through our databases, subscriptions, and aggregated collections from OhioLINK EJC, EBSCOhost, and JSTOR among others. You can use the search engine on the Wooster eJournals and Journals page to:

• search for an individual title or ISSN;
• browse an alphabetical listing of available titles;
• browse by subject category.

See Finding Full Text of Journal Articles in the Timken Science Library Web site for more detailed instructions for accessing journal articles at the College.

Borrowing Materials from Other Libraries

One of the advantages of membership in the CONSORT and OhioLINK consortia is that College of Wooster students have access to the resources of many academic libraries, large and small, in the state of Ohio. And, if the materials you need cannot be found in Ohio, we can usually retrieve them from outside the state. To learn how to borrow materials from other libraries, see Interlibrary Loan. See also Borrowing from Other Libraries at the Timken Science Library web site.

Web Resources

Throughout this Web page we have used the Internet to access a wide variety of databases and reference sources. For the most part, these electronic resources have been evaluated and selected by librarians for addition to our collection in the same way that print materials are selected. It is important to note that The College of Wooster library purchases access to these products, just as it purchases the books on the shelves.

In addition to these carefully selected electronic resources, there is an almost unlimited quantity of information available on the World Wide Web. Some of the Web sources are excellent — authoritative, accurate, reliable, objective and current. Other Web sources are less useful, for one or more reasons. See Searching the World Wide Web for detailed information about web directories and search engines and hints for evaluating information found on the Web.

You may want to use the following Web resources to find information on your topic.

Google Scholar The Google Scholar search engine locates scholarly literature from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. Results are ranked by relevance, taking into account the full text of each article as well as the article’s author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it has been cited in scholarly literature. Search results may include citations of older works and seminal articles that appear only in books or other offline publications. Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI, an advocate for nutrition and health, food safety and sound science, publishes the Nutrition Action Newsletter. The Web site provides access to featured articles from the newsletter, news releases and educational information on food safety. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger serving as a neutral forum to negotiate agreements and debate policy.FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. The Web site provides news and access to information about agriculture and consumer protection, economic and social development, natural resources management and environment, forestry and much more. Nutrition.gov This Web site provides online access to government information on food and human nutrition for consumers. The site links to a wealth of information on food, nutritional health issues, food safety and food assistance. United States Department of Agriculture This site provides news and current developments in agriculture and a gateway to the Web sites of agencies that make up the USDA. It includes an alphabetical subject index and directories to telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. United States Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service This Web site provides information on all aspects of agribusiness. According to information posted on its site, it also “examines dietary quality, nutrient intake, and the roles of economic factors and nutrition education and information.”

Evaluating Information

Critical evaluation of information is an essential part of the research process. Whether the source of your information is a print reference or a web site, it is important to evaluate the information for accuracy, authority, timeliness, coverage, and objectivity. Although print publications are usually subjected to pre-publication evaluation by editors, publishers, and peer reviewers, they still may contain inaccuracies and may reflect the bias of individuals responsible for their creation. Likewise, documents appearing on many web sites also undergo rigorous evaluation before they are launched. However, the openness of the web environment makes it possible for almost anyone to publish information without the quality control that is part of print environment. Therefore, it is important to think about the reliability of the information you retrieve, no matter what the format. See Evaluating Information for help in assessing the reliability of information from both print and web resources.

Ethical Use of Information

Research is usually a cumulative process in which today’s researcher builds upon the work of those who have come before. While all scholars hope that their work will provide a useful foundation for the research of others, it is important to remember that when you use the ideas of others, you must credit your sources.

The College’s understanding and expectations in regard to issues of academic honesty are fully articulated in the Code of Academic Integrity as published in The Scot’s Key and form an essential part of the implicit contract between the student and the College. The Code provides a framework at Wooster to help students develop their own personal integrity.

While you are a student at this college, you will be treated as an adult. You are expected to know and abide by the rules of the institution as described in The Scot’s Key and The Handbook of Selected College Policies. Particular attention should be directed to the appropriate use of materials available on-line through the Internet. It is important that you read and understand the Ethical Use of Information tutorial found on the libraries’ web site. Whether intentional or not, improper use of materials can be considered a violation of academic honesty.

A few of the resources that will provide assistance in all stages of a writing assignment are listed below.

Title	Location/Call Number
The Columbia Guide to Online Style	Science Ref PN171 .F56 W35 2006 c.2
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers	Ready Ref LB2369 .G53 2003
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (Turabian)	Ready Ref LB2369 .T8 1996
A Writer’s Reference (Hacker)	Ready Ref PE1408 .H2778 2003 Science Ref PE1408 .H2778 2003
College of Wooster Libraries Writers’ Guide

Don’t Forget: The information presented in your in-class library instruction session and in this web page are intended as an introduction to library research. As you begin to gather and evaluate information for your research paper, you will probably have questions about research methods or resources that have not been covered in class or in this web page. If you have any questions, ask a librarian for help.