A) First Steps
- Your OneCard is your library card. New cards should be automatically registered.
- Working from home? Log in first
- Developing a Research Question (video: 5:07)
- Creating a Search Strategy (video: 3:45)
B) What is a scholarly resource?
- Learn about different resource types:
- Popular magazines vs scholarly journals
- How Can I Tell if my Source is Scholarly? (video: 4:21)
- Recognizing Source Types (video: 6:30)
Tips:
- read each source as you go along; each one will lead to more
- keep track of where you look and the keywords you use
- start early. (library staff can deliver items from other libraries)
C) Background sources
Use your textbook plus Dictionaries and Encyclopedias to learn about your topic and find keywords.
D) Books
Use the Primo Catalogue to identify books at Laurier, the Universities of Waterloo and Guelph, and the Annex
- Start with a narrow focus, then broaden to find more items
- Check the facets at the left: limit to books, videos ("audio visual"), etc.
- Learn about call numbers
- Floor plans for locating books
- Requesting books from other libraries (note videos)
E) Journal articles
- Communication Studies @ EBSCOhost
- Articles for Communication Studies and related disciplines. Limit to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals.
- CBCA (Canadian Business and Current Affairs)
- Start here for Canadian topics. Limit to peer reviewed.
- Communication Studies @ ProQuest
- Articles for languages, music, political science and other social sciences. How to Search ProQuest Databases (video: 2:53)
- Google Scholar
- Scholarly articles in all disciplines. Connecting to Library resources using Google Scholar (video: 2:02)
- Look for full text links or try the "Get it at Laurier" button for more options
- Know the article you need?
- Try a Primo "Article" search
- No luck? Search for the journal title
- Finding a journal article when you only know the title (video: 3:50)
F) Government Documents
- Can be either books or articles
- check: are they scholarly?
- Use the Primo Catalogue to identify government documents, which may be in book or article form
- Also try deslibris
- Collection of Canadian books and public documents
G) Citation style
Having problems? Don't hesitate to contact me: email, call (519-884-0710 x3384), drop in, or make an appointment. My office, L3-312, is one floor up from the main floor of the Library on the Waterloo campus. Come up the stairs, then walk straight ahead.