Course Number: YC300-BRSubject: Youth and Children's Studies Finding children's books and resources on a topic The Brantford Public Library has a rich collection of children's novels, picture books, graphic novels, youth videos, teen novels, and non-fiction books for children and teens To search for a children's or young adult resource on a topic, type in words that represent your topic and click on the link to audience (on the left side of the page) and select "children" or "teen" Further refine your results by clicking on the type of content (fiction or non-fiction) and/or format you need Activities and worksheets Books Search our Omni catalogue for books of classroom activities When searching for books, think in terms of subject areas rather than specific topics Use search terms such as: teaching AND activities AND "social studies" Magazine articles for teachers Click on "Databases" on the library home page Type "Education Source" and connect to the resource Use terms such as "teaching," "activities OR games," "elementary," and a topic such as "environment" Refine your results by clicking on "magazines" Museum websites Museums often include links to resources, lesson plans, and activities To find these resources, add the word "museum" and a topic such as "global warming" to the words "teaching activities" Choose keywords for scholarly resources Write down the different concepts used in this question (“vygotsky” AND “zone of proximal development” AND “children”) Think of similar terms for the keywords you use (“children” OR “childhood”) TIP: Find additional clues for terms in the titles and abstracts of articles Locating the right combination of keywords takes time. You may need to go back and forth, revising the terms as you examine your search results View our video tutorial on using keywords effectively Finding articles about youth and children's studies A good place to start is the library catalogue. There are also databases for every subject area; they list articles on topics within these areas The following databases are interdisciplinary in nature and useful for articles on your topics: Youth and Children's Studies @ ProQuest Youth and Children's Studies @ EBSCOhost Depending on your topic, you may want one of our subject specific databases. See for example: Education Source (Education) ERIC (Education) PsycINFO (Psychology) Sociological Abstracts (Sociology) To find scholarly articles, look for the “peer-reviewed” option in the databases. (What is a peer-reviewed article?) Do you already know the title of the article you want? Watch a video tutorial on how to find an article when you know the title Too many search results? If you get too many search results, use narrower search terms (e.g. “twitter” instead of “online social networks”) Try adding more concepts to your search (“twitter” AND “youth”). Adding more terms that are linked by “AND” will decrease your number of search results Too few search results? Think in terms of broader categories (“online social networks” rather than “twitter”) Add alternate terms for each concept (“online social networks” OR “social media”). Adding more terms that are linked by “OR” will increase your number of search results TIP: Look at the bibliographies of the most pertinent books and articles on your topic. One author can lead you to others in the field Need help? Don’t hesitate to contact me (Pauline Dewan); I am here to help you. Email me at pdewan@wlu.ca Call me at 519 756-8228 ext. 5529 Drop in for help or make an appointment. My office is in the Digital Library and Learning Commons, on the lower level of Grand River Hall, room 108B Instant message a Laurier librarian for help by clicking on “Ask Us” (from the homepage of the Laurier Library) Please note: The Library is committed to providing programs, events and services that are accessible to all. Please contact us if you require accommodation due to a disability.