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Nobel Middle School/Grade 6/Andy Gioulis
http://library.csun.edu/cmartin/nobelmiddleschool.html
The following resources are designed to support Nobel Middle School students with research assignments.
Search Strategy | Credible Resources | How to Write an Effective Topic Sentence and Paragraph | Recommended Databases | Finding Articles Online
Citation and Evaluation Guides | Reference Services and Library Hours | Library Instruction Session (.doc) | Middle School Library Resources Handout (.doc) | Middle School Exercise (.doc)
Search Strategy
Take time to plan your research strategy.
- Determine the kinds of information you need and think about ways to describe your topic.
- Does your teacher require you to use certain types of sources?
- Make a list of synonyms you can mix and match in your searches.
- Find the information you need:
- Reference Books - there are encyclopedias for almost any subject
- Books
- Articles - newspapers, magazines, and journals in print or online
- Statistics - government sources are good for statistics
- Web sites - verify information
- Evaluate the information you found.
- Did you find enough evidence to support your thesis statement?
- Did you find conflicting information in any of your sources?
- Are your sources all credible? Who wrote them? Experts?
- Use the information to write your paper.
- 5Ws - Who, What, Where, When, Why (and How)
- Cite your sources.
- Citing sources tells your instructors where you found your information. This includes using direct quotes and paraphrasing someone else's ideas and words. Using the work of others to support your argument is good, but you must give credit to the original author.
Credible Sources
Deciding which types of credible sources are best depends on your assignment requirements and the nature of the topic you are researching.
- Search the Oviatt Library Catalog for books
- Title or author search if you know exactly what you need.
- Keyword vs. Subject search. These two things sound the same but work differently when you are searching, so be sure to try both.
- Write down the location and call number so you will know where to find the book.
- Finding Books in the library - reading a call number
- Online Encyclopedias - good for gathering basic or background information on a topic
- Databases - Newspapers, magazines, trade publications and scholarly journals, also known as periodicals, can be excellent sources for research papers. Any of the General/Multi-Subject Databases may provide you with credible information for your assignments.
- Internet Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves can also be appropriate tools for starting your research when you aren't familiar with a topic. However, it is important to verify this information with a credible source in the library. Information obtained from such search engines may not be reliable. Anyone can make a web site or add information to something like Wikipedia.
How to Write an Effective Topic Sentence and Paragraph
The Owl at Purdue, Paragraphs & Paragraphing (includes information on writing effective topic sentences)
Recommended Databases
Academic Search Elite (EBSCO) - Check the Full Text box to retrieve articles online; check the Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed Journals box if you are looking for scholarly articles.
General OneFile (Gale) - Check the Documents to Full Text box to retrieve articles online; check the Peer-Reviewed box if you are looking for scholarly articles.
Finding Articles Online if you are not at the Oviatt Library
You can access the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) databases from home by logging on with your LAPL card. To access the General OneFile database look for the letter “G.” The General OneFile database will meet the needs of many assignments.
Citation and Evaluation Guides
Reference Services and Library Hours
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