Click on the arrow symbols to expand or contract the menu choices to select specific pages of content:

• 1: Library Virtual Tour
  • 1.1 UMW Libraries Tour Home
  • 1.2 Simpson Library Tour
  • 1.3 Library Map
  • 1.4 Site Map
  • 1.5 Outcomes
• 2: Topic Development and Source Selection
  • 2.1 Objectives
  • 2.2 Topic Selection
  • 2.3 Purpose or Need
  • 2.4 Identification of Important Concepts
  • 2.5 Important Concepts
  • 2.6 Subject and Keyword Selection I
  • 2.7 Subject and Keyword Selection II
  • 2.8 Subject Approach I
  • 2.9 Subject Approach II
  • 2.10 Subject Approach - Some Examples
  • 2.11 Content Treatment
  • 2.12 Popular vs. Scholarly
  • 2.13 Primary and Secondary Sources
  • 2.14 Scope of Coverage
  • 2.15 Types of Materials
  • 2.16 Outcomes


• 3: Finding Background Information
  • 3.1 Objectives
  • 3.2 In Reference Sources
  • 3.3 Directories
  • 3.4 Encyclopedias
  • 3.5 Dictionaries and Thesauri
  • 3.6 Biographical Dictionaries and Sources
  • 3.7 Almanacs
  • 3.8 Yearbooks
  • 3.9 Handbooks, Manuals and Guides to a Field of Study
  • 3.10 Atlases, Gazateers and Guidebooks
  • 3.11 Indexes, Abstracts and Bibliographies
  • 3.12 Statistical Sources
  • 3.13 Locating Reference Materials
  • 3.14 Locating Reference Materials in the Catalog
  • 3.15 Locating Reference Materials in a Subject Research Guide or Handbook
  • 3.16 Locating Reference Materials by Browsing
  • 3.17 Outcomes


• 4: Performing Effective Searches in Electronic Databases
  • 4.1 Objectives
  • 4.2 Whiat Is a Database?
  • 4.3 What's In a Database?
  • 4.4 Phrase Searching and Keyword Searching
  • 4.5 Field Searching
  • 4.6 Truncation and Wildcards
  • 4.7 Boolean Logic
  • 4.8 Boolean AND
  • 4.9 Boolean OR
  • 4.10 Boolean NOT
  • 4.11 Nested Boolean Logic
  • 4.12 Proximity and Adjacency
  • 4.13 Limits and Filters
  • 4.14 Summary
  • 4.15 Outcomes


• 5: Using the Library Catalog
  • 5.1 Objectives
  • 5.2 What Is It? Reference Sources
  • 5.3 What's In It?
  • 5.4Access Point
  • 5.5Author and Title Searches
  • 5.6Subject Searches
  • 5.7Library of Congress Subject headings (LCSH)
  • 5.8Subject Searching
  • 5.9Keyword Searching
  • 5.10Subject and Keyword Comparison
  • 5.11Record Interpretation
  • 5.12Interpreting Library of Congress Call Numbers
  • 5.13How to Read Library of Congress Call Numbers
  • 5.14Library Locations
  • 5.15Other Library Catalogs and Book Databases
  • 5.16Outcomes


• 6: Finding Periodical Articles
  • 6.1 Objectives
  • 6.2 What Are Periodicals?
  • 6.3 Newspapers
  • 6.4 What Are Magazines and Journals?
  • 6.5 Scholarly vs. Popular
  • 6.6 A Quick Review
  • 6.7 Why Should I Use Periodicals?
  • 6.8 Some Examples of Articles
  • 6.9 How Do I Find the Articles I Need?
  • 6.10 What Are Indexes?
  • 6.11 Abbreviations and Explanations
  • 6.12 Sample Titles of Indexes
  • 6.13 The Change to Databases
  • 6.14 What's In a Database?
  • 6.15 What Is An Abstract?
  • 6.16 Types of Databases
  • 6.17 The Advantages of Full-Text Databases
  • 6.18 How Do I Select the Database of Index I Need?
  • 6.19 Using Indexes and Databases
  • 6.20 Subject Searching in Databases
  • 6.21 Drawbacks of Subject Searching
  • 6.22 Keyword Searching in Action
  • 6.24 Drawbacks of Keyword Searching
  • 6.25 Subject and Keyword Searching: A Summary
  • 6.26 Tips on Performing Effective Searches
  • 6.27 Does the Library Have the Periodical I Need?
  • 6.28 Finding Your Magazine or Journal
  • 6.29 What if the library Does Not Have the Magazine I Need?
  • 6.30 Outcomes


• 7: Locating Information on the Internet and World Wide Web
  • 7.1 Objectives
  • 7.2 Origins of the Internet
  • 7.3 Four Things You Can Do
  • 7.4 The World Wide Web, Hypertext, and HTML
  • 7.5 Organization/Structure of the World Wide Web
  • 7.6 Internet Addresses - URLs
  • 7.7 More on URLs
  • 7.8 Parts of a URL
  • 7.9 Moving Around on the Internet
  • 7.10 Search Tools
  • 7.11 Choosing a Search Tool
  • 7.12 Tips on Choosing a Search Tool
  • 7.13 Directories
  • 7.14 Virtual Libraries
  • 7.15 Search Engines
  • 7.16 Meta-Search Engines
  • 7.17 Using the Information
  • 7.18 Outcomes
    


• 8: Use of Information
  • 8.1 Objectives
  • 8.2 Evaluation and Citation
  • 8.3 Evaluation: Authority
  • 8.4 Evaluation: Currency
  • 8.5 Evaluation: Accuracy
  • 8.6 Evaluation: Scope
  • 8.7 Evaluation: Objectivity
  • 8.8 Evaluation: documentation
  • 8.9 Evaluation: Presentation
  • 8.10 Evaluation Example
  • 8.11 Citing Sources
  • 8.12 Citation Styles
  • 8.13 Plagiarism
  • 8.14 Intellectual Property
  • 8.15 Copyright
  • 8.16 Copyright: Public Domain
  • 8.17 Copyright: Fair Use
  • 8.18 Fair Use for Students
  • 8.19 Outcomes

TALON MODULE 2: Topic Development and Source Selection
Subject Approach - Some Examples

Let's look at some research topics and possible subject approaches to take:

1. The issue of logging and mining in national forests by private companies

Subject areas:

Forestry - What is the impact on the ecosystem?
Environmental Science - What are the effects of this on the environment?
Geology - What are the effects of this on the landscape?
Political Science (Government/Public Administration) - What are the public policy issues?
Engineering - What techniques are used?
Business/Economics - What are the business issues? What is the impact of this on the economy? What does this mean to the federal budget?
Biology/Zoology - What is the impact of this on plants? What is the impact on the wildlife?

2. The practice of exporting garbage from large urban areas to rural landfills in other states

Subject areas:

Political Science (Government/Public Administration) - What are the public policy issues?
Environmental Science - What are the effects of this on the environment around the landfills?
Sociology - What is the socioeconomic makeup of the areas receiving other people's garbage?
Business/Economics - What are the effects of this practice on businesses and the economies in the areas involved?
Medicine/Health - Are there any public health issues involved?
Biology/Zoology - What are the effects on plants and animals?

3. The cathedrals built in Europe during the Middle Ages

Subject areas:

Art - What was the place of these in the development of art at the time? How were they decorated?
Architecture - What were the influences on their design?
Engineering - How were they constructed?
History - What was the role of these stuctures in the context of the events of that period?
Sociology - What did these buildings mean in the societies in which they were built?
Religion - How did these cathedrals reflect religious thought of the era?

4. The images of women portrayed in music videos

Subject areas:

Music - Do these videos reflect the lyrics and music?
Women's Studies - What do these videos say about perceptions of women in our culture?
Mass Commmunications - What statements do these images make? Do they sell the music?
Psychology - What are the effects on individuals of seeing these videos?
Sociology - Do these videos accurately reflect our society's attitudes towards women?