MSU Library

Mankato State University Library

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTION HOME PAGE

The Mankato State University Library provides bibliographic instruction (sometimes called library instruction or user education) to patrons who request it. The staff also holds periodic "drop in" sessions on general library skills or library tours.

Through the use of the of the bibliographic instruction home page, the staff hopes to supplement its live instruction sessions. Others might use the home page to replace some live instruction sessions. The home page will also be a means to contact the coodinator of library instruction, Joanne Boelke .

The three instructional objectives of this home page are to assist the library patron in:

FINDING SOURCES
DISTINGUISHING ARTICLES
CITING SOURCES

To assist students in composing research papers, after the research is completed, Mankato State University offers personal help at the Learning Center, 132 Memorial Library, currently headed by Audrey Metro.

FINDING SOURCES

One of the major tasks of a library researcher is to successfully identify the topic of information sought, to name that topic using the language of the library or librarians that have cataloged that information, and to broaden and narrow the search strategy to find an adequate number of information sources. Whether the researcher is searching a library's catalog, indexes to articles, published bibliographies, the World Wide Web, or considering personal sources, the researcher must know when to broaden or limit the topic.

Questions to ask to broaden or narrow a search

  • Is there a more general or more specific term to broaden or narrow the search to? Consult a thesaurus or subject headings list to determine the right terms to search by.
  • Is there a language(s) to narrow or broaden the search to?
  • Is there a year(s) to narrow or broaden the search to?
  • Is there an author(s) to narrow or broaden the search to?
  • Is there a format of information to narrow or broaden the search?
  • Can the search be broadenend by linking synonyms with the word OR (i.e. rugby or football)? Use of the word or combines the members of both sets.
  • Can the search be narrowed by using the term AND (i.e. rugby and football)? Use of the word and limits the search to only those items that have both rugby and football as terms. Boolean operations are the process of using and and or or.
  • You can broaden the search by searching for any form of a word. This is called truncation. In PALS, the truncation symbol is a #. For example Minnesot# would look for any word that begins with the letters M-i-n-n-e-s-o-t. Truncation symbols are also called wild cards.


    • These are just some ways to broaden or narrow a search. Try searching the online catalog at Mankato State University Library . When you select Advanced Options , notice that you can limit by years or keywords and also use and and or in the "for what" search box. Answer the following questions after searching PALS for all references to Mankato State University Library catalog with the keywords Hispanic and Latino after 1989:

    1. How many items have the keyword Hispanic, published after 1989?
    2. How many item have the keyword Latino, published after 1989?
    3. How many items have either Hispanic or Latino, published after 1989?
    4. How many items have both Hispanic and Latino, published after 1989?
    5. How many items have a form of the word Latin?
    Send your answers to these questions to Steve Herro

    DISTINGUISHING ARTICLES

    Articles from periodicals (publications that are composed of issues published on a regular basis) are good sources of current and historical information. Articles are available in paper and online format. Search PALS at Mankato State to find the library call numbers to The New York Times, Ms., and Exceptional Children. You may also search for some articles from the Internet. Search the Washington Post and US Catholic to find the full text of articles and email the full text of one article of interest to you from the Washington Post and US Catholic to Steve Herro ([email protected]).

    Read one article from the paper issues of the New York Times, Ms., and Exceptional Children. In order to determine if the article is from a newspaper, popular magazine, or academic journal, ask yourself the following questions:

    1. What is the article about?
    2. What is the background of the author of the article? For example, does the article say where the author works, list other articles that the author wrote, or give the author's email address?
    3. Who is the article intended for? How advanced is the reading level of the intended audience?
    4. Does the article include special features such as maps, a bibliography (list of sources), or detailed drawings?
    5. Does the article report basic facts such as who?, what?, where?, when?, and why? or does it also include analysis and or commentary?
    6. Does the article report an event of which the writer was a witness?
    7. How often is the periodical published that contains the article?
    Send a separate piece of email to Steve Herro in which you have answered these questions.

    This table shows the characteristics of articles from newspapers, popular magazines, and academic journals. Of the three publications that your just read, which one is a newspaper, which is a popular magazine, and which is an academic journal?

    CITING SOURCES

    General rules of thumb for citing sources:

    1. Ask the instructor or publisher of the project if there is a required citation style. Some of the most common styles used in academic research are the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association REFERENCE BF76.7 .P82 1994, The MLA Style Manual by Walter S. Achtert and Joseph Gibaldi (REFERENCE PN147 .A28 1985), and the Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian (REFERENCE LB2369 .T8 1996).
    2. Be consistent throughout the listing of your sources; use the same style throughout the reference list.
    3. Every citation should include the necessary information for the reader to locate the item that is being referred to (for example, the author, title, date, and page numbers).
    4. Consult a copy of the style manual for specific questions.
    5. Remember that you are not only being polite to the author, but the copyright law of the United States requires you to cite your sources!
    There are explanations and examples of citing printed and electronic information available on the Internet; see Citing Electronic References , a guide produced by Binghamtom University Library, State University of New York, for examples.

    MSU Library

    Mankato State University Library

    Last updated May 6, 1999 by Steve Herro . Library clip art from Library ClipArt Collection of Janet Meyers of Des Moines Public Library.

    This home page is in partial requirement for the course Introduction to College Teaching, Mankato State University, winter 1998. Other home pages for the course include Introduction to Social Work I by Assistant Professor Tammy Faux, L.I.S.W., Geography 203 by Thomas Turner, SPEE 203 Intercultural Communication Home Page by Chizu Nakamura, Welcome to Women in Politics by Marta Shetler, Welcome to Public Speaking! by Caryl Hatfield, Lakeshore University by Jim Ihrke, and Teaching in the Secondary School by Steven Thiesfeldt. The creator of this home page is very grateful for the help of Jennifer Sharkey, M.A.L.I.S. and Joan Roca, Ph. D., of the Systems department of the Mankato State Library in the learning of HTML.

    Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

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