Information ecology: the who, how, and what and why it even matters!

Everyone produces some kinds of information. The information we use in college classes may come from books, scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, web sites, e-mail messages, radio transcripts, and many other sources. So, how do you decide where to look for appropriate resources? And how do you fit into the information environment?

Here are a few rules of thumb:

Web sites have no elapsed time from writer to reader. If you need to know about something happening right now, trusted web sites are your first choice. Newspapers, radio and TV stations, and some public services update their web sites as quickly as they can check information. Remember that nobody controls what is posted on the Web; use evaluation tools and good judgment to select the best sites.

Newspapers publish stories within hours of an important event; they often include a bit of background information to help readers understand the current incident. Most newspapers focus on a specific city, which makes newspaper articles excellent sources for local information.

Magazines are published on various schedules – weekly and monthly are the most common. Most magazines focus on a specific topic; if your research topic is very specific a specialized magazine may be an ideal source. An article for a magazine's December issue may be due in July, so magazines are usually not the best source for the latest news.

Journals are the most important resources for scholars, scientists, researchers, and health care professionals. They look like magazines (usually the covers aren't as attractive) but they serve a very different purpose. Many journals use a process called “peer review” to select articles: if I write an article on my research and submit it to a journal, and if they think it's suitable and interesting, they'll make copies and ask several researchers in the same field to read it. That way, if I left out anything important or if my results don't add up, experts can catch the errors. Journals have very specific topics and are often written in technical language.

Books – bet you thought I forgot about books! Books are ideal when you need to understand the history or development of a situation. I've heard one author say that her books took 18 months to go through the publishing process – that is, 18 months after they were written. Books are best for the kind of information that doesn't change quickly, for collecting related information in one handy spot, and for helping you understand changes over time.

Where do you fit?

You should always ask a few mental questions as you read for information – Who wrote this? Why? How does the author know this? What does the author want me to do?

In your own writing for college classes, it's especially important to answer the third question – How do I know? -- by citing your sources. All journal articles, most nonfiction books, and a growing number of magazines, include lists of works cited. When you show where your information came from, you do three things. You give credit where it is due, you strengthen your argument by showing it is based on respected sources, and you make it possible for your reader to find more information about your topic.

Your textbook should show you how to cite common sources. Check out the library's citation guide for more examples and help with unusual situations.

Whew! That was a long post – thanks for sticking with us! Next week, we'd like to try something different. We've been posting information and resources we hope you'll find useful. Now, it's your turn to tell us what you'd like to know! Please send questions and comments to: robin.shapiro@pcc.edu, and we'll answer as many as we can next Monday.

See you next week! Sheila and Robin, Fusion Librarians

What about the Google?

There is a big difference between the Library resources we’ve talked about so far and search engines like Google . . . money! Libraries pay expensive subscription fees so that students can access information that is of high academic quality. This proprietary information has been edited, fact checked, and copyrighted. You will not find the same information for free on the Internet!

In contrast, the Internet is largely unmediated resulting in a fantastic democratic platform where anyone can post anything at any time. There is a wealth of information available. It just takes more consideration on your part to evaluate it, for example:

• Authorship: Who is the author of the site, are they credible, what biases do they reflect?
  
  
• Accuracy: Is the information accurate, how do you know?
  
  
• Currency: How current is the information, is there a date, when was the page last updated?
  
  
• Domain: What is the difference between information found on a .com, .gov, .edu or .org and does it matter?

For a more complete check list on evaluating web sites, please see this tutorial. We encourage you to use this check list when evaluating a web site you are considering using for an academic paper or project.

Google Advanced Search offers additional tools to improve your Internet searching. For example, you can limit the domain to retrieve only .gov or .edu. There is also a link to federal, state, and local government web sites (http://www.google.com/ig/usgov) that can be a good source of data on various topics from the environment to healthcare to education and much more.

And remember – Google isn't the only search engine! Try ujiko, which sorts your results based on similarities, and refines results based on your response; and Clusty, which groups similar results on the left sidebar, especially handy when your search terms are ambiguous – to see what we mean, search a word like “rings” or “seal” to see how well the search engine shows the different meanings. Engines like Ujiko or Clusty do a good job of showing results for rings as jewelry, the rings of Saturn, and so on.

Next week we’ll talk about the social context of information; that is, the different types of information you find from different sources,who owns information, and how to use academic information responsibly.

See you next week! Robin and Sheila, Fusion Librarians

Getting the Big Picture!

Let’s recap – you have a topic that’s getting better by the minute, and you’ve developed savvy search strategies leading you to several useful articles that address the many sides of your issue. Yet there is something missing. Where did this issue come from in the first place, you wonder? For a complete understanding, you need more background and history. In other words, you need a book! While the information found in books is often more dated, it can also be more comprehensive.

Well, good news; we’ve got books, books, and more books . . . not to mention videos, CDs and DVDs, maps, play scripts, and more! In fact, the PCC Libraries has more than 225,000 items for your searching pleasure. But it doesn’t stop there. Put on your seat belt. By participating in the Summit cooperative, PCC students have access to the materials in more than 30 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. That means – are you buckled up? – 22 million items just waiting for your savvy searching!

And it’s all so easy—easy to search, retrieve, renew, and return. Through the PCC Catalog you can request materials to be delivered to any campus. The Summit books you find can be sent to any Summit library – if you live near PSU, you can pick up and return your books there! Watch our video demonstration for all the details.

Next week we’ll talk about the question you’re all wondering about – what about Google? Can’t I find everything I need on the web? We’ll have some specialized tools you can use, and we’ll show you how to find resources your instructors will respect!

See you then, Sheila and Robin, Fusion Librarians

Search strategies that will work for you!

By now you’ve gotten your barcode, landed on an interesting topic, and had a chance to search around in Opposing Viewpoints, CQ Researcher, and maybe more. But have you tried Magazine Articles Online/EBSCOhost? Our most popular database by far, this fantastic resource offers information in a wide variety of disciplines – business, art, biology, psychology, computer science, allied health, education . . . we could go on and on! So what are we waiting for, let’s jump in and start searching now -- at EBSCOhost.

Check out our expert search tips, then watch a searching pro in our video demo!

Several magazine article databases are available through EBSCOhost. You can choose one database or search several at once. For your Writing class, we recommend starting with MasterFILE Premier and Academic Search Premier.
There is searching smart, and then there is searching really smart. With a few simple tricks, you’ll be searching like a pro to find just what you need, just when you need it. For example:

• Truncation with the * symbol. Educat* will search for educate, education, educating, educator . . . you get the drift!
  
• AND and OR. To retrieve fewer results, use AND between different search terms. For example, education AND children. To retrieve more results, use OR between similar search terms. For example, children OR kids.
  
• Subject terms. Once you've located a good book or article on your topic, look at the words and phrases used to describe it in the catalog or database. These official subject links can help you in searching further, and you can click on them to find more books on your topic.
  
• Parentheses: Organize a complex search, for example: educat* AND (children OR kids).

If you think EBSCOHost is good, just wait until next week. We’ll talk about getting books and materials from the PCC Libraries as well as 30 other academic libraries in the Northwest!

See you then, Robin and Sheila, Fusion Librarians

What shall I write about?

Finding a topic can be the hardest part of your writing process. Here
are a few tips to help!

First, be sure to write about something you care about. Why? It’s
more fun to research an interesting topic than read about something
that bores you, and your interest will come through in your writing.

Second, use some of the library’s resources to find or fine-tune a
topic. Two of the best places to look for current topics are Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher.

Opposing Viewpoints offers full text “Viewpoint Essays” on both sides
of controversial issues, as well as articles, statistics, images and
web sites that are relevant and useful. There's a list of topics right on the front page, which makes it easy to find something you might want to write about -- then just click the topic, and see what's available. Remember, you'll need to select different tabs (Viewpoints, Reference, Statistics, etc.) to find all the available information. The Research Guide and Toolbox links at the top of each page are full of good information too -- don't miss them!

CQ Researcher offers longer objective essays about current topics.
Each one includes a brief pro/con section and links to further
information. If you’re new to CQ Researcher, watch this brief video
introduction for some helpful tips.

The Library also has a growing collection of online dictionaries and
encyclopedias with multimedia
articles, videos, maps, and more on a variety of topics.

Finally, if you have questions about any of these resources, you can contact a librarian -- our hours are limited in the summer, but we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

We can’t wait to see you next week . . . we’'ll have some
simple tips for developing awesome search strategies so you can find
exactly what you need! You don’t want to miss this one. See you then,
Robin and Sheila, Fusion Librarians