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Rasmussen University Online Library

*General Education Courses*

Resources to help with foundation classes like English composition, math, algebra, and introduction to research.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Locating and Evaluating Information Guide!

This guide is designed to provide you with additional resources that will help you successfully navigate and complete this course. You will notice thatthere are boxes below that correspond to modules in the course:

Topic/Information Ethics/Evaluate Resources/Search/Books/学术期刊/Magazines/Newspapers

Notice that there are alsotabs at the top of each boxfor you to click through.Take some time to browse this guide by clicking on various tabs, or go right to the section that will help you with where you are in the course.

Click and explore!

Selecting a Manageable Topic

Before beginning a research project, read the assignment thoroughly and try to answer the following questions:

  • What is the purpose of this assignment? Is it to compare and contrast? Prove a position? Provide information?
  • Who is the audience? Your instructor? Fellow classmates? other?
  • 选择的主题是否有限?
  • Does the assignment ask for general or in-depth treatment of the topic?
  • Is the topic so narrow that it will be challenging to find information, or so broad that there is too much information to sort through?

Consider using brainstorming techniques to identify a topic.

  • Set a timer for 3-5 minutes and "free write" by writing down ideas that pop into your head. Review and identify a topic for you assignment.
  • Create amind map.Study result to see if a workable topic emerges.
  • Usemind mapping toolsin our library databases,CredoandProfessional Collection.
  • Think out loud by discussing potential topics out loud with a colleague or family member.
  • 通过以常规主题和列表相关的想法创建项目符号列表。
  • Cube it! Describe your topic from six different perspectives or approaches:
    • Describe it
    • Compare it
    • Associate it
    • Analyze it
    • Apply it
    • Argue for or against it
  • Ask yourself the six journalistic questions about your topic: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Search reference books including encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries to find basic information on your topic. In some cases, reading an overview article on a broad topic can aid in narrowing a topic for a research assignment.

Consult these databases to find background information:

Often it is a good idea to do a general search for articles on your topic to see if there is reliable, credible, and current information on your chosen topic. In other words, test your topic by performing a general search in theDiscovery All-in-One Searchtool.

View the video below to learn how to search this "all in one" resource:

论文陈述的目的是向读者通知究竟将在纸质或书面作业中涵盖的内容。事实上,一份书面论文陈述可以通过清楚地说明您对一个主题的立场以及在整个论文过程中来证明您的立场来提供本文的结构。咨询您的工作轮廓可能有助于开发论文陈述。此外,如果您的论文陈述随着研究和了解更多关于您的主题的更多信息,请不要感到惊讶!

A well-written thesis statement:

  • is a complete sentence and appears in the introduction of your paper
  • makes a point about a topic expressed in the "second person" (Never I think, I feel, I believe, In my opinion, etc.)
  • is clear and specific
  • is arguable
  • answers the questions, why?, how?, so what?

A thesis statement is never:

  • an announcement
  • a question
  • a statement of fact
  • too vague, narrow, or broad to be argued
  • unfocused

Watch the video below to learn more about writing good thesis statements.

Information Ethics

Using information ethically includes crediting creators of source material used in a research paper or academic assignment. View the video below for tips on how to avoid inadvertent plagiarism.

Copyright Law and Definition

Copyright is a form of protection provided by Title 17 of the U.S. Code and other Congressional Copyright Acts and Amendments to authors of intellectual property. The owner of copyright-protected material has the exclusive right to do and authorize the following:

•To reproduce the work
•根据工作制定衍生工程
•To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
•To prohibit other persons from using the work without permission
•To perform the work publicly

Section 106的著作权法列出了exclusive rights of copyright owners. The remaining sections of Chapter 1 describe a number of exceptions and limitations on those rights. Exceptions most common in educational settings are Section 107: Fair Use; Section 108: Reproduction by Libraries and Archives; Section 109: Transfer (Right of First Sale).

受版权保护的是什么?

Published and unpublished work, out-of-print materials, and is automatically assigned the moment a work is“created and fixed in a tangible form”.

Copyright law protects original:
  • Literary works
  • Musical works, including lyrics
  • 戏剧作品,包括伴随音乐
  • Pantomimes and choreographic works
  • Pictoral, sculptural, and graphic works
  • Motion pictures and audiovisual works
  • Sound recordings
  • 软件
  • Architectural works

What is not protected by Copyright?

The following are NOT protected by current copyright law:

  • Facts
  • Ideas
  • Procedures
  • Processes
  • 系统
  • Concepts
  • Principles
  • Discoveries

Resources in the公共区域- 这可能包括许多政府资源 - 不受版权保护。看看Copyright Protection and Public Domaintab on this page for more information.

公平使用的教义

The doctrine of fair use allows the reproduction of a copyrighted work if used for “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research” (U.S. Copyright Office, 2012, para. 2). Determining whether the use of copyrighted material is acceptable under the doctrine of Fair Use is not always clear. Obtaining permission from the owner of the copyrighted material is always the best course of action. However, interpretation of the doctrine of fair use should be guided by the following factors:

Factor 1 - Purpose and Character of Use
Factor 2 - Nature of the Copyrighted Work
Factor 3 - Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used in Relation to the Copyrighted Work as a Whole
因子4 - 利用对受版权保护工作的潜在市场的影响

Court Opinions Interpreting Fair Use

Click on the link below to view court opinions interpreting fair use of copyright protected resources:

https://copyright.gov/fair-use/fair-index.html

评估资源

It is very important to be aware that not all sources of information are credible. Especially when searching the internet, you should maintain constant vigilance toward ensuring the validity of any sources you use for your assignments.

A helpful tool for evaluating your search results is theSCRAAP Test。This has you look at the following components of the resource:

  • Self-Awareness
  • C鲁莽
  • Relevance
  • Authority
  • Accuracy
  • Purpose

以下选项卡将提供有关这些组件中的每一个的更多信息。

Self-Awareness:The awareness that personal biases my influence how information is consumed and interpreted.

  • Do I have personal/confirmation biases about the topic?
  • Are other points of view taken into consideration?
  • Am I objective when evaluating information?
  • Am I aware of an emotional response to information?

Currency:信息的及时性

  • When was the information published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
  • Are the links functional?

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
  • Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
  • Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Authority: the source of the information

  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
  • Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
  • What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
  • What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
  • Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
  • Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?
    • examples: .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government), .org (nonprofit organization), or .net (network)

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

  • 信息来自哪里?
  • Is the information supported by evidence?
  • 是否已审核或裁决了信息?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
  • Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: the reason the information exists

  • What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
  • 是信息事实吗?观点?宣传?
  • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Creating a Search String

The first thing to do when starting research in a database is to brainstorm some search terms to use.

Search terms are brief, concise words or phrases that represent the core idea(s) of your topic.

For example, instead of searching with a sentence like this:

How children are affected when they have a parent in prison?

It will be more effective to search with terms like this:

监禁和家庭和效果

On the following tabs, you will see how to go through the process to come up with your own search terms.

One of the easiest ways to come up with search terms is to identify the core concepts of your topic.

Let's continue with the sample topic from the previous tab: how children are affected when they have a parent in prison?

You can start breaking that topic up into separate ideas. For example:

children
parents
prison
效果

既然您正在考虑这些主题,在下一个选项卡上,我们将看到如何提出您可以在搜索中使用的其他术语。

既然你已经把你的话题分解为概念,让我们再次看看那些:

children
parents
prison
效果

When you are searching for resources, it's important to remember that different authors will use different terms, so you want to come up with synonyms or related terms that you can use in your search. For example:

In addition to tryingchildrenandparents, try the termfamilies

In addition toprison, tryincarceration

In addition to效果, try结果

Trying out all kinds of different terms that apply to your topic will help you to find the most results.

Boolean Operatorsconnect keywords or concepts logically to retrieve relevant articles, books, and other resources. There are three Boolean Operators:

  • AND
  • OR
  • NOT

UsingAND

  • Narrowssearch results
  • 连接两个或更多关键字/概念
  • Allkeywords/concepts connected with "and" must be in an article or resource to appear in the search results list

Example: The result list will include resources that include both keywords -- "distracted driving" and "texting" -- in the same article or resource, represented in the shaded area where the circles intersect (area shaded in purple).

UsingOR

  • Broadenssearch results ("OR means more!")
  • Connects two or more synonyms or related keywords/concepts
  • Resources appearing in the results list will includeanyof the terms connected with the OR connector

Example: The result list will include resources that include the keyword "texting" OR the keyword "cell phone" (entire area shaded in blue); either is acceptable.

UsingNOT

  • Excludeskeywords or concepts from the search
  • Narrows results by removing resources that contain the keyword or term connect with the NOT connector
  • Use sparingly

示例:结果列表将包括包括术语“汽车”(绿色区域)的所有资源,而是将排除包括术语“摩托车”(紫色区域)的任何资源,即使术语汽车可能存在于资源中。

那么这是否适用于你的搜索吗?的金属氧化物半导体t part, you will want to use AND to connect relevant search terms. For example:

families AND incarceration AND effects

But you can also use OR if you want to try more than one related term in the same search. For example:

家庭和监禁或监狱和影响

根据您的搜索条件,您可能还需要搜索使用精确的短语或截断。

To search for an exact phrase, you can put quotations around a group of words. For example, a search for"incarcerated parent"只会找到那些将这些词汇作为短语的那些资源。

Truncation is a technique used in searching where you can search using part of a word to find all possible iterations of it. For example, instead of doing separate searches withprisonandprisoners, truncating the term toprison*will search for all possible endings of that word.

The databases will often give you other search options to consider. These are the most common:

日期范围
You will often see an option to limit your results to a certain date range. This can be really helpful for filtering out resources that are out of date.

For most topics, ten years is the oldest you will want to go, but you may want to use a smaller range if you are researching anything related to technology. Think of the cell phone or computer you had ten years ago, and you'll easily see why that is important. Technology changes very quickly!

Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals
Many databases will give an option to limit to scholarly, peer reviewed journals. If that is something your assignment requires, check the box for this option to make sure all of your results are scholarly.

For more information on the terms "scholarly" and "peer reviewed," check out our Answer这里

Watch these short video demonstrations of simple database searches to better understand how to search and locate useful resources.

Books

eBooksare electronic versions of printed books and can be accessed online. You can access eBooks using the以下链接。For additional information and help with eBooks, use thetab at the top of the box

学术期刊

"Scholarly“通常意味着本文被编写了报告了在同一领域专家的其他人的实际研究(例如对一群人进行的研究)。学术文章是由其他专家的专家撰写的。因为它的目的是文章和预期的受众,学术文章倾向于报告统计和观察。他们倾向于以更学院的语言编写而不是一个人在一个受欢迎的杂志中读的人。也倾向于在主题方面非常具体或专注。不要指望在学术文章中找到广泛的概要。

If you think you're reading a scholarly article but you're not sure, check whether it includes the following types of sections which are typical for scholarly articles.

  • author's credentials
  • literature review
  • 研究方法论
  • 观察
  • findings or results (including statistics)
  • discussion of the findings
  • 结论或建议

You can access scholarly journals使用link below。For additional information and help with scholarly journals, use thetab at the top of the box

Magazines

Amagazineis a publication that is issued periodically and typically specializes in a specific subject or area.You can access magazines使用以下链接。有关杂志的其他信息和帮助,请使用tab at the top of the box

Newspapers

Anewspaperis a regularly printed publication usually containing news articles, opinions, and advertisements.You can access newspapers使用以下链接。For additional information and help with newspapers, use thetab at the top of the box