PCA 111 Week 9 In Class: Key Words & Databases

Today in class we will start developing key words and phrases to begin researching your final projects on the World Wide Web and on our library’s databases.

9 am to 9:30: FREEWRITE RE COMMUNITY & BRAINSTORM KEYWORDS
Freewrite for 15 to 20 minutes in your blog everything you can think about regarding the community you have chosen for your final project. (You have begun writing about it in previous sessions but again we are simply creating more material.) After your freewrite, locate keep words and in your notebook, start brainstorming a list of words and phrases that describe the topic you have selected. We will look up your term(s) in EBSCOhost later.

9:30 to 10:30: HOW TO: DATABASES
We will use the terms you’ve developed to search the library’s databases. I will show you how to search databases to find full-text articles on your topic, your community, and/or the agency you have chosen. The purpose of this is, among other things: 1) to develop the information you have on your topic; 2) to discuss and model “evaluating sources” and researching as dynamic and ongoing (Deans, 2003, 298-9); and 3) to begin formulating a “research question.”

10:30 to 11: Subject Search
1) Go to EBSCOhost
2) Select "Subjects"
3) Select "Academic Search Premier -- Subject Terms"
4) Scroll through the results
5) Read the "SCOPE NOTE" and if that note does not describe what you are looking for, select another term that's broader, narrower, or related.
6) Use the term you've retrieved to do an "Advanced Search" in EBSCOhost

11 to 11:30: RESEARCHING YOUR TOPIC VIA DATABASES
1) Log onto the MCNY library website: http://www.mcny.edu/library/library2.php
2) Select: “Find Articles/Databases”
3) Select: “Use Library’s Database”
4) Enter Barcode: 5066401 and Enter PIN: Metropolitan
5) Select “Submit Query”
6) Select one of the following databases: EBSCOhost, JSTOR, ProQuest, or LexisNexis
7) Narrow your search for “full text” and “academic” articles. Once you find an article that is interesting and relevant to you, send yourself a PDF.