Sometimes instead of searching by keywords,
you may have better luck finding materials by consulting the Library of
Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). This is important because you can
sometimes get better search results. For example, articles, books, and web
sites on the "death penalty" will usually be indexed under "Capital Punishment."
To browse such headings, they are in the four thick red volumes on the left side
of the reference desk.
NOTE: "American Dream" is an abstract concept that can mean many things, and
thus there is no "American Dream" subject heading. There will likely be
times you will need to do a Keyword search, rather than a Subject search.
In the meantime, here is a sample of subject headings that may be helpful to
you:
Equality--Economic Aspects--United States
Equality--United States
Social Status--United States
Social Classes
Working Class
Middle Class
Upper Class
United States--Social Life and Customs
Values--United States
Materialism
Income--United States
Income Distribution--United States
Wages--United States
Poverty--United States
Wealth--United States
Afro-Americans--Social Conditions
Afro-Americans--Economic Conditions
Americans--Social Conditions
Americans--Economic Conditions
Asian Americans--Social Conditions
Asian Americans--Economic Conditions
Immigrants--Social Conditions
Immigrants--Economic Conditions
Indians of North America--Social Conditions
Indians of North America--Economic Conditions
Mexican Americans--Social Conditions
Mexican Americans--Economic Conditions
Women--United States--Social Conditions
Women--United States--Economic Conditions
Family--Economic Aspects--United States
Search the library catalog for books related
to your topic. Select a topic and create a search statement. Find a book
and then its call number. Remember: Books will have in-depth material
but will be dated.For example, books on terrorism would
almost all be published, pre-September 11.
Go into the Library Catalog
and select .
Then, search by Subject Heading by entering your term and then clicking
on .
Scroll down and click to
other pages (if available) to view all the headings related to your main
subject heading (see example of such list to the right). Click on
the links to headings that best meet your interest.
If instead of searching
by Subject, you want to combine different terms such as: obedience AND
authority or abortion AND religion, select Keyword from the top bar and
enter your terms with AND in between and then click on .
Enter your search statement
here: __________________________________________________
List a Book You Have
Found HereLook at the FULL record and
make sure to enter all fields below.
Also, Make sure the title is from Chabot:
Title:
Author:
Place of Publication, Publisher &
Year:
Call Number:
Choosing
A Database
For most topics, Ebsco
Host Academic Search Elite will be a splendid database to begin finding
materials for this assignment. It is a multi-subject database that will
greatly investigate materials related to the humanities, the social sciences,
and multi-cultural studies. GenderWatch would also be an excellent
resource for any issues related to gender, and Ethnic NewsWatch
would be an excellent resource for points of views from different ethnicities
and races across the United States. For undercovered stories, Alt-PressWatch
would be good. For general newspaper stories, search SIRS
Researcher.Finally, Encyclopedia Britannica
is another excellent resource for this assignment.
For login and password, contact the Reference Desk.
At the next window, place a
check next to the database(s) of your choice and then click You will need to perform
more specific searches here as there will be more material available.
Remember to use the connector, AND, in between your terms. Remember:
you want to search periodicals for more up-to-date material.
Enter your search statement
here: __________________________________________________
If you get results you do
not want, click on Refine Search
and perform a different search.
You can also search by ONE
TERM at a time by clicking on.
If
you get results you do not want, click on
and perform a different search.
o
view your past searches, click on .
Reading the Results List Screen
Reading the Top of an Article
When you click
on the full record of a result, the top fields will appear as in the right.
If you find a really good article and want to find more like it, clicking
on links next to Subject(s), Source, or Author(s) may help.
Focuses on the role of
traditional American values in developing consensus concerning complex public
policy issues. Diversity in the American spirit and culture; Higher expectations
and equal opportunity as part of the American way of life; Variables that
separate individuals at birth and affect the odds of success in life; Ambivalence
about leadership; Beliefs that guide civic and personal behavior.
Title:
Awakening from the American Dream: The End of Escape in American Cinema?
Subject(s)
:
ESCAPE (Psychology);
NATIONAL characteristics, American, in motion pictures;
ITS a Wonderful Life (Motion picture);
AVALON (Motion picture); AMERICAN Beauty (Motion picture)
Source
:
Perspectives on Political Science , Spring2002, Vol. 31 Issue 2, p96, 8p
Author(s)
:
Deneen, Patrick J.
Abstract
:
Analyzes three motion
pictures shown between the 1940s and the 1990s which illustrated a feature
of the American character, the dream of escape. 'It's a Wonderful Life,'
directed by Frank Capra; 'Avalon,' by Barry Levinson; 'American Beauty,'
directed by Sam Mendes.
Select an article from
Ebsco Host and enter relevant information:
Author:
Title:
Title of Journal:
Volume, year, and page numbers:
OTHER
DATABASESGo
to Magazine, Journal, Newspaper Articles and More and select a database
such as:
ProQuest
Ethnic NewsWatch
will lead you to newspaper and magazine articles from the ethnic, minority,
and native presses across the United States. An excellent resource
to find alternative viewpoints.
ProQuest
Gender Watch will
give you journal, magazine, and newsletter articles on topics related to
gender, such as women's rights, reproductive rights, sex roles in society,
and gay/lesbian rights.
ProQuest Alt-PressWatch will
give you newspaper and magazine articles from the alternative presses across
the United States.
OFF CAMPUS/Full Text ACCESS:
Logins
and passwords are available on the half sheet, copies of which
are available at the reference desk. Most of the articles have full
text in our database products, but most often, pictures, graphics, and
tables are omitted.
Enter your search statement
here: __________________________________________________
Select an online article
from Encyclopedia Britannica, GenderWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, or Alt-PressWatch, and enter relevant information:
Author:
Title:
Title of Source:
Volume, Year, and Page Numbers:
EMAILING/FINDING/CITING
ARTICLES
EMAILING ARTICLE
IN GENERAL, IF YOU ARE
IN THE LIBRARY, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR ARTICLES INSTEAD OF PRINTING.
Make sure you have the article
itself on the screen. Otherwise, you may be emailing yourself a list
of citations.
Click on the Email button.
It is available on the top of the screen of each database.
On the right are Email buttons as they appear in our many databases
You may be asked to make
certain selections. If you want full text make sure it is selected
and then click on "Submit" or "OK"
Enter Email address and then
select "Submit" or "OK"
Ebsco Host
Encyclopedia Britannica
A link that says Email
This Article will be on the top left of your Encyclopedic entry.
Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch,
Alt-PressWatch
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Universe
SIRS Knowledge Source
Issues & Controversies
No Email function is
available. Click Print Preview from the File menu of your
browser to see what pages you want to print, and then click OK
If you
are at home, or can only print, please click on any "print," "format for
printing," or "print-friendly" option from the database, first, then once
the screen has been reformatted, select "Print Preview" from the File pull
down menu of your browser to make sure you are printing what you are seeing
and to select pages to print. At the Library, Please print
as FEW PAGES AS POSSIBLE.
PAPER COPIES:
Go to the Periodicals Desk which is next to the elevator. If on Ebsco Host,
check Notes to see if we have the Year in paper or Microfilm,
first
MICROFILM COPIES: If
Ebsco Host notes Chabot has it on Microfilm, go to the green cabinets
on the Mezzanine. Microfilm readers are available on the wall.
For assistance in finding microfilm or using the readers, go to the Audio
Visual Center desk on the Mezzanine.
If we do not have the title,
do not despair. Does Ebsco Host list another library having
it? Also, check to see if the Library at California State University,
Hayward has the title by going to: http://aphid.csuchico.edu/lso/hayward/search.asp
Reference
and Statistical Resources
The Library contains many
reference books, which are useful for many purposes such as: providing
you with an overview of a particular subject, leads to other good resources
on your subject, statistics and facts, and directories to organizations
or associations that can provide you with more information.
10,000 Ideas for Term
Papers, Projects, Reports, and Speeches Have no idea what you want
to write about? Spend an hour looking at many ideas from this resource
and we guarantee you will find some inspiration!
Available at the Reference Desk
Encyclopedia of Associations This source lists tens of
thousands of associations, many dealing with one side or the other of major
controversial issues as well as societies devoted to events of History.
Each listing gives a short description and includes an address and phone
number, along with Web site address. Most associations would be happy
to send you information materials and/or promotional brochures describing
their specific point of view.
Reference Desk: HS17 G33
Statistical Abstract of the United
States This convenient reference
volume offers current statistics on the social, political, and economic
organizations of the United States
Reference Desk: HC202 U58
World Almanac This almanac provides statistical
and factual data on a broad and comprehensive level.
Reference Desk: AY67 N5
Statistical Handbook of Working America For more detailed statistics regarding particular occupations
as well as other measures about people who are in the workforce.
Reference Shelves:
HD8064 .S73 1997
Bay Area Census For regional statistics based on the 2000 U.S. census.
Statistical Resources
on the Web If you cannot find desired
statistics from the Statistical Abstract of the United States, World Almanac, go to this excellent directory to selected
reliable statistic web sites. Subject index is available on the left with
terms such as income and cost of living.
In most cases, the Statistical Abstract
of the United States is your ready reference resource when it comes to
statistics. We recommend you obtain the print copy available at the
Reference Desk. Leave your ID and spend up to an hour to find relevant
tables and then photocopy them. To find relevant tables, use the index in
the back of the book. The index of subject terms refers to the table
numbers (not the page numbers). When reading a table, look at
the notes that describe the table. It will tell you whether the numbers
below are in tens, hundreds, thousands, or millions. If you find a
relevant table but does not provide all the information you need, look for other
tables, or look at the table's accompanying description to see where the table
came from. More tables are usually available on the World Wide Web, based
on the sponsoring institution's website!
Chabot
Library's Pamphlet Files
At the Library, we have several filing
cabinets of articles and documents to many topics. Use the Card catalog
that rests on TOP of the filing cabinet, and search by Library of Congress
Subject Headings. Then find the folder that has the articles/documents
related to your topic. You can check out up to five articles/pamphlets
at the Check Out Desk.
World Wide Web
Face it. The World Wide Web
can contain good resources for library research, but trying to find them
is a chore! There is just too much junk and misinformation or web pages
that have information without having their facts verified. Take caution
and evaluate each web site you come across carefully.
Select
Search Engines or Directories that will More Likely Lead you to Academic
Web Sites Note: For this assignment
I would strongly recommend you resort to this option last.
You will very likely find many biased web sites for this assignment that
are furthermore, not of acceptable quality. Unless you are an expert
for evaluating the quality of a web site, I would recommend you not use
a regular search engine, including Google and SearchEdU.
Start with the left side
of the Web Guides and Search Engines page first, to find pages based on
broad topics. Use the search engines listed on the right side to find pages
devoted to specific topics, but keep in mind there is no "quality control"
for what you will get, especially from using any search engine or directory,
especially listed on the right side. Remember, when searching you
will want to surround your phrases with quotes such as "american dream" or "minimum
wage" and to place the + sign before all your terms, whether as
one word or a phrase: +success +"american dream"
Take a look at the MLA Citation
Handout. Take note that when citing an article from a Library Subscription
Database such as the ones listed above, you need to follow special instructions.
.
Then, search by Subject Heading by entering your term and then clicking
on 
.
.
.
If
you get results you do not want, click on 
and perform a different search.
o
view your past searches, click on 
.
