Research Tips

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Find Books | Find Articles | Reference | Interlibrary Loan | Evaluate | Cite | Research Assistance

Library Class Pages

• Find course specific research help with resources tailored to your class assignments.These pages usually accompany a Library Instruction session with your professor and a librarian. But if you find a class that meets your general subject needs, you may be able to use it to get started with your research as well.
• Find Library Class Pages list on the left sidebar of the Libraries main page. Select the right course name and professor combination.

Linfield WorldCat: Search Linfield Libraries, Summit and Beyond

• Linfield WorldCat is the Search Box main page, front and center:  Use it for finding books and articles at Linfield College or at libraries regionally (Summit) and libraries worldwide (WorldCat Libraries). You can search for everything at once (books and articles) or choose to find just books or just articles or just DVD's. Linfield resources show up first, making it easy to tell if you can find it at Linfield, either in Nicholson Library (McMinnville) or at the Portland Campus library.   Items from other Summit regional libraries appear next and when requested, will arrive arrive in 3-5 days. Materials requested from WorldCat Libraries generally take a little longer. Dropdown links allow you to search just Linfield (or Summit or Libraries Worldwide). More information...
• Linking to WildCat Classic (the older catalog interface) will continue to be available for those who prefer them.

*Note: DCE Students:  More information on borrowing items

Find a book, dvd, cd, or other materials

• Use quotes around exact titles for best results, just as in a Google search.  (For instance, "The World Is Flat").  Add author last name in search box to limit further.
• After search, limit results using sidebar facet, including format , date, subject, etc.
• Limit your search in Linfeld WorldCat on the tabs: Books, DVDs, CDs.  Or choose Advanced Search for more options. (Use quotes around exact titles, even in Advanced Search title mode.)  Or for more specific searching, try using index prefixes like ti:title or au:author.  More information on prefixes...
• You may also limit by collection: Linfield Libraries or Summit libraries.  The default is set at Libraries Worldwide.
• Linfield books, dvds, etc. are on the shelves according to Library of Congress classification.  Use the call number (such as QL737.C4 E25) from the catalog record to find the material on the shelf.
• There are many reasons it is hard to find things on the library shelves.  Please ask staff for advice if you spend too much time trying to find stuff.

Find an article

• Search for articles via Linfield WorldCat noted above. You may find links to full articles that way.  But there are lots more academic articles in our:
• Research databases
  • EBSCOhost includes many full text articles - multidisciplinary and subject specific periodical databases.
  • Lexis-Nexis is best for full text major newspapers for news, also business, legal, medical, and reference information
  • Use the drop down menu on the left sidebar of the Libraries main page to see the whole range of Research databases listed alphabetically or by subject, containing articles from specialized academic journals.
  • Periodicals@Linfield -lists all newspapers, magazines, and journals accessible at Linfield College either in the library or via online periodical database or publishers web site.
  • You can also search Google Scholar and access many articles that we have there for free.  But if you do not find the article free, check Periodicals@Linfield or request via Interlibrary Loan. You never have to pay for articles!

Note: If you are trying to access article databases from off campus, you will need to login with your CATNET ID and password.

Especially for DCE Students: Now How Do I get the item!

Find Background and Quick Facts

The web page drop down menu Quick Facts accesses dozens of Reference sources - online encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and other resources. Do a quick search across hundreds of subjects in the most popular general references:

• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• Oxford Reference Online

Or consult the Alphabetical or Subject Listing  to find individual favorites like:

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life
• Access Science

Interlibrary Loan

• Requesting Articles or Books from other Libraries ( pdf with screen shots)
• For books, check Linfield WorldCat limiting to the books tab. Anything not available at Linfield can be requested via Summit (Regional libraries) or Libraries Worldwide for books worldwide, although delivery times vary (see above under Books).
• For articles, check journal title in Periodicals@Linfield to see if it is available full text via another database or in Linfield's collection.
• If you find neither books nor articles locally through previous steps, order them via Interlibrary Loan Request (also linked on the Libraries Web page.
• Google and Google Scholar are a great starting point for many searches, but may lead to pages asking you to pay $$$ for articles. Don't pay.  Find books via Linfield WorldCat. Find articles from us via Periodicals@Linfield or current students, faculty, and staff can order materials via Interlibrary Loan.

Evaluate Web and Print resources

• Web Evaluation Criteria: What Questions to Ask?
• Wikiality - A Colbert Report classic to get you thinking about where we get information.
• Ulrich's International Periodical Directory is great for figuring out if a journal is scholarly or not. Search by Title & look at Document Type to see whether a journal is popular or scholarly
• Cornell University Research Minute - Is the article or journal Popular or Scholarly?

Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism

• Research & Documentation Online Find examples of APA, MLA, and other common styles.
• Bedford Bibliographer - create a bibliography on the fly
• Linfield WorldCat and many Article Databases such as EbscoHost include citing tools - look for links with a specific book or article entry.
• Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism Duke University
• Avoiding Plagiarism? Tips from Purdue University's Online Writing Center (OWL)

Questions of any kind? Contact Barbara Valentine (x2573;bvalen) or another Reference Librarian

DCE students: contact the DCE librarian: Carol McCulley  (x2595; mccull)