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Resources for B. Brady's Class

Purpose

This guide provides resources for Brian Brady's 'EVIDENCE-BASED SCIENCE' LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT.

Please read your assignment carefully before you begin!

OneSearch

OneSearch is the Skagit Valley College library catalog. Searching the catalog will provide not only books that are located in the 2 campus libraries but also eBooks, streaming videos, articles in journals and some of the databases. 

Click HERE for a 4 minute tutorial on using OneSearch efficiently.

Databases

Databases provide online articles from journals, magazines, newspapers, and other sources.

To log in from off-campus, you will use your SVC username and password

The following are some of the databases (and links) that may be especially helpful:

Using the Internet

GOOGLE SEARCHING:
For an academic paper, using the Google Advanced Search option will help you locate information more efficiently and of better quality when searching the Internet.
 

USEFUL WEBSITES:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Worldwide Science

World Health Organization

Best Practices

KEYWORDS AND SEARCH TERM TIPS:

  • Use quotation marks around search terms to indicate a phrase, i.e. "vibrio cholerae", "cholera pathogenesis"
  • Use only significant keywords with the words AND (to join terms), OR (to provide alternative terms), NOT (to eliminate undesirable words) to help clarify the search, i.e. "vibrio cholerae" AND enterotoxin OR "cholera toxin"
  • Keep track of search terms that have worked. Use them in multiple places.
  • Mine your search results for better keywords to improve your research strategy

GENERAL RESEARCH TIPS:

  • Allow your research to shift your topic 
  • When reading Scholarly or Peer-reviewed work > pay special attention to the Introduction and the Discussion parts of the article
  • Be aware that many library resources provide additional links to suggested or related articles, use them wisely, going down enticing rabbit holes can also waste time!

 

VERIFYING CREDIBILITY - When the credibility of your articles is in doubt, look into:

  • WHO wrote or supported ($) the article and what is their expertise? 
  • WHEN was the information produced/created/tested?
  • WHY - what is the purpose or intention of the information and who is the intended audience?

Books from the libraries

  • Click on the title to see the full record/location information
  • To find more titles, look in OneSearch

Citing in APA format

APA Style Guide  Highline Community College Library 

APA Formatting & Style Guide  OWL Purdue

APA Style Workshop   OWL Purdue

APA Style Help  with Frequently Asked Questions

Features of a Peer-Reviewed Article

When you are determining whether or not the article you found is a peer-reviewed article, you should consider the following.

Does the article have the following features?

Image of the first page of a peer-reviewed article. These items are highlighted: Been published in a scholarly journal. An overall serious, thoughtful tone. More than 10 pages in length (usually, but not always). An abstract (summary) on the first page. Organization by headings such as Introduction, Literature Review, and Conclusion. Citations throughout and a bibliography or reference list at the end. Credentialed authors, usually affiliated with a research institute or university.

****Please note that the College is on remote operations due to concerns related to Covid -19. Find out about Library Services during this time.
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