MUSI 5113 Library Instruction

Kathy Essmiller

OSU Libraries

Stillwater

MUSI 5113 Library Instruction by Kathy Essmiller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Contents

- Attribution

- Part I. Getting Started

- Getting Started with Research

- Finding Sources in the Library

- Search Strategies

- Part II. Scholarly Articles

- Why Scholarly Articles?

- Parts of a Scholarly Article

- Reading a Scholarly Article

- Finding Additional Research

1

Attribution

MUSI 5113 Library Instruction by Kathy Essmiller is licensed CC BY. It is an adaptation of ENGL 1113 Library Sessions and ENGL 1213 Online Library Sessions by Holly Luetkenhaus and Cristina Colquhoun, licensed CC BY-NC. The content has been synthesized and customized for graduate level music students.

I

Getting Started

Welcome to the online library lessons for MUSI 5113. There are a total of 3 sections in this book. Your instructor should tell you which of the lessons you need to complete.

This resource includes a worksheet that you will download into Microsoft Word, complete as you progress through each section, and submit to your instructor when you are finished. You may view the worksheet at this link.

You can use the “Contents” menu to the left (or above if you are working on a mobile device) to navigate between each lesson and select the one(s) you have been assigned.

If you have questions or issues with accessing this content, please contact Kathy Essmiller at kathy.essmiller@okstate.edu.

Getting Started with Research

This part is designed to help you brainstorm search terms (or keywords) and develop search strategies to begin your research. It is a form of concept mapping – or mind mapping – which is a process for visualizing ideas and making connections between them.

We will use a modified process of concept mapping to focus on developing search strategies.

Make sure you have downloaded and opened the lesson worksheet in Microsoft Word to help guide your exploration. Instructions for the worksheet, along with an example, are provided below.

First, type your research question or thesis into the box at the top of the page.

Example research question or thesis statement.

Next, highlight or change the text color of the most important words or phrases in your question. Each should be only 1-2 words long. These are your keywords. Focus on the most unique words, and ignore common words like the, on, effect, what, who, etc. Try to identify at least 2-3 keywords for your question.

Highlighted most important words or phrases in the research question.

Now, type each keyword into a separate box.

Separating key words into boxes.

Finally, list alternative words or phrases for each keyword underneath it in the corresponding box. Think about direct synonyms (i.e., physical activity for exercise) and words that may make your search broader (i.e., psychology for mental health) or narrower (i.e., undergraduates for college students).

Alternative words or phrases for each keyword.

When you are finished with your concept map, move on to the next section.

Finding Sources in the Library

BOSS

If you are unfamiliar with using the library to search for sources, watch the following video to learn some basics about our main search system, called BOSS.

Video: Library Search Basics

In addition to doing general keyword searches like the video above describes, you can also use BOSS to search for an entire newspaper or magazine, or for specific article that you know the title of.

Searching for an Entire Publication

Do this when you want to see an entire issue of a newspaper, magazine, or journal, or if you want to search within a specific publication for your terms.

Why is this useful? Maybe you want to look for every article the New York Times published about Hurricane Katrina in September 2005.

Follow these steps to search for an entire publication. Note: You will need to log into the Library.

1. Type the name of the publication in the search box and search.

Searching for a publication in BOSS

2. Click on the title to open a window with more details.

Returned results

3. Follow the link next to “full text available” to access the publication in the database.

Window with more details about the resource

Once you are in the database, look for a search box that says, “Search within this publication” or “Search within journal.” Enter your search terms in that box to search for any article that contains those words.

Finding an Article by Title

It is possible that during your research, you came across an article that you wanted to view, but couldn’t access. Imagine you found an article on the LA Times website but can’t access it because you are not a subscriber. The library has probably already paid for access, but you have to go through the library’s website to get there.

Follow these steps to search for an article you know the title of:

1. Type the title (at least the first 4-5 words) into the search box, as demonstrated in the example below.

Searching for a title in BOSS

2. Click on the article title to open a window with more details.

Returned results

3. Look for the “full text available” link to a databases, and follow it. This should take you directly to the article in one of the library’s databases.

Window with more details about the article

Search Strategies

We’re ready to start searching . Before we begin, let’s take a second to go over some quick search tips for using library databases.

Tip #1: Keep your search terms short and concise. Databases do not like long phrases or whole questions. Choose the most important words or phrases in your research question and eliminate common words like: who, how, the, effect, on, etc.

Tip #2: Combine multiple search terms using AND.

Examples:

- exercise AND mental health

- college students AND exercise

- exercise AND mental health AND college students

Tip #3: Use quotation marks for exact phrases

Examples:

- exercise AND “mental health”

- “college students” AND exercise

- exercise AND “mental health” AND “college students”

*Note that we’re only using quotations for keywords that are more than one word long. If you keyword is only one word (like exercise), then you do not need quotation marks.

Watch the video below to learn how to effectively use the Library Search System, or BOSS, to find resources for your project.

Video: Library Search Basics

You’re almost ready to start searching! Refer back to your concept map from Part I for potential search terms. On your worksheet, write down some ideas for combinations of search terms, following the examples above.

Access the Library Search System by visiting the library homepage: library.okstate.edu

When you’re ready to start researching, use the keywords and search combinations you identified earlier. Pay attention to the filters and tools built into the database to help you refine your search. Refer back to the video above for assistance as needed. As you search, fill in details about your process on your worksheet.

Finally, find at least one good, relevant source, and record the citation on your worksheet.

II

Scholarly Articles

Why Scholarly Articles?

There are many reasons one might read research. Here are a few of the most common reasons:

- To keep up with progress in a particular field

- To find a solution for a specific problem

- To get an idea for carrying out a new research project

- To read an article assigned by an instructor

Answer the question in “Part 1: Why Scholarly Articles?” of your worksheet.

Parts of a Scholarly Article

Academic or scholarly articles tend to have a formal structure. While disciplines might vary the headings or structure, and journals may have different layouts, most articles will contain sections that serve a particular purpose. Below is a shortened version of a real scholarly article adapted to identify the parts of an article.

Let’s look at some of the most useful parts by using this sample article below. Click each of the plus signs below to learn more.

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Click here for a PDF listing the definitions of the parts of a scholarly article.

Note: The original of the example article above is open access and can be read online.

Once you have an explored the different parts of scholarly articles, answer the questions in “Part 2: Parts of a Scholarly Article” of your worksheet.

Reading a Scholarly Article

Unlike reading novels, scholarly articles do not need to be read from start to finish, in order. There’s another, more efficient way to approach reading articles. The chart below provides a suggested reading order and questions you should ask yourself about each section.

Read These First

These four give you a high-level view of the article.

ARTICLE TITLE

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

CONCLUSION

Keywords

Summary

Hypothesis & conceptual framework

Results & suggested research

Ask yourself: Does the article entice me to read further?

Ask yourself: Can I determine if it is worth reading more of the article?

Ask yourself: Why is the research important?

Ask yourself: Are the conclusions logically supported by the results?

Then, Dive for Details

These next four give you the particulars of the article.

DISCUSSION

RESULTS

METHODS

REFERENCES

Supported or failed hypothesis & limitations

Describe participants and tables & figures

Scientific procedures identified & explained

Influencing, supporting, or conflicting work

Ask yourself: Is the meaning of the results discussed?

Ask yourself: Are important results connected explicitly to the hypothesis?

Ask yourself: Are methods thoroughly explained? Are methods presented in chronological order?

Ask yourself: Are references current and comprehensive? Do I need any of these in my study?

When you are ready, answer the questions in “Part 3: Reading a Scholarly Article” of your worksheet.

Finding Additional Research

Once you had read and pulled out important information from at least one article, you can use what you learned to find additional information. Below are some ways you can use the article(s) you already have to locate even more sources.

References

Look at the article’s list of references. These are going to be other articles, books, and websites that the authors used to inform their own research. You may find several that look useful for your topic, too. Pay attention to the authors in the citations, too. If you see an author listed on more than one source, you may have just found a lead expert in that field.

Key Ideas and Terms

Look for main idea, important terms, and key words that show up in the Introduction, Literature Review, and Conclusion sections. These could be search terms you can use to search for more articles.

What should you do once you find that information? Head over to the library website and access a database to search for articles, books, and more.

Tips

- If you found the title of an article you want to access, you can copy and paste that title into the Library Search System (or BOSS) to see if we have it available. You can use Google Scholar for this, too.

- Choose a database from our list of Databases by Subject to find one that specializes in articles for the area you are researching. Use the key ideas and terms you identified in your other sources as search terms.

- Watch the tutorial below to learn more skills for searching in library databases.

Video: Database Basics

When you are ready, answer the questions in “Part 4: Finding Additional Research” of your worksheet.