Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-177) and index.

Research and critical evaluation. Follow the seven steps of research, but be flexible! ; Step one : define your research question ; Step two : ask for help ; Step three : develop a research strategy and locate resources ; Step four : use effective search techniques ; Step five : read critically, synthesize, and seek meaning ; Step six : understand the scholarly communication process and cite sources ; Step seven : critically evaluate sources -- Finding books and ebooks. Books and scholarly research ; Use books as a shortcut ; Use a subject encyclopedia to start your research ; Use bibliographies and Web guides to locate key resources ; Use reference books to locate quick factual information ; Find reference books ; Use scholarly books for a broad and deep overview ; Use ebooks for research ; Do not read the entire book ; Don't use books if-- ; Use filtering devices to deal with information overload ; Critically evaluate books -- Scholarly and popular articles. Identify and use scholarly journal articles ; Use magazine and newspaper articles when appropriate ; Choose databases to search for articles ; Develop effective search strategies ; Locate articles ; Use open access journals, preprint servers, and institutional repositories/university Web sites ; Evaluate articles ; Understand the role of informal information sources : personal Web pages, blogs, and wikis -- Primary sources : online tools and digitized collections. What are primary sources? ; Understand the types of primary sources ; Plan your research strategy ; Find digitized primary source collections on the Web ; Find primary sources using the online library catalog ; Visit your special collections department ; Find historical newspaper and magazine articles ; Use special microform collections of primary sources ; Critically evaluate primary sources.

Biographical research. Develop a strategy ; Find critical essays and brief factual information ; Find published autobiographies and biographies ; Find biographical writings by lesser-known individuals ; Critically evaluate autobiographies and biographies ; Find diaries ; Critically evaluate diaries ; Find oral histories ; Critically evaluate oral histories ; Validate biographical writings using secondary sources ; Use biographical Web sites with caution ; Critically evaluate biographical Web sites -- Legal research. Find primary and secondary legal resources ; Find case law ; Use secondary sources to find related cases and analysis on points of law ; Understand citations to court cases ; Use a legal dictionary to decipher legal terms ; Find Supreme Court cases ; Find lower federal court cases ; Find state court cases ; Determine whether a case is still "good law" ; Critically evaluate legal resources -- United States government documents and statistics. Find federal agency documents ; Find presidential information sources ; Find legislative information ; Find government documents from other countries and resources from intergovernmental organizations ; Critically evaluate government documents ; Find statistics ; Critically evaluate statistics -- Citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, and organizing references. Develop a system for taking notes ; Steer clear of all types of plagiarism ; Choose a style manual ; Choose a documentation style ; Use the following examples form the Chicago manual of style to format your references ; Use bibliographic software to cite your sources ; Bring evaluation into the process -- Appendix : specialized journal article databases : indexes and full text -- Glossary.

One of the most perplexing aspects of research today is what to do when there's too much information on a topic. What then of the librarian, charged with teaching new generations to appreciate the search for intellectual wheat, especially when the chaff has greater appeal? The key, suggests Leslie Stebbins, is to impress upon students the importance of good filtering instincts and careful management of search results. At the same time, it is equally essential to impress upon them the particular challenges and controversies that accompany research in a digital environment. Chapter one provides a step-by-step introduction to both research and critical evaluation that can be followed for any assignment. Chapters two through seven focus on specific types of information resources: when to use them, where to find them, and how to evaluate them. Chapter eight offers guidance on how to develop a note-taking system, cite sources, avoid plagiarism, and organize references. Students and librarians alike will benefit from Stebbin's suggestions, strategies and straightforward examples.

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