Research in the Loma Linda Academy Library
Compiled by Robert DuBose and modified by Pam Dietrich, current grade 7-12 library media teacher
General Research Tips
Research takes imagination and patience If you wait until the last minute to start your search, you will be very frustrated trying to learn all of the features and will perhaps not find all of the information actually available. Try to think of a more general topic if you aren’t having any “hits” on your specific topic. If you can’t find a book about Marie Antoinette, look for a book on French history or history of France and look in the index for a reference to Marie Antoinette. Also keep trying synonyms or alternate words in your searches. Remember that some search programs require that you separate words by “AND,” “OR,” or “NOT” in all capital letters. “AND” finds articles with both words, “OR” finds articles with either word, and “NOT” finds articles with the first word but not the second word useful for restricting a search.
Citing Sources and Plagiarism
If you use other people’s work from any source, including the Internet, and do not give that person credit for the material, you are committing theft of intellectual property. If the material is copyrighted, you are violating copyright laws. Claiming someone else’s writing as your own is plagiarism. It is very important that you learn how to paraphrase ideas so that they are in your own words and have been actually learned by you. Copying and pasting from other files without text acknowledgement or citations is wrong and will also bring severe penalties. In the digital age it is easier than ever to plagiarize and also easy to get caught.
You should also be aware that citing or documenting Internet sources is not a simple task. Many different styles are promoted as “the best.” Please make sure that you have talked to your teacher and have a handout showing examples of EXACTLY how your bibliography and endnotes, footnotes or other citations should appear. LLA teachers usually prefer a MLA-based citation style, BUT always ask! The MLA-based citation styles from Writer’s INC on line. The LLA reserve books include three style manuals which you are welcome to borrow: Writers INC., MLA, and APA.
Book Locations
Reference books are located downstairs in the back right corner of the library. Ellen G. White books are upstairs in a small bookcase above the circulation desk. Oversized books, including large atlases and dictionaries, are shelved behind the central stairway. Circulating books from 000-700s are located upstairs. The 800-900s begin on the north wall by the fire exit and continue around behind the reading area. In addition you will find several rotating racks of paperback books that are indexed by title. To locate a specific title, you will need to look at the top of the rack to find what title letters are shelved on that rack. Remember that “a,” “an,” and “the” are not used to alphabetize these book titles.
Journals/Periodicals (Magazines)
Current magazines are displayed on the rack near the central stairway. The library archives five years of selected magazines. Current magazines may not be taken from the library. The Ebsco FullTEXT database and SIRS Knowledge Source may be used to search for magazine articles.
On the Computers
The Loma LInda Academy Library Online Catalog, Microsoft Office programs, Groiler Online, SIRS Reseacher, EBSCOhost, and Facts on File can be accessed.
Searching the Internet
It is important to use good search tools as you search the Internet. Recommended search engines include http://scholar.google.com, www.hotbot.com, www.altavista.com, and www.yahoo.com. Keep in mind that search engines are able to search only about 20-40% of the Internet. For an excellent Internet research page go to the Chico High School Library Helpful Bookmarks page at http://www.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/06_Library/index.html. The Internet can be a great tool or a total waste of time. The two major problems facing the Internet researcher are how to find relevant sites and how to verify that the sites that are found contain valid and accurate information. Literally ANYONE can publish his/her own opinions and present the information as FACT. It is important to learn how to verify the content of the web sites that you are citing. For more on this important topic visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/1/ and find out how to evaluate Internet resources.
LLA has tried to help with these problems by subscribing to five of the very best research databases. Two of these databases, EBSCO and SIRS, include full text magazine and newspaper articles and the SIRS site also offers documents by and about the U.S. government and a large graphics and map collection. SIRS also contains NetSelect, an extensive list of web sites that have been reviewed and selected for accuracy and relevance. You also have access to the complete Grolier Online . The Southeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has purchased a subscription to Britannica Online. LLA has also purchased Facts on File . These databases are available 24 hours a day on the Internet.
EBSCO Hints
Ebsco is geared to returning very current news articles of general interest. If you don’t have a topic yet, check out the section called Topic Search. If you have a topic in mind, go directly to EbscoHost Web. When you search, the default is just to search journal (magazine) articles. You will find items from yesterday’s newspapers already available in the Newspaper Source, but you have to remember to look at the list of databases and click on the additional ones you want to search. Unless you are able to use abstracts (summaries) of articles, be sure to look on the left side of the search screen and click the check mark on the Full Text option. This will ensure that you see only articles that include the full text.
SIRS Hints
SIRS Knowledge Source is very strong on articles relating to significant global, political, social and psychological issues. It contains information related to cultures, governments, geography, arts, humanities, philosophy, religion and many other topics that students are interested in researching. The default is to search all four of the major databases. Please be sure to check out the Additional Database section to find historic documents from the U. S. National Archives as well as relevant and timely photos from the Reuters news service archives. To find these photos look for Today’s News in the Additional Database section and click on the news links that are in ALL CAPS. Another great feature of the SIRS Knowledge Source is the ability of each student to create an account and save searches for a 30-day period. You can input your own password and user name and search later for one month.
Grolier Online Hints
Be sure to look at all of the resources available. For instance, both the Encyclopedia Americana and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia are included on this site. Additionally, Lands and Peoples, America the Beautiful, and Popular Science Online can be accessed on this site. Also, both sites list related websites for many entries. These sites have been evaluated by the staff at the encyclopedia and can be trusted to have valid information.
Note: Password and username must be typed as lowercase letters with NO spaces.
(You may need to allow your computer to accept “cookies” to access the LLA databases.)
Ebscohost
http://search.ebscohost.com
user ID: lla
password: roadrun19!
SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com
user ID: ca4536
password: 92354
Grolier Online
http://go-passport.grolier.com
login ID: lomalinda
password: lomalinda
Britannica Online
http://school.eb.com
user ID: anpm2e
password: nadsa1
Facts on File
http://www.2facts.com
user ID: anpm2e
user ID: nadsda1
Enciclopedia Universal en Español
http://Spanish.eb.com
user ID:anpm2e
password: nadsa1
If you cannot access online sources from home and you are using Internet Explorer, go to “Tools” then “Internet Options” and select “Privacy” tab. In “domains,” select “sites” and add the online sources addresses in the address bar(sirs.com, groliers.com, etc.). Click “allow” and choose “OK.” Now the computer will accept cookies required to access these sources. If you continue to have problems try one of these browsers: Internet Explorer 6(PC only), Internet Explorer 7(PC Only), Mozilla Firefox (Mac & PC), Apple’s Safari Browser(Apple only).