Library Research Notebook: The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies (Fall 2022) I’ve adapted this notebook to students’ comments, recommendations, and experiences to give you a solid introduction into research basics, skills and mindset. If you do it well, you will gain much. Expect to spend a solid minimum of three hours on it, and more for maximum benefit. You’re being given MUCH TIME IN CLASS to work on it (because students have told me that helps them greatly, and I listen to my students), and YOU ARE REQUIRED/EXPECTED to spend time out-of-class also doing its steps and research and reflection. Here’s a synopsis of what this notebook covers and gives you experience with:
SECTION 1 Read the entire Library Research Notebook, follow the instructions, and respond at ***prompts. You are free to pursue here your self-chosen research topic for either Project 2 (script & presentation w slidedeck) or Project 3 (final multimodal expository research essay). ***I am researching about sustainable agriculture and methods of farming. ***Because I want to find out what the current system is like and how we can change it to better the environment. ***List any important people, places, time periods, concepts, movements, etc. related to your topic. What key words are beginning to emerge?
***Explain how doing this research will inspire you and be relevant to your time at Cal and to your quality of life now and in the future, how it will contribute to the Common Good, and/or how your research in R4B can benefit you in your future career. In other words, are you passionate about this topic? Is it relevant to you? If so, why? If not, what meaningful, relevant-to-you research topic might you pick that you can invest yourself in wholeheartedly and benefit from both now and later? This research is relevant to my time at Berkeley because I want to double major in Business and Environmental Economics & Policy, as well as minor in Food Systems. Thus, researching about sustainable agriculture is relevant and would make me more knowledgeable about my studies. Moreover, for my future career, I would like to do something related to sustainable agriculture, so this would be a great way for me to prepare for that and understand the potential within this industry. Finally, sustainable agriculture’s end goal is to contribute to the Common Good, as it attempts to better the planet, provide food for people, and reduce carbon emissions. SECTION 2 Generate Keywords We've just done some background research that helped us generate keywords. It's good to have a long list of search terms that you can use when looking for books and articles about your topic. This is because everyone thinks differently, and resource discovery tools think differently than people - you may use the word "red" to describe Elmo, but your professor may call Elmo "crimson," and the database may call Elmo "scarlet." To mediate the effects of this, it is useful to think about synonyms and alternate phrases ahead of time. Keyword 1 – 2 – 3 ***Condense your research question or thesis statement into a brief statement of 6-8 words: How can California change it’s farming practices to become more sustainable? ***Identify some core concepts in your statement and any related concepts that come to mind (topics, issues, ideas, people, places, time periods, films, tv shows, news, media, things, objects, etc.): California - agricultural hub Farming practices - fertilizers, irrigation Sustainable - global warming, CO2 Emissions, pollution Keyword Tips and Tricks Search like a pro using these smooth operators Research Hacks Using Simple Words and Punctuation as "Commands" SECTION 3 Finding Background Information Before taking a deep dive into scholarly research, you should first find out some background information about your topic. That's a best practice, a necessity. Here's how:
Start Here: https://search-credoreference-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/ Search your broad topic, concept, time period, movement, author, etc. Scan a relevant, substantive entry, and jot down important keywords, facts, dates, and scholarly book references. Keeping good notes, either in a research notebook, whether analog: such as spiralbound paper or digital, such as PowerNotes (https://powernotes.com/) or Zotero or others (https://www.relevance.com/six-tools-to-run-and-organize-your-content-research/) is essential. Many options have free basic services that can help you beast R4B. Using Credo Reference, insert your proposed research topic, and read a few of the amazing sources that come up. Pick one that is especially useful. (Also note that you can elect to "Save" the ones you find useful and want to come back to.) ***What is one thing you learned about your topic from this entry you selected? Source: The Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Food Labels Honestly, I spent a lot of time researching on this website because whatever I typed, no results would come up. I tried to make sure that I wasn’t using unnecessary words, to the point that I only typed in ‘sustainability.’ However, only one article popped up about sustainable agriculture. From this, I learned about how legislation is intwined with sustainable agriculture. For example, in 1990 Congress passed the U.S. Farm Bill that tried protect the environment and farmworker rights. ***What terms from the entry could you use as keywords when you search other databases?
***Look at the bibliography in the source you just chose. Write down the title of one book that might further propel your project. *Seriously. Write title and author down in your notebook - you're going to want to remember this. If you don't see a bibliography for your entry, try clicking on another source.
SECTION 4 Look at you go! Remember that excellent research happens because you care about your topic, are excited to find out more, work on it weekly several hours, are unafraid to hit a dead end, back up, and try another path, and keep going. ***Stop to look at this cool view of UC Library Search, and in 1 sentence explain what you can access through UC Library Search (see https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=383822&p=2601778) for help: You can find books, articles, journals, and even sources such as images, videos, or archives. ***What resources does UC Berkeley Library offer you here?–explain in 1 sentence. See https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=383822&p=2666393 It offers research guides, style manuals (to help with citations and formatting), as well as writing handbooks (to teach one about essay writing). ***What is a scholarly (also called “refereed”) journal article?–explain in 1 sentence. See https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=83917&p=3747680 A refereed journal article is peer reviewed, (experts and other scholars review this source making it credible), it is specific and provides in-depth information, it is written by an expert, and it also has formal citations. Pause–I mean Paws–a Moment Remember that you matter. Just because you exist. I’m grateful for you! You can do this. Honor your voice. Your friend, Carmen (& Tao) SECTION 5 Find a Book Let's take the keywords we've generated and put them to use! UC Library Search launched in July 2021, and it replaces Oskicat and Melvyl as the Berkeley library catalog for books. UC Library Search is the University of California’s new unified discovery and borrowing system that streamlines your search for UC Library collections. UC LIBRARY SEARCH INCLUDES:
UC Library Search does not include everything UC Berkeley offers (ex: UC Berkeley Law Library collections at https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/). For a full list of what is not included, see our FAQ here: https://ucberkeley.libanswers.com/faq/349506. More information can be found in our UC Library Search User Guide here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/uclibrarysearch/. Why find a book?
Start here: https://search.library.berkeley.edu/discovery/search?vid=01UCS_BER:UCB A Book Is as Cool as a Light Saber. Word. ***Briefly explain how a (scholarly or other) book differs from a (scholarly/refereed or other) journal article (see above). A scholarly book usually provides not only an overview of a topic, but also allows the reader to gain in-depth knowledge. However, they do not always contain the most current information because it can take 2 years to publish. Contrastingly, journal articles (which are much shorter), will have more specific or narrow information but is usually more current/up to date. ***Briefly explain how a scholarly work (book or journal/refereed article) differs from a popular one; see again: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=83917&p=3747680 A popular work can be written by bloggers, writers, etc (they don’t necessarily have to be credible), it can be found from places that do not inclue official journals or publishers, it provides general information, and doesn’t need to have formal citations. On the other hand, a scholarly work is much more formalized with factors such as expert/credible authors, a peer-reviewing process, citations, etc. ***Find a Book. Remember how I asked you to find a book in the encyclopedia bibliography before? Well we're coming back to that now! Try to find that book in UC Library Search! If you can't find it, try to find another book on your topic using the search terms you generated. Write down the call number of the book you found! I wasn’t able to find the same book! Book: Resilient Agriculture : Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate by Laura Lengnick Call Number: S494.5.S86 L45 2015 Find Books Nearby on the Shelf The call number of a book is like an address. It tells you the location of the book. Books at the library are arranged on the shelf by topic. This means you can find several books about your topic near each other. Even when you're online, you can find out what's nearby on the shelf by clicking on a book's call number. From above, let's pick call # PN1995.9.S695 S76 2005 for Star Wars and Philosophy by Decker and Eberl. Click on the call number and locate two more books on your topic. Do a "Virtual Browse" and/or an In-Person One, if safe and if permitted on campus. Here you are doing a "Virtual Browse," a function located at the bottom of the webpage after you click on your chosen call number. Write the titles, locations, and call numbers below of the 2 other books you found from Virtual Browsing. In order to do a "Virtual Browse," you must have a call number to click on (an actual book on an actual shelf in a Berkeley Library). When you click on the call number, then at the very bottom of the webpage, you'll see the "Virtual Browse" findings. You must scroll all the way down. Example of a call number: PE1617.O94 W55. Note: If possible, try this technique in person at Moffitt or another library on campus. Go to that stack of your chosen call number, and look around that book on those shelves nearby. Also remember sometimes books are misshelved by students, faculty (!), and others there, so look in places all around, and be adventurous. Serendipity is also a part of well-organized, conscientious research efforts. ***Below you see the section "Virtual Browse" and the selections I found from putting in call # PN1995.9.S695 S76 2005 for Star Wars and Philosophy by Decker and Eberl. Do your own Virtual Browse using your research topic / selected book, and then after virtual browsing, write below the titles, locations, and call #s of the 2 other books you found from Virtual Browsing: Book 1:
Now you've got 3 books you can use in your research! Way to go! We're in this together! SECTION 6 Find Articles
***What are peer-reviewed articles and why are citations important? Sum up in 1 sentence after watching video (See Video by Marisa Méndez-Brady) Peer reviewed articles and citations show that this source is credible (backed up by facts and experts) and it proves that one person’s work is connected to so many others’ work as well. Find Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles Berkeley subscribes to many databases that contain peer-reviewed articles. These databases are subject specific, so the best way to choose a useful database for your research is to select the subject that is most related to your research topic from the dropdown menu "All Subjects," and choose a database that is recommended by a librarian in your subject area. Start here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/az.php Some good interdisciplinary database options are:
Click on "All Subjects" to choose databases that help your research ***What database did you choose? Under "Film Studies," I chose "Film and Television Literature Index with Full Text." Give yours here: Under Agriculture and Resource Economics, I chose Articles where I then chose “AGRIS” ***Search the database using the keywords you generated earlier, and find a relevant article. Copy paste a citation for an article on your topic: Janker, Judith, Stefan Mann, and Stephan Rist. "What is sustainable agriculture? Critical analysis of the international political discourse." Sustainability 10.12 (2018) ***Download the article if full text is available. I chose "Return of the Jedi: Epic Graffiti" by Todd H. Sammons, as my peer-reviewed article. ***Find an Article from the Bibliography. Open the article you just found. (If it isn't available through Berkeley, browse your results again for a full text article on your topic.) Scroll through your article until you reach the bibliography. Browse the bibliography for another article on your topic. Write down the title and author below. Also remember to search footnotes for new sources! Give yours here! ***New Keywords? Scan the titles, abstracts, and subjects of your search results. Have you come across any new keywords as you've searched? Write them down here:
SECTION 7 Way to go! & Ask a librarian for help! You now have 3 books and at least 2 articles to add to your bibliography! Woot! I know you're excited, but stop here for a minute... Pro tip: If Berkeley does not have access to the article that you want, you can request it from ILL and it will be delivered to your email in a few days! ILL? That's InterLibrary Loan, and yes, in the parlance for today, ILL is "sick"! You need to plan ahead to use it, as sometimes it can take a few days or longer to get the ILL you request, but it's an awesome way to expand your research parameters! Request It
Get Help
Librarians love it when you ask them for help. You can make a research appointment or have an online chat. Do it! Just click on one of the links below, found here: https://search.library.berkeley.edu/discovery/search?vid=01UCS_BER:UCB I'm always THRILLED when great research happens! SECTION 8 Explore More Research Guides & More! Find the Research Guide for Your Topic The Library has specialized research guides for every discipline. If you are doing an interdisciplinary topic, there may be several guides relevant to you. ***Browse all research guides at https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/ Click on a subject related to your topic and select a guide link that you might use. Give it here. Environment + Natural Resources → Agriculture ***Find a Database or Digital Collection Useful for You. Look through the Research Guide you choose above. Write down the name of a database or digital collection that might be useful to you as you continue to research. Give that here: Agricultural & Environmental Science Database What other sources might be helpful to answer your research question? Organic Eprints, PubAg, Greenwire (Databases, eBooks, News) Don't be afraid to explore! A research project, remember, is the tip of the iceberg. The "iceberg" is all the research you did, and it all counts and you learn from it; however, only the "tip" of the iceberg makes it into the project. That's true for everyone, at all levels of research experience. Getting Research Help. Here are additional ways to get help:
***Write down ways that you have sought help already and/or ways that you will seek help, including the possibilities listed right above and asterisked: I will probably email subject librarians to get help, as well as learn more about UC Library Search to be able to use it to its full potential. ***Write down 3 other sources that may help you. These could include newspapers, other databases, other books, other peer-reviewed articles, images, recordings such as at the Library of Congress, podcasts, original photos, etc. Give these here: Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change by Eric Lichtfouse (Book) The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2022 (Report) Organic Animal Husbandry systems – Ways to improvement. (Journal) ***What's something you want the librarian to cover during your library workshop or what is a question you have for a librarian? Write it down. One questions would be how to search in the databases more effectively. Feedback for Our Amazing Librarians ***I am a. . . . [first year, second, third, fourth year, other] I am a second year. ***What is one thing that worked well about this notebook? It introduced me to to different databases and showed me the basics of how to use them. ***How long did this take you to complete? 3 hours. ***What is one way this notebook could be improved? One way would be to give more guidance if one is unable to find relevant, recent sources about one’s topic. My topic is quite broad, however, I was often having trouble finding a source that doesn’t have a broken link or could not find any articles related to even terms such as ‘sustainability.’ Sources: This Library Research Notebook is continuously adapted by Dr. Carmen Acevedo Butcher according to excellent student feedback (thank you past and present students), also from a google form by UC Berkeley Librarian Kristina Bush and from an adaptation of that work by UC Berkeley Librarian Kiyoko Shiosaki. |
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