First Year Seminar

Diverse Perspectives in Higher Education

S. Barlow   September 24, 2006

Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
Leigh Keller

lkeller1@ramapo.edu

x7316

 I. Library Homepage   Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.

  • Course Reserve  Need either Ramapo ID (R#) or barcode (provided by the library)
  • Q&A New Jersey  Reference assistance when there is no reference librarian available

II.  Avoiding Plagiarism

  •       Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"

III. Finding Books at the Potter Library

  • Catalog: use this to find books, journal titles NOT ARTICLES, government documents, reserve items, music and movies owned by the Library. You may limit a search by language, year(s) of publication, type of material, etc. This may take a few seconds to load.
  • Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
    • For example: search for human cloning to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your project

                 Tips

    1. Start with broad searches. It is much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
    2. If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Related Records tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
    3. Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record

IV. Electronic Resources

  • Some useful Databases for finding articles:
ERIC: Education Database Provides full text of more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals.
Academic Search Premier A multi-disciplinary database containing both full-text articles and citations. When only a citation is included, click on the "Check availability at Ramapo" link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.
Expanded Academic Provides multidisciplinary, easy-to-use access more than 3,500 journals (of which 2,100 are peer-reviewed) in the areas of humanities, social science and science and technology.

Chronicle of Higher Education

Features the complete contents of the latest issue; daily news and advice columns; thousands of current job listings; articles published since September 1989; vibrant discussion forums;

 

  • Journal Finder : determine if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm

Tips

  1. Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
  2. Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: technology and "united states" and effect and "higher education"
  3. Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.

        

 V.  Reference Material

  • The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
  • Some useful materials for your projects:

 

    Higher education in the United States : an encyclopedia Ref LA225 .H54 2002

Tips

  1. Use reference books to browse for project ideas and to get started on your research.
  2. Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.

 

 

VII.  Websites

  

VIII. Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan: allows students to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.

Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574

Use QandA NJ a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.
 
| George T. Potter Library |
| 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah NJ 07430 | (201) 684-7575 |

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