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First Year Seminar

Controversial Topics in Science

A. Stuart            October 11, 2006

Guide for finding materials at the George T. Potter Library

Marcia Sexton

msexton@ramapo.edu

x6749

I. Library Homepage: http://library.ramapo.edu provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.

• First Year Seminar Page: http://library.ramapo.edu/gatewayfys.html Information on library research for all FYS classes
• Course Reserve: http://potter.ramapo.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?db=local&PAGE=rbSearch Need either Ramapo ID (R#) or barcode (provided by the library)
• Q&A New Jersey: http://www.qandanj.org Reference assistance when there is no reference librarian available

II. Avoiding Plagiarism

• Academic Integrity: http://library.ramapo.edu/plagiarism.html
• Citing Sources: http://library.ramapo.edu/citing.html

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 “vocational guidance” or “occupations” to locate a broad range of materials for your project

Tips

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

IV. Electronic Resources

• A useful Database for finding articles:

              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.

Databases are available by subject: http://library.ramapo.edu/databases.htm

Or alphabetical: http://library.ramapo.edu/databasesatoz.htm

Journal Finder: http://ramapo.1cate.com determines if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm.

V. Reference Materials

• Biomedical Ethics: Opposing Viewpoints  Ref H31.O62 B61 1994
• Global Warming: Opposing Viewpoints  Ref H31.O62 G57
• Environmental Ethics  Ref GE42.E573 2003

VII. Websites

• Subject Resources: http://library.ramapo.edu/websitesbysubject.html
• Evaluating Websites:  http://library.ramapo.edu/evaluating.html

VII. Interlibrary loan

Interlibrary loan, http://library.ramapo.edu/ill.html, allows students to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own.  There is also a link from the Journal Finder page.

Need more help?  Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201-684-7574