Bomhold_CH7_Scan.docx

INTRODUCTION Books not meant to be read cover-to-cover, such as dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias, atlases, and others are shelved together in a special section of the library called the reference area. These Reference books are not circulated outside the library so that anyone may have acces...

INTRODUCTION Books not meant to be read cover-to-cover, such as dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias, atlases, and others are shelved together in a special section of the library called the reference area. These Reference books are not circulated outside the library so that anyone may have access to them. Catalog records for these items are usually marked with an "R" or "Ref" before the call number and the spine label is marked accordingly. While much of this material is now available online, there remains a need for ready access to information which may or may not be included online. Reference sources are useful in the research process for a number of reasons: they provide background information, they provide facts or specific details on a subject, and they point to other sources of information. Reference services have changed dramatically with the introduction of computers and the Internet. With access to worldwide information literally at your fingertips 24 hours a day, you might find that many of your reference questions can now be answered with the click of a button without having to visit your local library. However, in many instances, and particularly for research papers, you will find that some of the reference sources that would prove helpful are available only in the library. Libraries continue to provide access to a combination of sources—some in print and others in electronic format. Any information retrieval, whether in paper or electronic format, is more effective if you are familiar with the sources that provide that information. This chapter seeks to identify the major reference sources, regardless of format, and to help you sharpen your skills in finding and using them. 175 2. The title of a work will help to determine its scope. Subject reference works tend to give greater coverage to the topics that they cover than more general works. The title of the work often provides clues to the contents. The text itself might be perused to determine the extent of details and the type of coverage. Timeliness The copyright date, revision date, or last update notification for Web documents should be used to determine whether or not the information contained in the source is current. The contents of a reference book are about a year older than the copyright date since it takes approximately a year before a book is published. The publication date and any revised edition dates are found on the reverse side of the title page of a work. A revised edition with a new copyright may indicate only minor changes. The terms 'completely revised edition" or "enlarged edition" are indicative of more extensive revisions. Arrangement Reference works may be arranged or organized in three ways. l . Alphabetically: Subjects or words appear in simple alphabetical order. Dictionaries are typically arranged in this fashion. Some reference books arranged in alphabetical order often include a separate index to help locate subtopics within the work. For example, Webster's New World Dictionary has a single alphabetical arrangement without a separate index while World Book Encyclopedia includes a separate index volume. Topically: Subjects are listed in order by broad categories. Reference works arranged by topics almost always have a separate index that is used to find specific subjects within the broad categories. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice and Encyclopedia ofPopular Culture are examples of this type of arrangement. Chronologically: Subjects are listed by date or time periods. Historical works such as Langer's Encyclopedia of World History are arranged by time periods. Author Knowing something about the author can be useful for determining the reliability of information. Occasionally reference books are written by one author, but more often, they are the work of several authors under the direction of an editor. Individual articles are usually signed by the author or authors responsible. Often the author's full name is given along with a brief biographical note indicating education, professional position, and a list of the author's other works. Sometimes that information appears elsewhere in the book or even in a separate volume if the work is a multivolume one. In The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, only the author's initials appear at the end of the article; the full name and biographical information are found in a separate volume. With Web-based documents, some authorship or ownership is usually provided on the initial page of the source or at the end of the document. Bibliographies Bibliographies are helpful in providing the researcher with a list of materials for further consideration. They also tell the reader that the author has researched the topic, which is an indication of the reliability of the information. Bibliographies may be found at the end of each article, at the end of a section in some topically arranged works, at the end of the entire work, or perhaps as an appendix to the work. Cross References Cross references include see and see also references that direct the reader to similar or related topics. The see reference guides the reader from a term that is not used to one that is used. A see also reference suggests other terms to consult for additional information. Both of these are useful in gathering information. Figure 7.1 0 Examples of reference sources. process might be something like this: "Television advertising has had a tremendous effect on children in recent years. This can be dramatically seen in the increase of children's buying habits." To pursue this, you would seek current material providing spending habits of children, or look for statistics indicating the amount of time children spend watching television advertisements. Determine the Wpe of Reference Source Knowing something about the types of reference sources can save you from having to guess where to look for information. Many of the types of reference books listed in Figure 7.1 may already be famil- There are indexes, abstracts, and reference works in all three major subject disciplines. To select the most appropriate sources, first you must determine how the topic is to be approached. In developing a research statement, it is extremely helpful to determine the focus of your topic. For example, how would you plan to treat the topic of television advertising and children? Figure 7.4 describes three different approaches that could be used. Figure 7.4 0 Three different approaches for the topic of "the effect of television advertising and children." From the social science perspective, arguments could be made that violence and sex have a definite impact on children, as shown in various surveys and studies correlating the viewing of television and video games by teenage gang members with crime statistics. The science perspective would discuss the biological changes that take place as more and more violence is viewed by children and young adults. The humanities approach might include the perceived obligations of advertisers to be truthful in their advertising to its viewers, especially to young viewers. In each case, different types of sources would be encountered; different databases, reference works, books and Internet sites could be selected to focus on the different approaches. FINDING REFERENCE SOURCES Once you have analyzed your research topic and determined the appropriate subject areas to use for finding information, the next step is to actually locate the appropriate sources. Library Catalog Use the library catalog when you know the title of a reference source, but not its location, or to find titles of works when you know only the subject. If you do not find the topic, it may be because it is too specific or it may be that the topic is not used as a subject in the catalog. Encyclopedia ofAdolescence—"Television, Adolescents, and . . . General encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopedia Americana—"Television," "Social Significance of Television," and "Influence on Children." Consult a Guide to Reference Books The guides list reference sources by subject and often include subdivisions by type such as encyclopedias, handbooks, and manuals. Listed below are some of the more useful guides. 0 American Reference Books Annual. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1970—. Lists both general and subject reference books. Comprehensive review of each work with author/ title index and subject index. O Balay, Robert, ed. Guide to Reference Books. 11th ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996. A comprehensive, annotated work that includes broad subject headings with further subdivisions according to type of source. Includes specific subject headings, and/or geographical subdivisions. The index incorporates author, title, subject, editors, compilers, and sponsoring bodies. O Walford's Guide to Reference Material. 8th ed. 3 vols. London: Facet Publishing. Each volume is devoted to a different discipline: Science and Technology (1999); Social and Historical Sciences, Philosophy and Religion (2000); Generalia, Language and Literature, the Arts (1998). Each entry is annotated. Includes author/title index and a subject index in each volume. Consult Reference Sources on the Internet Electronic sources are becoming more numerous and more important as components of the library's reference collection. Access to CD-ROMs, online databases, and the Intemet is usually available in the reference area (as well as remotely). Reference sources such as Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Webster's Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, 800 Number Directory, and thesauri formerly available only in paper copy are readily available on the Internet. You can also find stock market prices, subject bibliographies, directories for e-mail addresses, instructions on résumé writing, current employment opportunities, and current federal and state legislation. Many types of reference sources discussed earlier in this chapter (manuals, handbooks, dictionaries, etc.) can now be found on the Internet and searched using the basic search techniques discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 discusses the use of search engines to find information on the Internet. However, finding reference materials on the Internet can be frustrating, so it is advisable to use one of the many guides to reference sources that are available. Although much information is available online, most researchers still use a combination of articles from databases, Internet documents, books, and reference sources from the library. The list of Selected Internet Sites at the end of this chapter presents a representative sampling of resources that may be used for reference purposes. Ask the Reference Librarian for Assistance Reference librarians are information specialists who are trained to analyze patrons' research needs and assist them in locating different sources of information. Librarians can assist patrons not only in locating information, but in providing guidance in developing search strategies for specific projects. Typical reference questions are changing from "Where do I find . . ." to "How do I log in to the campus network?" and "Which database should I use to find articles on this topic?" Because librarians have become more knowledgeable about computers and technology in general, they can serve the remote user as well as the in-house one. Many libraries now provide electronic mail (e-mail) reference service, allowing patrons to submit questions via the Internet from other locations. The answers are often returned by the library with complete bibliographic citations or full articles attached. This service is especially valuable for distance education and other users who cannot come to the library. The AskLibrary link on Conn Library's home page (Figure 7.8) provides this service.