Appendix F: Research with Nicolet College Library Resources
While Chapter 5 gave you some basic information about conducting library research, this appendix was written specifically for Dalton State students and then revised for Nicolet College students to provide additional details about using Nicolet College Richard J. Brown Library. The Nicolet College Library home page can be found at nicoletcollege.libguides.com/home.
The Library Catalog
The library catalog search tool, WorldCat Discovery, provides a searchable listing of all the books, e-books, and resources like audiovisual media and government documents owned by the library. Access to the library catalog is available from the library’s home page.
You can search the library catalog using keywords about your topic. The search results pages will show materials in all formats, and if you would like items only in a particular format, you may narrow the search using the facets on the left side of the screen. This “Refine this search” section also lets users narrow their search by date, author, subject, and more.
Each item listed on the results page gives you the information you need to access these sources. The right side of the page lets you know the format of the source, gives the call number to items physically located in the library, and provides links to full access e-versions. The library’s catalog has a variety of helpful features, including an option to order books from other schools if the Nicolet College copy is checked out.
Users can log in to WorldCat Discovery catalog using their Nicolet College login credentials to save searches and items for future reference, and see their checkout history, as well as renew items online.
DATABASES
Nicolet College subscribes to many databases, each containing hundreds of journals, each journal consisting of hundreds of articles, which means that there are millions of possible sources available. What you need is probably there; it’s just a matter of finding it. Using databases takes a little more time and effort than using an Internet search engine, but it will provide you much more reliable information.
Most of the content in the databases is articles from periodicals. Although the databases do index newspapers, encyclopedias, and popular magazines for college-level research, it is best used for accessing academic journals.
Many students like to use Google Scholar to find journal articles, and it is a good source for finding the publication information, but often users can not actually access the full article because a subscription fee must be paid. You will not have that problem through the library. You will have to sign in with your username and password for Nicolet College.
From the Quick Links box, click on eResources, you will have several options. For academic journals, try starting with Academic Search Premier.
You can read the articles by clicking the “Full Text” option at the bottom of the record. Some search results do not show any full text options. This means you will have to click the blue “Find It” button to check for access. If none is available, don’t worry—the library can order a copy using Interlibrary Loan.
When you click on the title of an article, you will be redirected to a screen with more information that also offers helpful tools on the right hand side of the page. The “Cite” tool shown there is popular, because it will generate a pre-formatted entry for your Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page, which you can cut and paste into your paper. You can also read the abstract to see if it is what you are really looking for. Additionally, you can email the article to yourself and perform a number of other functions.
Not only can you find articles from multiple databases at once by using the search box, you can access articles by searching individual databases, some of which catalog articles from journals in specific disciplines, such as psychology, education, medicine, or literature.
One database that many public speaking instructors like to recommend to their students is Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC). This database covers hundreds of topics, the listing of which you can browse through to figure out which topic you’d like to research.
Even better, OVRC will provide articles from a variety of periodicals (mag- azines, newspapers, and academic journals) that explore both sides—pro and con—of current issues. For example, if you want to research the subject of raising the minimum wage, OVRC will provide articles on why it should be raised and why it should not be raised from moral, economic, practical, and political viewpoints. One of the values of OVRC is that when you are preparing your persuasive speech you will need to know the arguments of the “other side” so that you can bring them up in your speech and refute them.
To access Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, use the “Databases A-Z” option on the main GALILEO page, then click on “O” and find it in the list.
Once in the database, you can browse the subject categories, or search by keyword. Note that many of the tools offered in GALILEO, such as email, print, and cite, are available in this database as well.
As mentioned in Chapter 5, librarians are a valuable resource for researchers. Luckily, Dalton State College has friendly librarians who are happy to help!
