When
You Start Your Research... |
To
Find books or DVDs on a Topic | To
Find Magazine or Newspaper Articles:
Using the Digital Library and Other Resources
|
Using the Internet
|
Using
a Public Library and Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
|
|
WHEN YOU START YOUR RESEARCH... |
 |
Think
through your topic: Read any written instructions you have been
given and discuss The assignment with your classroom instructor
before you begin your research. |
|
|
What type of information do you
need:
Statistics? Directory information? Pictures? History?
Biographical information? Are you looking for historical or
current information? Several points of view on a single topic? |
|
|
What
keywords or phrases best reflect your topic?
Think about different ways to express your topic using:
synonyms (e.g.
cars/automobiles),
alternate/related concepts (e.g. capital
punishment/death penalty, trends/fashion forecasting,
flats/fashion illustration/fashion drawing,
contractors/private label manufacturers)
broader and narrower topics (umbrellas/accessories,
authors/science fiction writers)
|
|
|
Always keep
track of your research:
Even if you are just beginning your
research, make sure you keep a list of all of the materials you have
used, including books, magazines, newspapers, websites, databases,
etc.Having this information will allow you to refer back to the
resource if you need to, and will allow to you to begin to compile
a bibliography or “works cited” list to include in your
paper. |
|
|
The more
you can clarify before you come in to, phone, or e-mail the library, the
better librarians can help you get on with your
research. Let us know if you're just starting out, or if you've
tried some strategies and just aren't getting what you need.
|
|
TO FIND BOOKS or DVDs ON A
TOPIC |
Why?
For an overview of a topic, for a detailed discussion of a topic
Why not?
Not for very recent topics, or very specific topics |
StyleCat
[Online Catalog]
, the
library’s online catalog [available on computers in
the library, or remotely at
http://www3.fitnyc.edu/library],
lists all books, periodical titles, and non-print
material (e.g. DVDs, CDs, slides) that the library owns.
When you find a listing in
StyleCat
[Online Catalog], write down the title, author
(if any) and FULL collection/call number
(e.g. Reference Stacks HD62.5 .M387 2005). |
|
|
Use
appropriate SUBJECT HEADINGS:
|
|
|
When you search
StyleCat
[Online Catalog] in its default setting ("Field to search: All
Fields"), you are looking for all the words you've typed to be
found in some combination of the title of the book/item, the
author's name, the publisher's name, and the subject of the
book/item. Sometimes that will get you good results, but
sometimes you will get nothing, or too much, or too many
irrelevant-looking items listed. You can choose so search
by "Subject headings" (choose "Field to search: Subject"),
specific
word(s) assigned to describe an item.
The "subject
headings" are mostly assigned by the
Library of Congress, and
are standardized for most academic libraries in the US. This allows most
books on a subject to be found by searching specific word(s) or
phrase(s) without having to try endless combinations like you might
have to do on a search of the Internet.
A
person's name or organization's name can also be a subject heading for information about (not by) that person or
organization.
There are some useful lists of SUBJECT HEADINGS by topic
here, or ask a Reference Librarian for help if you can't
figure out what word or phrase would work best.
For example, there are
StyleCat
[Online Catalog] listings under all of the following subject
headings: |
|
|
| Art
deco |
Metropolitan Museum of Art |
|
Clothing trade
-- Directories |
Psychology |
|
Costume – England |
Small
business |
|
Melville, Herman |
Versace,
Gianni |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For an
overview of a topic, you can use a general ENCYCLOPEDIA. You may
also want to consult a specialized subject ENCYCLOPEDIA,
DICTIONARY, OR HANDBOOK.
|
|
|
Search
StyleCat
[Online Catalog] for these titles by using
the subject you are looking for, along with the word or
phrase “dictionaries”, “encyclopedias” or “handbooks, manuals,
etc”. For example:
Canada –
Encyclopedias
Personnel management – Handbooks, manuals,
etc.
Textile fabrics – Dictionaries
There are also many good subject encyclopedias available online
through the
Digital Library, through
Credo
Reference and
Gale Virtual Reference Library. |
|
|
Be sure to
SPELL and TYPE YOUR TERMS CORRECTLY.
In a computer search
of
StyleCat
[Online Catalog], the Digital Library databases or the
Internet, missing
even one letter can get you incorrect or even no results. If you
get a “0” result for a search, go back one step to check if you’ve
made a spelling or typing mistake. Ask for help if you’re
still not sure!
|
|
TO FIND MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER
ARTICLES: Using the DIGITAL LIBRARY and other resources |
Why?
For more current or detailed information, or if you cannot find any
books on your topic
Why not?
Not for broad overview of a topic, articles from general (as
opposed to scholarly) periodicals won't have bibliographies
referring you to other related sources.
Periodical indexes help you find articles on a specific topic
without having to flip through hundreds or thousands of issues.
|
|
|
Most of
the FIT Library's
periodical indexes are available online through the
Digital
Library, but some are only print format or on CD-ROM;
Many of the online databases include the
FULL TEXT of the article, others have only the CITATION (i.e. name
of magazine/date/page of the article).
|
|
|
Some of the
indexes available at the FIT library are:
Art
Full Text & Art Index
Retrospective
General OneFile
(WAS: InfoTrac OneFile)
New York Times
Index |
|
|
The
articles you find using a periodical index may be from a
newspaper, a news wire service, a consumer magazine, a trade
publication, or a scholarly journal. There's a good explanatory chart
here (scroll
down to, and click on,
"Difference between Scholarly Journal, Magazine,
and Trade Journal") or
ask a librarian about the different types of publications and
which may be most appropriate for your particular purpose. |
|
|
If you are
using an index that is not full-text (i.e. does not include the
full article):
|
|
|
w
Look for, and click on the
icon or
Find This Article
link,
or |
| w Check
the booklet "Periodicals Listed by Title" found on tables in the
Reference Room, 4th floor, or |
| w Check
StyleCat
[Online Catalog]
(under the name of the magazine, not the name of the specific
article) to see if the library owns the magazine you need.
Unless
otherwise indicated, magazines and newspapers (including those on
microfilm) are kept in the
Periodical Department on the 6th floor of the library. |
|
|
|
Be sure to
SPELL and TYPE YOUR TERMS CORRECTLY.
In a computer search
of
StyleCat
[Online Catalog], the Digital Library databases or the
Internet, missing
even one letter can get you incorrect or even no results. If you
get a “0” result for a search, go back one step to check if you’ve
made a spelling or typing mistake. Ask for help if you’re
still not sure! |
|
|
| USING THE INTERNET |
|
Why?
Very current, many different perspectives & opinions, very specific
topic coverage, easy and cheap to find information.
Why not?
Internet information may -- or may not -- be reliable,
authoritative. Hard to tell who or why someone writes about a
topic. Information online may be changed frequently (e.g. Wikipedia).
|
|
|
Use the FIT Library’s
INTERNET GUIDES as starting-off points on various topics
such as Business, Careers, or Textile Industry. The guides are also
available in printed format at the 4th Floor Reference Room
|
|
|
INFORMATION BULLETIN: Searching and Evaluating Internet Resources
provides helpful tips on how to search and what your results mean. |
|
|
Need more help with an Internet
search?
Ask a Librarian, in person, by phone. |
|
|
|
USING A
PUBLIC LIBRARY and INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL) |
|
Why?
Item not available at FIT library
Why not? Item might actually be available in another format (e.g.
online through Digital Library instead of book or magazine format),
not for things you need right away |
|
|
If the FIT
library does not have the book or periodical you want to use, try a
PUBLIC LIBRARY
or look into INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL). |
|
|
If you see that a nearby public library has the
item(s) you're looking for, going to that location will usually be
the fastest way to get the item. Try any/all of these: |
|
|
|
|
|
If you have more time, you can request the item through
ILLiad, our interlibrary loan system.
Most items can be
located in another library (usually in other U.S. colleges and
universities) and sent to the FIT library for you to use. |
|
Top of Page |
