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THE   LIBRARY   RESEARCH   PROCESS

Planet Earth With Flying Book

Prepared by:

John R. Deosdade
Instructor /Reference Librarian



LIBRARY RESEARCH Student Carrying an Armload of Books


When faced with a looming term paper deadline, library research remains perhaps one of the most frustrating experiences for the student researcher. The thousands of reference books, hundreds of magazine and journal titles, scores of periodical index databases, various CD-ROM and LAN databases, coupled with some 6 billion World Wide Web pages, result in a morass of often confusing information.

Animated Cartoon of Student Taking Notes from Books In desperation, many students attempt to complete their term paper by checking out as many books as possible on the topic and scanning the pages for relevant information. In other instances, they photocopy as many periodical articles as their pocket change allows. In either case, the end result is a time consuming and labor intensive effort that often does not meet their informational needs.

Although the approach above helps increase the library's circulation statistics, librarians at the San Antonio College Library have found that library research is more productive, and less stressful, if one uses a LIBRARY RESEARCH PROCESS.

Simply put, the Library Research Process is an efficient and effective method to define, analyze, review, and summarize virtually any research topic.This systematic approach is both easy to use and simple to learn. Let's take a closer look:

Arrow Pointing Downward

Library research can be viewed as a circular procedure in which one step naturally flows into another. Beginning with "Define Topic," the researcher builds the framework. "Devise Strategies" outlines the possible search "game plan" that could be used. Finally, "Search Sources" identifies the types of library sources and the mechanics of how to conduct the actual searches.

Throughout the process, the researcher is constantly evaluating and re-evaluating both the progress being made and the applicability of sources located. These three steps are further explored below:


Professor Pointing at the Word 'Evaluate' on a Blackboard Library Research Process Model

DEFINE TOPIC
DEVISE STRATEGY
SEARCH SOURCES









SOME   FINAL   THOUGHTS   ABOUT   LIBRARY   RESEARCH


What do you do IF?Animated Student Typing on Word Processor

  • Library does not have an entire book on your subject. Search for general or broader books on the topic. For example, to locate information on "creation myths among American indian tribes," search for information on native Americans, native American literature, or native American religion.

  • Criticism of a specific poem or short story cannot be located. Look for broader information on the author such as: biographical data, family life, jobs held, writing techniques, themes, use of color, etc. Then apply the information gathered to an analysis of the specific poem or short story.

  • You need assistance in the actual writing, formatting, editing, etc.


Animated Cartoon of Inspector Clouseau The answer is simply THIS:

  • The SAC Librarians are full-time, tenured teaching faculty whose area of expertise is library science.   Their primary job is to teach students the effective use of the library and its resources.

  • The Librarians are an essential reference source. Do not "give up" on finding information in the SAC Library without first asking for assistance from the librarians.

  • Remember these additional sources:




Designed as an expansion of a lecture outline, "The Library Research Process" It is best viewed with the Internet Explorer browser. Comments or suggestions on this document may be emailed to: John Deosdade at jdeosdade@mail.accd.edu


OTHER   DEOSDADE
INSTRUCTIONAL   SOURCES:

San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78212-4299 Phone: 210/733-2000, Technology Hotline: 785-6031
One of the Alamo Community Colleges. The Alamo Community College District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
For special accommodations or an alternate format, contact the San Antonio College disABILITY Support Services at 733-2347