Library Resources

As a distance learning institution, we encourage students to use business and public libraries, as well as on-line resources for their academic research projects. We have designed courses in Library Research Methods to teach students about the current methodologies utilized to access library resources. Students can also use the online resources provided through this website.


Local and Business Libraries

Some business libraries charge an annual fee to authorize access to their resources. FTU will subsidize payments you make up to $25 annually for the library card at your local business library. To credit the reimbursement to your account, send the photocopy of your library card, front and back, and the receipt to the Resource Specialist. Our Resource Specialist will notify the Accounting Office for reimbursement.


Virtual Library (Free Access on FTU)

The Internet provides a valuable resource for academic research. The Virtual Library provides free access to discussion boards, file archives, web sites, electronic texts, electronic data sources, financial data sources, dictionaries, encyclopedias, news services, newspapers, magazines and other beneficial academic resources. Visit: http://ftu.edu/virtual-library/


Questia Online Library (Membership Required)

Questia provides 24/7 access from home, office, or anyplace with an internet connection. Your membership facilitates access to nearly 75,000 full-text books and millions of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. Questia provides powerful research tools for quoting and citing, highlighting text, storing notes, and automatically creating bibliographies. As a student member you will also have access to the services of a library resource specialist at Questia. To access the Questia Gateway for establishing your membership you may contact FTU or use the following link: https://www.questia.com/free-trial


LR200 Library Research Methods Course (5 units)

Prerequisites: None

Objectives: This course will cover the different steps in library research methods via the world wide web. It will provide the necessary research tools for students who are just starting to write research papers and need to learn how to conduct research online and in libraries. Moreover, it will also help students who have done research in libraries but need to learn how to do online research and those students who have began surfing online but need to use the Web as a major research tool.
Textbook: Dawn and Raymond J. Rodrigues, The Research Paper and the World
Wide Web (second edition), Prentice Hall Inc., New Jersey, 2000.

Teaching Methods: Self-paced distance learning assisted by teleconferencing and electronic communication with instructor. You have the opportunity and challenge of setting your own rate of progress. The obvious advantage is that you are not following someone else’s class schedule. The disadvantage is that you must be self-motivated. You are free to consult any other textbook for further research. We will help you monitor your progress, however, the responsibility is yours. Go ahead and set a study schedule but stick to it. If you have any questions, contact your instructor.

Evaluation: Completion of reading and homework assignments Part One 50% and Part Two 50%.

Grading System: A = 90% or better, B = 80%, C = 70%, D = 60%

Reading Assignments (Part 1):
Chapter I: The Research Process in the Information Age
The Research Paper in the Information Age
The Research and Writing Process
Establishing a Topic or Research Project by Reading and Searching
Establishing Research Questions
Plan Research Methodologies
Identify Keywords through Research Questions
Develop a System for Note Taking and Organizing Sources
Prepare a Working Bibliography
Validate Your Sources
Draft, Revise, and Edit Your Paper

Chapter II: Researching Library and Web
What is the Library? What is the Web?
Exploring Your Library
The Physical Library
The Card Catalog
Indexes and Databases
Exploring the Web
Navigating and Basic Searching
Using the Navigation Panel
Using the Location Bar to enter URL’s
Using Search Tools and Search Strategies
Using Bookmarks
Advanced Searching
Standard Search Engines
Metasearch Engines
Unified Search Interfaces

Chapter III : Library Resources on The Web
Finding Libraries on the Web
Using a Library Access Site to Find Your Library
Exploring Library Catalogs
Traditional Library Resources on the Web
Books on the Web
Journals and Magazines on the Web
Online Journals and Zines
Indexes and Abstracts on the Internet
Encyclopedias and Other References
Newspapers
Government Publications

Chapter IV: Finding Resources in the Disciplines
Finding Resources in Your Field
Using Subject-Area Collections as Starting Points
Locating Subject-Area Collections
Evaluating Subject-Area Collections
General Purpose Subject-Area Collections
The World Wide Web Virtual Library
The Argus Clearinghouse
Einet Galaxy
BUBL(Bulletin Board for Libraries)
Librarians Index to the Internet(Berkeley)
A Collection of Resources in the Disciplines
Humanities
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Business
Education
Engineering

Homework Assignments (Part 1): Some of the chapter exercises (in bold) may require printouts and/or a copy on a flash drive to be submitted to instructor.

  • Do Exercises 1-4 at the end of Chapter 1.
  • Do Exercises 1,2,4, and 7 at the end of Chapter 2.
  • Do Exercises 2-3 at the end of Chapter 3.
  • Do Exercise 1(in addition to posting your list to “Web Links”, submit your list to your instructor), 2, 3 at the end of Chapter 4.

Reading Assignments (Part 2):

Chapter V: Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Information: The Early Stages of a Research Project
Preliminary Evaluation of Web Sources
Determining Whether the Journal or Magazine Is Appropriate
For Your Topic
The Importance of Exploring Varied Sources
Evaluation at the Drafting Phase
Determining What Kinds of Sources to Explore

Chapter VI: E-Mail, Newsgroups, Forums, and Listservs as Research
Tools
E-Mail
Using E-Mail for Data Gathering: Questions to Ask
The Etiquette of E-Mail: Netiquette
Creating and Sending E-Mail Messages to Request
Information
Attaching Documents to E-Mail Messages
Saving and Filing E-Mail Messages
Mailing Lists
Subscribing to a Mailing List
Mailing List Basics
The Etiquette of Mailing Lists
Using Mailing Lists for Research
Using Newsgroups for Research
Forums
Other Research Tools
MOOs

Chapter VII : Taking Notes and Organizing Information
Bookmarking
Organizing Bookmarks
Setting Up Your Electronic Work Space
The Research Project Directory
Research Notebook Directory
Subtopic Directories
Electronic Notecards
Draft Files
E-mail as an Organizational Tool
Summarizing the Organizational Process

Chapter VIII : Documenting Sources
Different Citation Styles in Different Disciplines
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting
What to Cite? Avoiding Plagiarism
Internal Citation and Bibliographic Citation
Guidelines for Internal Citations
Guidelines for Bibliographic Citations
Guidelines for Electronic Citation
General Guidelines
MLA Electronic Citation Style
APA Electronic Citation Style
Alternate APA Electronic Citation Style
Formatting the Research Paper: MLA and APA Examples
Exploring Citation Problems
Copyright Considerations

Homework Assignments (Part 2): Some of the chapter exercises (in bold) may require printouts and/or a copy of a flash drive to be submitted to instructor.

  1. Do Exercise 1 at the end of Chapter 5, Exercise 4 at the end of Chapter 4(based on the topics read on Chapter 5).
  2. Do Exercise 1-4 at the end of Chapter 6.
  3. Do Exercises 1-6 at the end of Chapter 7.
  4. Do Practice Box on page 108 and Exercise 1 at the end of Chapter 8.

Anticipated Learning Outcomes: Undergraduate students will gain the facility and expertise in effective online and traditional research methods. They will be able to search through these research methods by acquiring the knowledge in the research process, search strategies, evaluation of sources, and documentation. Finally, after reading the textbook and doing the exercises provided, students will be able to locate, evaluate, organize, and write about topics.

Bibliography:

Print Sources:
Bolner, Myrtle S. and Poirier, Gayle A., The Research Process: Books and Beyond, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company:Dubuque, Iowa, 1997.
Gibaldi, Joseph, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th edition, The Modern Language Association of America: New York, 1995.
Mann, Thomas, The Oxford Guide to Library Research, Oxford University Press: New York, 1995.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th edition, American Psychological Association, Washington D.C., 1995.
Wolf, Carolyn E., Basic Library Skills, 4th edition, MacFarland: Jefferson, North Carolina, 1999.

Online Sources:
Cornell University Management Library at http://www.library.cornell.edu
Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl.org
New York Public Library at http://www.nypl.org
Study WEB at http://www.studyweb.com