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Narragansett High School Library: Senior Research Paper

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Senior Research Paper Helpful Handouts

Peer Reviewed Material

"Peer Review in 3 Minutes." YouTube, uploaded by Libncsu, 1 May 2014,                   www.youtube.com/watchtime_continue=6&v=rOCQZ7QnoN0&feature=emb_logo. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020.

CRAAP Test Video

"The C.R.A.A.P. Test." YouTube, uploaded by Wintec City Library, 24 Nov. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieaCVPu6Zec. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020.

CRAAPO Test--A Tool for Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Resources: the CRAAPO TEST

 

Consider the following questions as you evaluate the source and determine its reliability.

Currency: the timeliness of the information

  • When was the information published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
  • Are the links functional?

 

 Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
  • Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
  • Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

 

Authority: the source of the information

  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
  • Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
  • What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
  • Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
  • Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?  Examples: (.com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government), .org (nonprofit organization), .net (network)

 

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

  • Where does the information come from?
  • Is the information supported by evidence?
  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
  • Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

 

Purpose: the reason the information exists

  • What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
  • Is the information fact? opinion? Propaganda?
  • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

 

Objectivity: the impartiality of the information

  • What institution (company, organization, government, university, etc.) supports this information?
  • Does the institution appear to exercise quality control over the information appearing under its name?
  • Does the author's affiliation with this particular institution appear to bias the information?
  • Is there advertising and does it affect the content and message of the source?

 

 After evaluating this source, do you think you will use it for your paper? Why or why not? 

If you are not sure, explain why.

 

from Meriam Library, California State University, Chico

Proquest Databases

Databases available:

  • eLibrary--A massive collection of multidisciplinary periodical and digital media content.
  • History Study Center--A resource for the study of over 2000 years of world history, from ancient times to present day.
  • Proquest Learning: Literature--This resource delivers over 180,000 searchable works of literature from medieval times to the present.
  • SIRS Issues Researcher--An editorial curated pro/con database that meets the research needs of students and educators by providing premium content correlated to key curricular standards and subjects. 
  • Proquest--The Proquest unified platform makes hundreds of full text and A&I (abstract and index) collections available to researchers.  Includes Research Library and Historical Newspapers.

  

AskRI---EBSCO Database Access

​​Databases Available:

EBSCO Host:

  • GreenFile--information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment.
  • MEDLINE--authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more.
  • ERIC--information on education and educational research.
  • MasterFILE Premier--multidisciplinary database providing information on virtually every subject area.
  • History Reference Center--history-based information.
  • Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts--information covering topics pertinent to librarianship.
  • Middle Search Plus--general information from middle school magazines and texts.
  • Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia--provides encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.
  • Primary Search--general information for elementary level students.
  • TOPICsearch--collection of periodicals, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, and government information.
  • Teacher Reference Center--provides indexing and abstracts for 280 of the most popular teacher and administrator journals and magazines to assist professional educators.
  • Academic Search Elite--provides information from scholarly journals and texts.
  • Literary Reference Center--literary database comprised of summaries, literary overviews, biographies, literary criticisms.
  • European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750--index for libraries, scholars and individuals interested in European works that relate to the Americas.
  • eBook Collection--search and view the full text of eBooks.
  • Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson)--provides biographies of influential people.
  • Open Dissertations--locates scholarly dissertations.
  • Biography Reference Center--provides biographies of influential people.
  • Primary Search Reference eBook Collection
  • Biography Reference eBook Collection
  • Middle Search Reference eBook Collection
  • History Reference eBook Collection
  • MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
  • Literary Reference eBook Collection
  • Consumer Health Reference eBook Collection--rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general health topics
  • Points of View Reference Center--provides students and schools with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue.

Flipster:

  • Flipster offers an easy, browse-able reading experience. Users can browse magazines by category as well as perform searches for specific periodicals. An online newsstand provides a carousel of the most recent issues, as well as a carousel of all issues allowing for quick access to magazines. The table of contents contains links for quick access to articles of interest and hotlinks within magazines are hyperlinked, opening in separate tabs when clicked. In addition, there is an option to zoom in and out for better readability.

Infobase Databases

 

 

 

 

Databases Available:

History:

  • African-American History Online
  • American History Online
  • American Indian History Online
  • Ancient and Medieval History Online
  • Modern World History Online

Literature & Language Arts:

  • Bloom's Literature

Science & Mathematics:

  • Science Online

Video Streaming:

  • Classroom Video On Demand
  • Feature Films for Education (full length feature films)

 

ABC-CLIO Databases

Databases Available:

  • American Government
  • World at War
  • Issues
  • Pop Culture Universe

 

Google Scholar

Default search settings include:

  • search terms are not case sensitive
  • AND--search terms are automatically combined using AND
  • keyword--searches the full text of scholarly material, including citation and abstract

Options to refine your search include:

  • synonyms--Google automatically searches for matching and similar meaning words ex: tourism finds tourist
  • "phrase searching"--use quotation marks around phrases to keep works together ex: "hearing loss"
  • OR--results include either search term.  OR must be in capital letters ex: ipod OR mp3
  • exclude--use - immediately before a search term you want to exclude ex: ipod -itunes
  • include--use + immediately before automatically excluded search terms that you want included ex: +the
  • intitle--finds result with your search term in the document title ex: intitle:mp3
  • author--finds results with your search term as the document author ex: author:Jones
  • date range--to change from Any time, select an option from left side of the results screen

Advanced Search:

  • Click on the hotdog icon located in the upper left corner of Google Scholar homepage to view the Advanced Search options

Interpreting the results screen:

Example:

HTML] Concussions among United States high school and collegiate athletes

LM Gessel, CL Collins, RW Dick - Journal of athletic training, 2007 - search.proquest.com
Abstract An estimated 300 000 sport-related traumatic brain injuries, predominantly 
concussions, occur annually in the United States. Sports are second only to motor vehicle 
crashes as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people aged 15 to 24 years. ...
Cited by 540 Related articles All 12 versions Cite Save

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A
  • Below the search results are five links--Cited by, Related articles, All versions, Cite, Save
  • Cited by link will generate a list of all articles that have cited this article in their source.  This may be helpful because it can link you to other sources that might be focusing on the same or similar topic.
  • Related articles link will generate a list of articles that are related to this topic.
  • All versions link will link to other versions of this document found by Google Scholar.  This may be helpful in order to access a full text version for free.
  • " Cite link will give you the citation in various formats.  Always be sure to check the citation for accuracy and completeness.
  • * Save link will allow you to save into "My library" folder.  You will be prompted to set up an account.
  • Look to the right of the abstract to see if there is a link to a PDF or HTML site.  If there is, click on it.  This should be a link that will give you access to the full version copy of the article.

Creating email alerts:

  • To create an email alert to let you know when new materials on your topic has been added:
    • Click on the hotdog icon in the upper left corner of Google Scholar homepage, and click on Alerts. Follow the prompts from there.
    • OR:  From the search results screen, click on the Alerts icon in the left side bar.  Follow the prompts.