Welcome to the Geography 100 Library Course Guide. This guide will be a helpful start for your research projects in your geography class. It contains a lot of helpful information that will be covered in your library instruction class for the course. Please feel free to also reach out to me using the “Email Me” button below my picture on the right hand side of the screen.
When you begin a research project, it is a good idea to take a moment to reflect on your prior knowledge of the topic area. How much do you already know about this topic? How confident are you in moving forward with this topic?
In most cases, you will need to do a bit of research to get some general information on your topic. You can think of it like you are scaffolding a learning assignment for your students. To truly learn a new concept or skill, you need to create a solid base or foundation.
A great way to create this base is by conducting research in encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are arranged alphabetically and contain a general overview of a term or subject matter.
You can also access encyclopedias online through our reference databases like these:
Below you will find a short video on how to use remote checkout to physically retrieve an item from the library this semester.
Electronic articles can be searched through our databases. There are some general databases and some subject specific databases. To access the databases, click on the database link on the library homepage. You can then browse through them alphabetically, or browse by subject (i.e., geography, environmental sustainability, communications, etc.).
Below you will find a list of databases that will be helpful for your current assignment. It is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good place to start.
It’s important to remember that evaluating sources is crucial for anything that you use. Websites and News Organizations are two types of sources you will want to pay extra attention to. Websites can be written by anyone, anywhere; so, you will want to make sure you are evaluating them properly. News Organizations can range from factual, to extremely biased, to fake news.
Below you will find a wide range of resources that can help you evaluate websites and news organizations.
What does peer-reviewed mean in context to journal articles? Peer-review is a process that many scholarly journals undertake to evaluate the quality of the material being submitted. When an article is submitted to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, several impartial reviewers (who are experts in the subject matter) assess for accuracy, and the validity of the research methodology and procedure.
It is important to include appropriate citation in your paper. The library has a guide that can help you accurately cite your resources. You can locate it on the library homepage by clicking the "Citing Sources" link, or you can click on the link below.