BNET: business resources at your fingertips

Gale Cengage Learning and CBS Interactive have joined forces in producing website, BNET which provides free articles and information for business and business related issues. Used as a research tool, you are able to look up various topics relating to business, management, communications, strategy, technology and even free video links are provided. There are also links to their paid services and plenty of advertisements, but basically because the content is provided by Gale Cengage Learning, there is a level of accountability associated with the material that is not necessarily found on other websites. No logons are necessary although you can create one and customize your experience if you are so inclined.

Reminder: if you are working on a research paper, use the Ritz Library electronic resources which can be found by going through myDCC, Library tab, Search our Electronic Resources and then selecting the databases you wish to search through.

Try Credo for quick access to facts

The Ritz is testing a new service that provides fast access to accurate and up to date factual information. Called Credo Reference, this service brings together the the full text of hundreds of encyclopedias and reference books on every subject from astronomy to zoology.

To see how Credo works, logon to MyDcc. From the "Library" tab, go to "Search our Electronic Resources". Credo Reference is the first choice on the page.

Internet Public Library

Have you ever heard of the Internet Public Library? It is a great online resource for information: basically, it was the first library created specifically to support the internet community. It began in 1995 as a project for the University of Michigan School of Information and over time became a well-established entity on the internet for research. ipl.org connects you to a world of librarian-approved online resources. For instance, ipl.org links directly to the Librarians' Internet Index whose tag line is "websites you can trust". Broken down into subject areas, the IPL connects you to a variety of digital sources, including websites, podcasts and other information. They have a special section for Kids and Teens Resources, Reading Rooms, Ready Reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, FAQs, Special Collections and other helpful tools. The IPL helps bring a level of comfort for website integrity when conducting research. Check it out!

Doing a report about a country?

A new "Quick Link" has been added to the Ritz's resources page, Doing A Report about a country?, which gathers together electronic resources to help you write a paper on a world nation.

A major souce at the link is the "Country Reports" section of the Business Source Premier database. These yearly reports focus on the economic, political and cultural aspects of countries and cover a range of years from 1998 until the present. Another source to look at is "Virtual Reference Library," a collection of 20 electronic encyclopedias with information on countries.

To directly get to this link on campus go to http://libraryreference.sunydutchess.edu/er/countries.htm.

Access from home should be made through the Ritz's MyDCC "Off campus database access" link.

Economic woes?

Looking for information on the current global economy? Worried about where the market goes from here? What makes up an economic crisis? How does it affect us locally and abroad? Middletown Thrall librarians have put together comprehensive resources to help you find answers and understand what's going on nationally and internationally these days. Click here .

Introducing Research...

Not sure where to start or how to approach researching a topic? Ron Crovisier, our head of Reference Services, created a PowerPoint presentation on Introduction to Research which I am liberally borrowing from to create this entry.

Ask yourself, what subject(s) is my topic about? What do I mean by "subject"? The subject is "the field of knowledge into which the topic fits". Typically, fields of knowledge can be broken down into the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Sciences include physical sciences such as biology, chemistry, math and physics. Social Sciences are psychology, sociology, civilization. Humanities cover art, English literature, philosophy. Jot down your possibilities and try to note how the topic relates to a specific field of knowledge. What kind of question are you trying to answer? Is it one of direct measurement (physical science)? Is it a philosophical question (humanities)? Or is it a social science question?

When you think you know what you're looking for, search online using our catalog, electronic books or databases for information pertaining to your subject. Are you finding suitable resources? If not, narrow or widen your focus to include additional ideas. SUBJECT headings or SUBJECT terms in the databases and catalogs can greatly help you focus in on what really interests you. When in our catalog, if you click on the title of a book, it will take you to the bibliographic record. Three-quarters of the way down the page you'll see links that say SUBJECT. Those links can lead you to additional books on your topic of interest. In the databases, the subject terms will be either on the left hand side or in a box at the top of the screen. Check out this pdf for quick notes on using the databases in the library.

We have 80,000 books in the library, 30,000 electronic books through ebrary, and 60 databases for people to access. Among the books are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and specialized guides on different subjects. Our databases allow for simple or complex searches to be built, and also allow for access to both primary and secondary sources of information. See blog entry on primary sources. In essence, primary sources are first hand accounts of a situation as related in newspapers, diaries, photos. Secondary sources use primary sources to draw conclusions, examine or interpret primary info and may be written years after the event occurred.

Once you've gotten a grip on your research material, you can start outlining and writing your paper. Remember the all important fact to cite your sources! There are a number of citation generators available out there, including KnightCite and there is citing functionality built into the databases and also ebrary. Remember to give us a call, email or meebo us if you are having any trouble, and we'd be glad to help!

About the library

Need a brief reminder about library hours, services, contact us details, and how to look information up in databases? Check out this pdf!

Citation tool with a twist

Zotero is an interesting and comprehensive citation management tool. Unlike citation generators which format a citations for you, zotero works off the principle of capturing and storing data in a filing system as you find usable research sources. It allows you to attach notes to your data, tag your data, and keep track of documents as you work with them. You can also link to web pages and attach files to the citation information. Little "sticky" notes can even be created.

Ever wonder how to cite a youTube source? Zotero can help. Found a great source of books in a catalog and you want to store the list? Zotero can help. Need to review podcast information? Zotero can help. Database, artwork, radiocasts, film, blog entry, bills - zotero can help.

Getting started is a bit confusing, but there are videos online that can help. To utilize zotero, you must be running Firefox. Zotero is a Firefox extension and can be downloaded from here. From the zotero website itself, click on ztour to get a glimpse of how to use the tool. Also, youTube has more than one helpful video posted on zotero. Try this link here.

When it's time to create your bibliography, zotero can be used with document management software such as MS-Word or Google docs to build your citations. Additional plug-ins may be necessary. Accessed web pages can be archived through the "create new item from current page" icon which will capture a screen shot of the page you were looking at. So take a look at zotero, and give it a try. You may find it to be a very helpful citation management tool.

Yale University's Open Archives

Check out this article from "Inside Higher Ed" on Yale University's open access to 7 of their courses, covering astrophysics, modern poetry, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, and religion. Course documentation, videos and transcripts are available online, free!

Other links to open access courses are also mentioned.

In a sticky situation?

Need to access legal resources on the web? There are several internet sites that can help you help yourself in the matters of NYS law.







New York State Unified Court System

• CourtHelp provides information such as courthouse addresses and telephone numbers
• forms
• assistance in finding a lawyer
• general questions about the law
  

New York State Bar Association Legal Ease Pamphlet Series

• Helps a person identify which form fits their needs
• Provides downloadable forms for purchase
• There are many other links on the NYS Bar Association website that provide legal information for individuals

LawHelp

• Need to know about Internet Fraud? Family and Juvenile rights? Taxes? Disability? These topics and many others are covered on the LawHelp website in an easy to understand and user-friendly manner

Don't forget, the library also has access to Westlaw, a high-end database that lets you do all sorts of case research! Ask a librarian for assistance if you'd like to use it!

Interested in "going green"?

Looking for environmentally friendly living? Sustainable resources? Environmental issues? If so, check out this list of resources.

Primary Sources of Information

Do you know what a primary source of information is?

A chair made in Boston during the Revolutionary War that still exists today tells a story about the creation of furniture and the materials used during that time period. A person's autobiography from the 1960's would likely reflect the changing times, attitudes and social occurrences that shaped the decade. These are primary sources!

Primary sources give you insight to the times. They are actual informational resources reflecting a particular event or time in history. The items on the list below would be considered primary sources.

• Autobiographies
• Diaries
• Documents
• Eyewitness accounts
• Film footage
• Laws
• Letters
• Newspaper articles
• Novels [written in that period]
  
• Objects from the time
• Oral histories
• Photographs
• Poems, art, music
• Speeches

This list was taken from the internet article, "History Day - Primary and Secondary Sources" by Jennifer Rosenburg.

This being said, the question is then raised, "How can I find primary sources online?" There are a number of choices available. From myDCC or the library computers, click on the History link. From there, you can see a list of links to primary sources through DCC's databases, including the New York Times Archives and Original Sources through Encyclopedia Britannica.

American Memory provides photographs, film, music and documents from by-gone eras.

The Avalon Project covers documents in "law, history and diplomacy".

Many other primary sources can be found online. Ask a librarian for help if you are having trouble finding what you are looking for!

Did you know...?

Instead of lining Google's coffers in gold, your internet searching could have a more beneficial impact. The site is called Goodsearch and for every search you perform a portion of the proceeds goes to charity. If you don't have a charity in mind simply select one from the list on their main page. The search engine is powered by Yahoo so the results are very similar to ones you would get using other search engines. You can read more about Goodsearch on their webpage: http://www.goodsearch.com/