LSCS Libraries | Research Guides | Research Guides - North Harris |

SPCH 1315 Scavenger Hunt - Adkins Research Guide - LSC-North Harris

Starting Point

Think about your topic and what are you trying to answer. Terms? People? Organizations? Places? Objects?
List terms that best represent the main concepts of your topic.

Keywords=lead paint, lead poisoning
Broader= product safety (does not specify a product or a hazard)
Narrower=hazardous toys and China (specifies a product and a geographic area)

Books - Scavenger Hunt

Find books, and e-books.

Use the Library Catalog

Enter search terms.
Browse search results and click on the title to view the detailed item record.
Scroll to the bottom for availability, collection, location, and call number.
To find the book on the shelf you will need the complete call number.
To request a book from another location, click "request first available copy" then type in your library barcode number and your PIN.

Library Catalog Video Tutorials

Searching the Catalog

Finding a Book on the Shelf

Requesting an Item

Citing a Book in APA Format

The basic elements for citing books are:
- author (last name, and initials o)
- year of publication in parenthesis
- title in italics (capitalize only the first word in the title and of the subtitle, if any, and any proper nouns)
- place of publication (city and state | if outside of the US list city and country)(list the first location if two or more are listed)
- publisher
See APA Citation Help for additional information and examples.

Example of a book, single author

Doyal, L. (1995). What makes women sick: Gender and the political economy of health. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.

In-text documentation followed by accompanying citation

"He seemed to be transformed when he sang…" (Sacks, 2007, p. 303).

Sacks, O. (2007). Musicophilia: Tales of music and the brain. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Journal, Magazine, and Newspaper Articles - Scavenger Hunt

Use your 14-digit library barcode number for off-campus access (the number is on the back of your student ID). Don't have an ID? Get one from the library. Distance students can fill out the online request form.

Academic Search Complete - Find articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers on multiple academic and news sources. Video Tutorial

Limit your search results to "Full-text."
Enter your keywords in the search box.
Limit your results by "Source Types."
- Academic Journals
- Magazines
- Newspapers

Citing Periodicals (Journals, Magazines, Newspapers) in APA Format

Basic elements:

author
date of publication enclosed in parenthesis (for journals articles list the year) (for magazines and newspapers list the year, month and day)
title of the article (capitalize the first word in the title and subtitle if any, and proper nouns)
title of the periodical in italics
volume number in italics (not needed for newspapers)
issue number enclosed in parenthesis (not needed for newspapers)
page range, if available (for newspaper articles precede the page number with a p. [for single page] or pp. [for multiple pages])
DOI (digital object identifier) | if not available, then use the name of the database preceded by: Retrieved from
*Note - APA indicates that if a DOI is missing, you are to use the URL of the homepage of the periodical, however your professor has indicated a preference for the title of the database than the periodical's URL.

Journal Article Example with DOI

Mitka, M. (2009). FDA focuses on quality-of-life issues for patients following LASIK surgery. Journal of the American

Medical Association, 302(22), 2420-2422. doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.1763

Journal Article Example with two authors and no DOI

Refai, T., & Hassanin, O. (2011). Evaluation of improvement of best corrected visual acuity following Lasik treatment

in anisometropic amblyopia. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 5(11), 23-29. Retrieved

from Academic Search Complete.

Magazine Article

Wanjek, C. (2005, September). LASIK eye surgery for the Amateur Astronomer. Sky & Telescope, 110(3), 36-42.

Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Newspaper Article No Author

(the title of the article takes the place of the author)

The permanent mortgage crisis. (2010, April 1). Wall Street Journal, p. A.18. Retrieved from ProQuest Newspapers.

Online Newspaper Article

Stinebaker, J. (1999, August 9). Organ harvesting sparks dispute. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from

http://www.chron.com/

Website Article - Scavenger Hunt

Select sources of information carefully. This is very important when you are selecting website articles. Can you believe everything you hear or read?

Books, television programs, Web pages, and friends don't always provide 100% factual information.

Review each website article for:

Authority—What are the author's credentials?
Coverage—How does the content compare with other sources you found?
Currency—What is the date of the article or the information?
Suitability—Even if everything else is fine, the material may not be appropriate for you. It may have been written for children or for scientific researchers.

Use the questions provided on the Evaluating Information Checklist.

See video tutorials:

Citing a Website in APA Format

The basic elements to list for a website are: author, date, title, and retrieval information.
See APA Style blog for "How to Cite Something You Found on a Website in APA Style."

Example:

Union of Concerned Scientists. (2008, August 27). Global warming: Successes. Retrieved

from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/successes/

APA Format Guides

Tips for Correctly Formattng a Paper Using APA in WORD 2007 (PDF) (download free Acrobat Reader to view document)
Watch a video about APA formatting as a Flash file or on YouTube. (script)

Video Introduction to APA

APA Herding Cats (PDF) Sample Paper 2011 (includes in-text and works cited pages in a pdf format).
Citing Print and Other Sources (from The Purdue University On-line Writing Lab (OWL))
Electronic Reference Formats (from APA)
Citing Government Documents (from University of Kentucky)
Diana Hacker's Social Sciences Citation Site (Bedford/St. Martin's)

Search all North Harris Library research guides:

		281.618.5707	nhc.libweb@LoneStar.edu	Text Reference 281.901.0285