The Student's Survival Guide to Research

ALA Member
$52.20
Price
$58.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-1276-8
Published
2016
Publisher
ALA Neal-Schuman
Pages
232
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover
AP Categories
A
C
E
I
Samples

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author
  • Reviews

Jumping head first into a research project is a surefire recipe for stress and confusion. But if you're a newbie, how do you know where to begin, let alone where to go from there? Library instruction expert McAdoo has penned a primer specifically tailored to novice researchers, offering beginning-to-end guidance for every step of the research process, from planning and preparing to conducting and writing. Structured in a way that's easy to digest, McAdoo shows students

  • what research is and what it entails, the stages of research, and the elements of a term paper;
  • the essential steps in preparing for research, and how to understand the assignment;
  • how libraries and librarians can help;
  • pointers for selecting a research topic and appropriate information tools;
  • strategies for conducting searches that will save time and effort, from using keywords to constructing more sophisticated searches;
  • how to understand, read, and evaluate search results;
  • the dos and don'ts of conducting research ethically, including how to cite sources and how and why to avoid plagiarism; and
  • guidance for shaping research results into quality writing.

Students will appreciate the book's clear and concise language regarding the research process, while teachers, faculty, YA staff, and academic librarians will find it a valuable tool for information literacy.

List of Figures
Introduction

Chapter 1    What Is Research?
Chapter 2    Preparing for Research
Chapter 3    Understanding Libraries and Librarians
Chapter 4    Understanding Your Assignment
Chapter 5    Selecting a Research Topic
Chapter 6    Locating Information Resources
Chapter 7    Accessing and Acquiring Information Resources
Chapter 8    Constructing Effective Search Strategies
Chapter 9    Understanding Search Results
Chapter 10    Reading and Evaluating Information
Chapter 11    Conducting Ethically and Legally Responsible Research
Chapter 12    Writing Your Paper
Chapter 13    Sample Search

Glossary
Index

Monty McAdoo

Monty L .McAdoo has a bachelor's degree in psychology, an M.A. in student personnel services, a second master's degree in library science, and a D.Ed. degree in administration and leadership studies. He is the author of Fundamentals of Library Instruction and Building Bridges: Connecting Faculty, Students, and the College Library (both ALA Editions). He has over twenty years of experience as a professional librarian and currently serves as research and instruction librarian at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. In addition to providing traditional library user education, he has developed and teaches an undergraduate class on information ethics and has also taught graduate-level courses in both counseling and research.

"Research can be taught, and this book offers beginning-to-end instructions … Highly recommended for high school and undergraduate students."
— Library Journal

"A clear and concise instruction manual ... offers step-by-step solutions."
— Against The Grain

"A welcome and refreshing primer on the subject and is replete with useful and valuable information about the academic research and writing process that students can refer to throughout their academic experiences."
— Reference Reviews