Usu Library books, database, hours and research
Hi, and welcome to the usu Library . As a regional campus, or distance education student, you have access to all the same library resources that students have in Logan.
USU students, you will likely be assigned research assignments where you must find articles.
As you might have found by searching for articles on Google, many journal and magazine articles are not freely available online.
Usu library Resources
However, the library has a large collection of journals and articles that you can access online through our library databases.
All you need to do to access these sources is to log into the library website with your A-number and banner password.
Once you’ve logged in you can view articles from anywhere you have an internet connection
If you need an article that is not available in full-text online, you can request it through inter library loan and usu library team can email you a PDF copy of the article.
Using usu library databases is a great place to do research for your papers because they not only include peer-reviewed articles or articles written and reviewed by experts.
In the field day professors are often require, but you can also find current magazine and newspaper articles and even encyclopedia entries for background information.
Another resource you will probably need throughout your time at USU library is books.
usu library has a large collection of eBooks which you can access by logging in with your A-number and password.
You can find eBooks by searching our library catalog located at the top of the library website.
The Merrill-Cazier Library, on the Logan campus, will also send you books from our physical collection to your home, free of charge, along with a prepaid return label.
All you need to do to request a book is to log into inter library loan system and make sure you select distance ed as your campus location.
We know that research assignments can be stressful and it can be overwhelming to try to locate relevant information, but as USU library students, you have access to many resources that will help make this process less intimidating.
USU library database
So your professor says that you need to use the library’s databases.
you have no idea what that means he didn’t cover in class and you’re starting to panic you’re used to search in Google sure.
we all like Google it’s what you’re used to it’s easy keep in mind though that Google was not always appropriate for academic work.
Google works really well for lots of stuff but the usu library can offer you stuff beyond Google.
As a USU student that you have additional options for your research when doing research especially for literature review.
USU Merrill-Cazier Library offers you a wide array of databases specific to your major and on almost any topic searching in the databases.
That will help you get a more focused search so that you can find articles relevant to your topic which will free up your time.
Moreover you will get articles you can’t even get in Google for free since you are a USU student.
Articles that have been reviewed by experts in the field for their quality and accuracy.
online articles that don’t cost you money just to read them and if you don’t get an article that you need you can request it using inter library loan.
A database such as academic search premier or LexisNexis both pictured here are like search engines for articles except that they’re better especially when you have a research paper due.
Research database
You can refine your search that you only get scholarly articles narrow your search using keywords and print the full text of the articles.
So if you want a scholarly article also commonly called peer reviewed articles you can flip through a journal might have five or six articles in it but you’d be much better off searching a database that includes hundreds of journals and thousands articles.
Try it yourself today go to the library’s website at Official site and then click on articles and databases on the left side of the page.
You will then be taken to a big listing data of databases organized by subject the library subscribes to over 200 databases choose the discipline the most closely matches your topic and start searching.
How to find books and eBooks at usu library
Here we will talk about finding book and eBooks at usu library .As there is ocean of various kind of books at usu library .
Both hard and soft copy are available .So, student might feel annoyed while searching for the book they want .
so to eliminate this problem usu library team has designed a convenience way of books finding .
At usu library portal home page You can see a ‘ find books and articles ‘ section. You need to just type the book name you want and press search button.
Let’s take an example of Britannica book.Search results include floor and call number where Britannica is available .
For example HF 5548.34 and so on. These are two bits of information you need.Just note down floor number and call number to locate your book.
But do note that if you are a distance student , if you are not local to usu campus then you are on the price campus .Usu library will send you print books .
So you can request then .
How to read articles
Social science articles are often long and full of complicated words and data, which make them difficult to read.
Step 1: Establish “Why?” Know why you’re reading an article. Is it to understand a topic? To conduct your own experiment? Or to make an argument?
This will help you focus your reading.
Step 2: Understand the layout of social science articles and what each section tells you. Most articles will follow this format
Abstract- this gives you a general overview and helps you determine if it’s relevant.
Introduction- this section explains the rationale for the study and identifies hypothesis.
Methods- this section explains the design of the study or how researchers gathered their data. It explains the test measures and variables.
Results- this section explains what the authors found, normally represented in statistics, charts, and tables.
Discussion- This explains the implications of the findings and mentions areas that need further research.
Conclusion- this section sums it all up. And the references- this is where the authors list other works used.
Step 3: Once you have a basic understanding of the layout you should now skim the article. This will help you get familiar with the topic.
Step 4: Next you need to go through and do a more focused reading and take notes, highlight important information.
jot down any questions you have, mark areas where you question the conclusions authors make, but most importantly, you need to write yourself notes on how the information is relevant to you how will you use this information.
This will help you when you go to incorporate the work into your own project.
Step 5:Identify and summarize key info. Some important things to note when you’rereading the article are what’s the hypothesis? How do the authors prove this?
How to choose research topic
Choosing a research topic can be one of the most difficult parts of the research process. Always remember, your research matters.
There is an audience out there for every topic, so don’t be afraid to explore a seemingly uncommon subject.
When choosing a research topic the best first step is to understand your assignments requirements. Are there things you can or cannot research?
How long is the paper? Are you required to find scholarly sources? This will help you choose an appropriate topic.
Next you want to ask yourself: What are you interested in? What issues personally affect you? What are current issues in your field of study? Writing about a topic that you care about will result in a better paper and make the process more enjoyable for you.
For Example
Christian recently got back from a trip to Africa and is interested in incorporating his experience into his research paper.
Christian does a search on Africa in an article database. His initial search returns over three hundred thousand results.
This helps Christian realize that his topic is too broad, so he needs to figure out a way to narrow this topic down into something more research able.
Some questions Christian can ask himself to narrow down his topic are: Who? Is there a specific population, group, or organization to focus on? What? What are the main issues affecting individuals in Africa? Where? Can you focus on a specific region or country?
Why? What is the cause of the issue? What’s the context behind the issue? How? How do the issues impact individuals, the environment, or the government?
Using results from his database search and his personal experiences, Christian determines that he wants to focus on the lack of clean water in sub-saharan Africa and its impact on the individuals in these countries.
It’s okay if you don’t have prior knowledge of your topic like Christian,you can use your initial research to learn more about your topic and the angle you want to pursue.
As you continue the research process, it is inevitable that your topic will change or evolve. If you need additional help with choosing a topic, contact a librarian!
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