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English 096 Crystal Tillman: Home

HWC Librarian

Janet Harper

Contact: jharper57@ccc.edu

HWC Library website

Visit the Harold Washington College Library's Homepage

Contact the HWC Library

  Make a Research Consultation

  Reserve a Study Room

  Email the Library

  Circulation Desk: (312) 553-5760

  Reference Desk: (312) 553-5784

Starting Your Research

The Library Search Box is a great place to start your research. Search for print books, ebooks, articles, reviews, and more. You may be prompted to login with your CCC username and password.

 

Search Strategies, Keywords and Boolean Operators

For more information, see Developing and Combining Keywords

 

Use the Library Search Box to search for a book:

  • Search for a book : "Book Title" AND "Author's Name"
    • "Born a Crime" AND Trevor Noah
  • Choose "Library Catalog" from the drop-down menu in the right corner of the search box
  • Filter your results => Resource Type => Books
  • Filter your results => Library => Harold Washington College Library

 

Use the Library Search Box to search for additional resources:

  • Search for a book : "Book Title" AND "Author's Name"
    • "Born a Crime" AND Trevor Noah
  • Choose "Everything at CCC" from the drop-down menu in the right corner of the search box
  • Filter your results => Resource Type => Reviews; Articles
    • Reviews tell how the book was received
    • Articles give a critical analysis of the content of the book
  • Filter your results => Peer-reviewed Journals
  • Filter your results => Subjects =>  Apartheid; Racially Mixed People; Race Relations; South Africa
    • Use the subjects for background information about the book. 

Choosing Which Databases to Use

Finding Databases by Specific Criteria

 

Academic/Scholarly Databases

  • Academic Search Complete : General database of academic journals in the sciences and humanities. Includes full text scholarly/peer-reviewed articles.
  • Biography Reference Source :  Provides thousands of unique and reliable full-text biographies, including the complete full text of Biography and Biography Today. In addition to keyword search, users can locate biographies by subject occupation, activity, nationality, gender, birthplace and more.
  • Family & Society Studies Worldwide™  : Provides the most comprehensive coverage of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science, Human Ecology, Human Development, and Social Welfare.
  • Gale eBooks : Multidisciplinary database of full text encyclopedias and reference sources for research and ready reference. Enables one search that covers all sources. Subjects include arts, sciences, medicine, and the humanities. 
  • JSTOR : Provides full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences
  • Literary Reference Source : Literary Reference Source is a full-text literary database covering all genres and periods. It includes thousands of synopses, critical essays, book reviews, literary journals, and author biographies, plus full-text classic novels, short stories, and poems. 
  • Literature Resource Center : This database includes full text articles, critical essays, biographies, reviews and other works from scholarly journals and literary magazines concerning authors, their works, and literary movements.
  • Opposing Viewpoints in Context : Covers hottest social issues, such as offshore drilling, climate change, health care, and immigration. Has full text, editor selected articles. Helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of information for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.
  • All Databases A-Z    

Searching the Open Internet

Wikipedia entries usually contain a "References" section.

  • Search Wikipedica.com for title, "Born a Crime"
  • Search Wikipedia.com for the author, Trevor Noah
  • Peruse the "References" section of each entry

 

Search for author interviews and talks on the book

  • Search for the  Author's Name and Book Title
  • Add "Reviews" for information on how the book was received
  • Add "Analysis" for critical analysis of the book
  • For in depth interviews and talks, peruse the results for PBS, NPR, C-SPAN, TED Talks, and individual college events
  • For book promotions, peruse the results for author events, book fair talks, and author readings.
    • Also check the publishers' webpage for the book - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/537515/born-a-crime-by-trevor-noah 

 

Searching the Open Internet : Evaluating Information Sources

CRAAP 

  • CURRENCY: When was it published? Is it current for the topic, or is it outdated information?
  • RELEVANCY: Is this relevant for your research needs?
  • AUTHORITY: Who wrote this/who is the author?  Do they have any sort of authority on the topic?
  • ACCURACY: Is the information accurate, factual, and true?
  • PURPOSE: What is the reason this information was published?  Is there a purpose/bias behind the publication that could skew the information?

SIFT 

  • Stop
  • Investigate the source
  • Find better coverage
  • Trace claims, quotes and media to the original

WHY 

  • Who was the author?
  • How was it edited?
  • Why was this published?

For additional information, see Evaluating Sources: Navigating the Web