Doors of Perception LC
Introduction
The way you write says as much about you as the way you dress. First impressions count,
and it’s a good idea to try and present yourself in the best light. Even if you don’t care
about grammar, punctuation, and syntax, remember that before an employer sees you, she sees
your resume and cover letter.
As you research topics for this class or for any of your classes, it’s a good idea to start early.
Research takes time. Be sure to jot down as you go where you get your information—nothing
is more frustrating than writing a paper late at night and not remembering where the information
came from.
Above all, don't hesitate to ask a librarian for help.
Suggested Print Resources
Newspapers, Journals and Magazines
The SFCC Library’s online catalog is at http://ccs.wash-id.net/
You can search by author, title, subject, and keyword. Keyword searches are used when you
aren’t sure of a title or the exact Library of Congress subject heading. (Caution: keyword
searches often retrieve irrelevant results.)
The catalog lists books, videos, magazines, journals, and other items at both SFCC and SCC,
so be sure to notice the location. You can request books owned by SCC, or visit their library
if you like. Books requested from SCC can usually be delivered by the next day (except when
requested on Fridays, with delivery on Monday).
Our library also participates in the Washington-Idaho Network, meaning you can request
items from Whitworth, North Idaho College, Gonzaga, and the University of Idaho. Items
can be ordered, picked up, and returned here at SFCC.
For magazine and journal articles, we recommend you use an index. The Library subscribes to
several which will be useful to you in your studies. Most of these index databases allow you to
search for articles and, in many cases, read them online, print them out, or save or email them.
For topics you might be working on, the following should prove helpful:
- Literary Reference Center
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- Good for literary biographies and critical essays
- Opposing Viewpoints
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- Opposing Viewpoints provides full-text pro- and con- coverage of numerous topics. It can be browsed or searched. Also provides some access to magazine and journal articles.
- CQ Researcher
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- CQ Researcher is published about 45 times per year, and covers one topic very thoroughly in each issue. While the topic you're interested in might not have been covered recently, the online version goes back some fifteen years. The Library also has print editions in the reference section. CQ Researcher is listed under "Specialized Periodical Indexes" – you will need to scroll down to find it.
- Psychologists & Their Theories for Students
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- On the "Article and Reference Databases" page, select Gale Virtual Reference Center. This is a compilation of online reference works. Below the search box, click the "View Publications" link next to Social Sciences. Notice that one source is called Psychologists and Their Theories for Students. Click this to search only this source, or simply type in the main search box to search all the sources from this publisher.
- ProQuest
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- ProQuest is the best general purpose index in the SFCC Library for a broad range of articles from 1980–present; the full text of many articles is provided online. This index is available from any campus computer; students who have Internet access from home can use this index with a current student ID number.
- Electric Library
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp
- Electric Library provides full-text articles from magazines and newspapers, book excerpts, and transcripts of selected television broadcasts. Electric Library is oriented toward K-12 students, but it contains articles that can't be found in ProQuest or other sources.
Reference sources
Reference items are usually distinguished by having an "R" or "REF" before the call number. Reference works are especially good for statistical data, information which must be up-to-date (e.g., addresses and phone numbers), and for quick overviews of a topic such as one finds in an encyclopedia.
Items in a reference collection usually cannot be checked out, but you can make photocopies if you like. You can also browse similar call numbers in the circulating stacks to find books which can be checked out.
The following reference books are in the SFCC library; you might want to look around the same call numbers in other libraries for similar kinds of books.
R 301.0973 Statist
| Statistical Portrait of the United States: Social Conditions & Trends
|
R 303.3809 Mitchel
| American Attitudes
|
R 306.8509 Statist 1999
| Statistical Handbook of the American Family
|
R 317.3 United
| Statistical Abstract of the United States
|
World Wide Web Resources
Although delivered online, ProQuest articles are not Internet sources. Nor are any of the other
databases listed above. They simply rely on the Internet for delivery. Information found
in these subscription databases originally appeared in print, and can be considered as
reliable as any other print reference work. That’s why we pay so much to subscribe to
them!
World Wide Web pages can be useful for scholarly research, as long as you select carefully.
Try to identify web sites provided by stable, reputable schools, organizations, or
companies. Look for sites that are kept up to date and which list an author or responsible
party. You should be able to locate contact information easily. Individual or hobbyist
sites can sometimes be very useful, but probably shouldn’t be your first or only
source. Wikipedia, for example, might be ok as a starting point to get an overview of a
topic, but very few teachers will accept it as a scholarly source.
An excellent site which recommends various search tools for different purposes is
General information on search strategies is available at
Once you find suitable sources of information, you will need to cite what you use. Please consult our list of citation resources.
Suggested Sites
Finally, the following Web sites may offer useful advice and guidance:
Guides to the "How" of Writing
- Garbl's Grammar Guides Online
http://garbl.home.attbi.com/writing/grammar.htm
- Claims to offer "everything you'll ever want to know about sentence structure and using the parts of speech correctly." This is one of a set of related, interlinked pages, all addressing topics of clear writing, punctuation, and communication in general.
- Writing Handouts Listed by Topic
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.html
- The Online Writing Lab, or OWL, at Purdue University has dozens of handouts and guides available, both on matters of grammar, punctuation, and style, as well as on professional/business topics such as report writing, abtracting, resumes, cover letters, and so forth. A very useful resource.
- EnglishClub Grammar
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/index.htm
- Although intended for ESL/EFL students, this site offers clear and useful information on parts of speech, usage questions, and so on. You might also find the Business English section helpful.
- Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
- A nicely designed and very thorough site "prepared by Professor of English/Humanities Charles Darling for English courses at Capital Community College." More than a list of links to take you somewhere else, these pages actually give you the skinny on a variety of stylistic questions.
- Yahoo: English Grammar and Style
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Linguistics_and_Human_Languages/
Languages/Specific_Languages/English/Grammar__Usage__and_Style/
- If the above haven't satisfied your itch for information, this lengthy list should keep your busy for awhile.
Guides to Topics and Resources
- Social Issues
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/sochc.html
- This page from the Multnomah County (Oregon) Public Library was "created to meet the needs of Multnomah County middle and high school students researching current social issues from multiple perspectives," and contains numerous topics as well as links to sites which be helpful in researching them.
- Hot Paper Topics
http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm
- Suggested topics and resources for each, compiled by librarians at St. Thomas University
- Resources for Various Issues and Causes (Yahoo)
http://dir.yahoo.com/society_and_culture/issues_and_causes/
- A good page to browse for ideas; the links lead to other pages at the Yahoo web directory for further research on each topic
- Resources for Various Issues and Causes (Google)
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/"
- Similar to Yahoo's page, leads to Web resources– but these are not evaluated for quality, so caveat surfer.