ENC1102

As you may already have discovered Getting Started often the hardest step in the research paper writing process. It is also a very important step. If you choose a topic that is very broad - Genetic Engineering - you will be overwhelmed with information and you will have difficulty organizing your ideas and findings into a manageable, cohesive paper. If you choose a topic that is very narrow - "Gifted Children Share Chromosomes with The Step Grandfather's Family"- obviously, you will have trouble finding enough information sources to support your paper. Take time to focus your topic. If you can, try to choose a topic that truly interests you.

Generally speaking, students do well who write on topics of interest to you personally. Another idea is to explore a topic that is totally new in order to expand your personal knowledge base. Scan the newspaper or magazines for a topic that might be of interest to you. It is always a good idea to look through the library resources before you commit to a topic to make sure that there is enough information available for you to write a paper that will fulfill the requirements of the assignment. Make sure you discuss you topic with Professor Murphy before you begin the actual research process.

Use the Online Catalog on the Library Home Page to find books at the PCC libraries (or any Florida Community College library)

Find the item you want by its "call number"
Feel free to ask the librarian for assistance finding your resources.

A sample of the many books available at the Lakeland Campus Library -- see if you can find them using the instructions above.

E-Books are electronic books.
The entire book is available via the Internet; simply click on the link and
logon with your ID (social security number) and PIN (last 4 digits of SSN).

E-books are denoted by the symbol.

Here is a sample books available

through the PCC Library catalog.

You can search the entire content of ebooks,

jump through chapters, flip pages, cut and paste,

print pages and take notes using the software provided.

Functions vary depending on the publisher of the

specific book.

Titles via the ebooks collection and at the Lakeland and Winter Haven Campus Libraries

Titles in the ebooks: Electronic Books Collection (available 24/7 online via the Library's Online Catalog or through the NetLibrary database). This is just a sampling of what is available online.

PCC's Databases - online access to periodical articles, references resources, & electronic books

The PCC Libraries have many databases. They all work in a similar -- there is usually a box where you type in what-ever it is that you are looking for. and then you click on search and see a list results. Actually, a good search strategy is a bit more complicated than that's but that's a start.

There are more than one hundred databases available through the PCC Library website. How do you know which one to use? Listed below are some that should be helpful. If you would like to explore others, and want to know what material is covered in that database, just click the the information icon.

Try Academic Search Complete

EBSCOhost's Academic SearchComplete offers full-text articles for over 1,250 journals dating back to 1990, and abstracts and indexing for over 5,000 scholarly journals dating back as far as 1865. Many of the journals are peer-reviewed. Academic Search Premier offers embedded images and provides journal coverage for most academic areas of study, including biological sciences, economics, communications, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts and literature, medical sciences and women's studies.

Click on the "Databases" button on the library home page and logon on with your SS# and PIN (last 4 digits of your SS#)

Once you are logged in you should see a list of databases - select the second one on the alphabetical list - Academic Search Complete. Once you "connect" to the database you should see a search screen like the one below.

1. Put your search term(s) in the "Find" box
Omit little words like an, and, or the. You may want to check the box for Full-text articles only.
2. Click on Search
You will see a list of results in the form of citations.
(Notice that at the top you will see how many records were found - you may need to broaden or narrow your search?)
3. Choose the items you would like to look at from the results.
Click on the title of an article and you will receive more information about that article - a summary
To see the "whole enchilada" click on the link that says " Full Text" or "Full Image"... and there's your article.
4. Print your article or save it to a disk.
You can print from the file menu or from your tool bar, or e-mail the article to your e-mail account, or save the article to your jump drive.

You can also try the advanced search for more specific searching and/or limit your search to only full text articles
(especially good if you are at home). Remember, they all work kind of the same, just read the screens and take your time.

Also, remember some databases will give you the full-text of the article some will give you the full image and some will give you the citation only - you have to find those articles with the help of the librarian.

Before you use a website, evaluate it carefully.
Who wrote this?
Why did they write this?
Does the writer have the expertise to write about this subject?

If you can't find an author, the credentials of the author or any responsible party --
then you probably don't want to use that resource.

You can stop by the library and ask the Librarian for assistance.
You can call the librarian at the library and get assistance over the phone. (WH 297-1040 or LK 297-1042).
You can e-mail or chat with the librarians -- just click on Ask-A-Librarian .
You can use the TLCC tutors for writing assistance.
You can use any of the many tutorials and help screens available from our college or others.

Find the item you want by its "call number" Feel free to ask the librarian for assistance finding your resources.

PCC's Databases - online access to periodical articles, references resources, & electronic books

Find the item you want by its "call number"
Feel free to ask the librarian for assistance finding your resources.