Library Skills Exercise-

St. Ambrose University Library

Library Skills Exercise

As a requirement for graduation from St. Ambrose, all students who entered St. Ambrose University prior to the fall semester of 2001 are required to demonstrate library proficiency by completing an exercise created by the reference staff at the Library. In an effort to accommodate students unable to physically come to the Library, we have designed a brief exercise that you can do online at any computer. Starting in FALL 2001, all new students will be required to take Information Literacy 101 class instead of completing the online exercise. All transfer students entering St. Ambrose after Fall 2003 will be required to take Information Literacy 101 class as well.

We have designed the exercise to mirror the steps that you should take when you begin a research project. You are encouraged to pick your own topic (any topic...it could be a current project you are researching for class or just something that is of some interest to you). Finally, you might want to print these pages out before you begin the project; that way you will have a hard copy to look at when you are working in a different application (like the book catalog or a journal database) when this form is minimized. Feel free to contact us by e-mail at librefdesk@ambrose.sau.edu or phone (563) 333-6245 and we will try to answer your questions within 24 hours.

Name:
Student Status:
Phone Number:
E-Mail Address:
Street Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:

Topic

Choose a subject or topic you would like to research. This topic will be used in the following exercise. If you can't think of your own, please feel free to pick one of the following:

genetically modified food	performance enhancing drugs
copyright infringement	Internet privacy
identity theft	global warming

Type your subject here:

*Please Note: When you select the "Click Here" button below, a separate window will open. To go back and forth between the windows you have 2 options:

When you click back to your Library Skills Exercise the newly opened window will seem to have disappeared. Do not worry, the window has just minimized, and may be accessed again simply by clicking on the box in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
OR, hold down the Alt and Tab keys at the same time to switch between windows.

Make sure to close the new window when you are done with that section of the Exercise. This is done by clicking on the X in the top right corner of that window.

PrairieCat Book Catalog

PrairieCat book catalog displays the collections of our library and all the public, academic and special libraries in the Quad-Cities and surrounding areas. Books offer an overview of a topic, background, history and have a lot of information in one place.

To Start Searching, Click on the button to open a window for PrairieCat.

Select "All PrairieCat Libraries"

You are now ready to search for information on your topic. Type the topic you chose earlier into the "Search" box, and click on the "Search" button.

Look through your results, and find a book on your topic. Pick a book based on the title and currency of the information. To view the details about a particular book, click on "Details".

Please write the following information:

What is the title of the book?:

Who is the author of the book?:

When was the book published?:

Does the book have a bibliography?: Yes No

What is the call number of the book?:

Does St. Ambrose own this book?: Yes No

Why do you think this book would be useful for your topic?:

EBSCOHost

EBSCOHost provides magazine and journal articles on a wide range of subjects including business, current affairs, economics, literature, psychology, and medicine. These articles provide reliable and current information.

To Start Searching, click on the button to open a window for EBSCOHost

In the box next to "SAU ID Barcode" type: 20058000113575, then click on the "Login" button. Click on the "Continue" button. The database Academic Search Premier is checked, so this is the database within EBSCOHost that you will be searching.

Type your topic into the "Find:" box & click once on the "Search" button.

Look through the list of results. To view the citation of an article click on the title of the article. If the article is available full text it will display "Full Text" AND/OR "Full Page Image", simply click on this link to view the full text of the article. Select one article that looks like it could be used on a paper about your topic.

Please write the following information:

What is the title of the article?:

Who is the author/s or the article?:

What journal or magazine is the article found in?:

What is the date of the article?:

Is the article available full-text?: Yes No

What made you decide to pick this article over the others?

Internet Searching

Internet searching is a good way to find current information. However, a large percentage of information on the Internet is inappropriate for high level college research.

Best Information on the Net

If you are unsure about where to start when Internet searching, we recommend "Best Information on the Net" a site maintained by SAU Reference Librarians. It has high quality sites that are organized for ease in searching. Here we have done the evaluation for you, so you do not have to question the suitability of the websites.

To Start Searching, click on the button to open a window for Best Information on the Net

Click on "Resources By Major". Then click on the Major that best applies to your chosen topic. For example, if you are researching "prayer in school", you would look under the major Education.

Examine the sites on this page, and select one website found on this page that could be used for your topic.

Please write the following information:

What is the address of this website, or URL?:

What makes this website useful for your research?

Website Evaluation

Information found on the Internet must be scrutinized, because anyone can publish information with little or no regulation of the content. It is up to you to EVALUATE websites by asking the following questions:

ANYONE can publish a web page. Who is the author? What are the author's credentials? If the sponsoring agencies are universities, libraries, hospitals, state or federal government, or professional organizations, they have high credibility.

Is the information of a quality that is suitable for college research? Is there a bibliography? If there are statistics, do they tell you the source of those statistics?

Is the information current? Is the site updated regularly? Check for a date at the top or bottom of the web page.

Is the information biased? Does it attempt to be neutral? Is it commercial (.com)? Is it sponsored by an advocacy organization?

Finally, just because it is on the INTERNET does not mean it is verifiable, current or reliable. Be skeptical.

Most website addresses or URLs have a three-letter ending that designates who is the owner of the website. Here are some of the most common examples of URL endings:

.com = commercial
.edu = education
.gov = government
.org = organization

Now, let's look at some websites -- Evaluate these websites using the criteria given above.

*Please Note: THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES MAY NOT PERTAIN TO YOUR TOPIC!

To begin, click on the button to open a window for a Commercial website.

Who is responsible for this website?:

When was the last time this site was updated?:

Is the information on this website useful for general research purposes (not necessarily your topic)?:

Yes No

Please explain Why or Why Not:

To begin, click on the button to open a window for a Government website.

Who is responsible for this website?:

When was the last time this site was updated?:

Is the information on this website useful for general research purposes (not necessarily your topic)?:

Yes No

Please explain Why or Why Not:

To begin, click on the button to open a window for an Organizational website.

Who is responsible for this website?:

Does it say when this website was last updated? If so, when?:

Is the information on this website useful for general research purposes (not necessarily your topic)?:

Yes No

Please explain Why or Why Not:

Search Engines

A Search Engine searches Web pages, news, discussions, images, audio, video and other resources by looking for specified keywords, and then returns a list of all the potentially matching resources. Use the following search engine to find a web site on your topic.

To Start Searching, click on the button to open a window for Google Search Engine.

To use this search engine, type your chosen topic in the search box, and then click on the "Search" button.

From the list of Websites that the search engine selected for your search, look through the first 5 or so. Select one website that you think will be helpful in research for your topic.

Please write the following information:

Copy the URL (that begins with http://... and appears in the "Address" box).

What makes this website suitable for research?

You are now finished with the library skills exercise. Please click the "Submit" button below to record your answers.

Congratulations! You have completed the Library Skills Exercise. Remember a Reference Librarian is just a phone call or e-mail away! Do not hesitate to ask for our help. (563) 333-6245 and librefdesk@ambrose.sau.edu

Last modified August 2007.