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BSOS Summer Research Initiative

Web Page created by Travis Johnson, UM Libraries

This guide contains information about doing library research on this campus, and about creating and presenting a poster for your BSOS Summer Research Initiative project. For more information visit the library information desk, contact Travis Johnson, or see other ways to get help from a librarian. This guide is broken into two main sections, the first outlines some of the library resources that are available for you to use in your research. The second section provides some basic internet and print sources that can help you with creating a poster presentation of your work.

• General information about the libraries (borrowing, photocopying, printing, etc.)
• Doing your research
  • Help from the libraries
  • Using the UM Libraries Catalog (finding books, and locating things we own)
  • Social Science Research Databases (finding journal articles)
• Presenting your research
  • Useful websites for poster presentations
  • Professional association websites for poster presentations
  • Books and articles on poster presentations

• Library hours for the summer
• Map of Campus Libraries
• Government Documents and Maps
  The UM Libraries are a Regional Depository Library for federal documents. 4th Floor, McKeldin Library.
• Periodicals Services
• Services for Patrons with Disabilities
• Printing and Photocopying in the libraries.
  UM Libraries charge 10 cents a page to make copies using photocopy machines or computers. If you do not have a photocopy account through your program or a campus ID with a Terrapin Express account activated, you can buy a visitor card and add money to your card at Copy Card ATM machines located in each of the seven libraries on campus. Copy Card ATM machines accept $1, $5, $10, or $20 bills...but no coins.
  Pay for Print Information (Information on how to print from the libraries' computer workstations, uses the same card as photocopying.)

Doing your library research

• Directory of Librarian Subject Specialists
  Subject specialists may be consulted for help in locating information resources in their areas of expertise, though many questions can be more quickly answered by any reference librarian at the desk or via chat, phone or email
• Research and reference help from a librarian
  Questions answered In-person, and via Phone, E-mail and Chat.
• Library Guides - These guides cover many subject areas and suggest both print and electronic resources to use in your research.
• Citing Electronic Resources
• Evaluating Web Sites A Tutorial on searching and evaluating web sites.

Within ResearchPort, use the "subject category" scroll box to get started -- any academic field you're interested in is likely to be represented, including criminology, sociology, psychology, political science, economics and the other social sciences. That will provide you with a listing of the most useful databases for research in that subject area.

When you find articles of interest in any of the databases, use the button to see whether that article is available electronically, or in print in the library. If an item is not available it will refer you to Interlibrary Loan, which service you may use but which may not be feasible for very tight schedules.

Some of the key databases you'll likely find most useful are: (this is just a small sampling)

• Academic Search Premier. This is a multidisciplinary database, including thousands of journals, many of them full text, that cover most academic subjects. Primarily academic journal and popular magazine articles.
• Lexis-Nexis Academic. This is a database that has excellent content in newspapers, and in legal and legislative materials. Make certain to do the "guided search" for full functionality.
• Social Science Citation Index. Can use Full Search to find articles on a particular topic, OR articles that CITE an article that you're interested in.
• Social Sciences Abstracts. A general database with scholarly journal articles from all the social sciences.
• Sociological Abstracts. The primary database for articles in sociology.
• EconLit. The key database for scholarly articles in economics.
• PsycINFO. The key database for scholarly research in psychology.
• PAIS International. Excellent database for public affairs and political science issues.
• Criminal Justice Periodicals. One of several strong databases for journal articles in criminology.

Presenting your research

• Effective Presentations from the Kansas University Medical Center, includes short online tutorials on creating an effective poster. It also has links to other poster-preparation sites.
• Creating Posters for Humanities and Social Sciences gives a good explanation of why posters are often the best way to communicate results of research or experiential learning in social sciences and humanities. It includes a diagram of typical poster layout.
• If you are feeling really ambitious and want to produce a professional-quality poster, take a look at the services offered by the campus Visualization Presentation Lab . You can use Adobe Illustrator to create files and have them printed at the VPL.

• American Psychological Association (APA) poster presentation guidelines are summarized by Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology.
  
  
• International Studies Association
  
  
• American Political Science Association .
  
  
• American Anthropological Association .
  
  
• Designing Effective Posters, a web tutorial by Jeff Radel at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
  
  
• Creating Posters for the Humanities and Social Sciences, online guide to poster sessions by Marilyn A. Levine, Lewis and Clark State College.

• Displaying your findings : a practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations, published by APA and focused on psychological research
  McKeldin Stacks BF76.8 .N53 2003
  
  
• Scientist's Guide to Poster Presentations
  McKeldin Stacks Q179.94 .G47 1999.
  Useful even if your poster isn't on a scientific subject, because the science community has done a lot of thinking about what makes a good poster.
  
  
• How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper
  Available as an e-book through the Libraries' subscription to Netlibrary.
  Also available in hardcopy at EPSL Reference T11.D33 1998.