1. Tennessee State University
Brown-Daniel Library
Chris Langer
INFORMATION LITERACY FOR BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
STUDENTS
The goal of this course is to ensure that Tennessee State University Business Information
Systems graduates are literate in regard to information, and can determine the type and
amount of information they need; can access and judge the information critically and
incorporate this information into a knowledge base and ethical outlook, use the
information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose and understand the economic,
legal and social issues about the use of information.
Business Information Systems Students in General will be able to:
determine the nature and extent of the information needed by
- conferring with instructors and librarians to identify a
research topic
- formulating questions based on the information
needed
- achieving a manageable focus by defining or modifying
the information needed
- identifying the key concepts or terms that describe the
information needed
- using analytical and critical thinking skills in identifying
information needed
identify, locate and retrieve information by
- determining type of information needed
- determining location of information
- selecting efficient and effective strategies to access
information needed
utilize or construct and implement effective search strategies by
- formulating an effective search strategy
- conducting searches using appropriate resources
- evaluating search results and modifying search
strategies as needed
access the needed information effectively and efficiently
First Year Business Information Systems Students will be able to:
access and navigate the Library’s web site efficiently to find
information

2. search the Library’s online catalog and electronic resources, including
databases, books and journals, and the resources on the Internet
identify concepts and terms that describe the information needed by
using controlled vocabulary and information retrieval resources in
Business Information Systems
evaluate the scope, content and organization of information retrieval
sources and information, and compile pertinent citation information
for possible use
draw conclusions based upon the information gathered, integrate new
information with previous information and/or knowledge and identify
the one that supports the chosen thesis
have an understanding of plagiarism and its consequences
select an appropriate citation style and use it correctly and consistently
Intermediate and Advanced Level Business Information Systems Students will be able to:
develop a thesis statement and formulate questions based on the
needed information
evaluate potential resources in a variety of formats, including
databases, data set, web sites, printed materials and others
implement search strategy by using search engines with variety of
command languages, protocols and search parameters, including Ebscohost,
CompendexWeb, ScienceDirect and others.
broaden information seeking beyond the local resources, including
interlibrary loan, Athena, TALC
recognize that existing information combined with original thought,
analysis and experimentation can produce new information
recognize that knowledge can be organized into disciplines and can
impact the way information is accessed
use a variety of technologies to retrieve the needed information,
including software, reader/printer scanners, audio visual equipment
and others
examine and compare information from various sources, including
journals, conference papers and government publications to evaluate
the reliability, validity, accuracy, authority and bias, if any, of the
information
use computer and other technologies, including databases,
spreadsheets, charts to study the interaction of ideas
broaden the research topic to construct new hypothesis that may
require additional information
test theories with appropriate discipline techniques, including
formulas, simulations
question the source of data retrieved as to its accuracy, timeliness, and
authoritativeness
properly use the obtained information by citing resources according to

3. the copyright laws
RESEARCH STRATEGIES
I. Define a Topic in Business Information Systems
1. Search for Ideas
2. Narrow or Broaden Your Topic as Needed
3. State Your Topic as a Question
4. Identify the Type of Information Needed
II. Gather Background Information
1. Encyclopedias
2. Dictionaries
3. Almanacs and Yearbooks
4. Handbooks and Bibliographies
5. Dissertations, Theses and Senior Projects
6. Current Research
III. Search Databases for Journal Articles, Technical Reports,
Conference Proceedings and Standards
1. What are Databases?
a. Structure
b. Type
1.Bibliographic
2. Full-Text
3. Numeric
4. Image
5. Audio
c. Coverage
1. Subject Area
2. Type of Publication
d. Attributes
2. Searching Databases
a. Search Strategies
b. Use of TSU Database Subscriptions in
Business Information Systems
ABI/Inform
Academies of Science Abstracts
Business Source Premier
Dissertation Abstracts
EBSCOhost (Academic Search Premier and Academic Search Elite)
Compendex Web
Ei Engineering Village
INFOTRAC Expanded Academic (ASAP)
MIT Press
ScienceDirect
SpringerLINK

4. Wiley InterScience
WilsonWeb (Applied Science)
3. Locating Print and Electronic Journal Articles
IV. Search TSU Online Catalog for Books and Other Resources
1. How to use TSU Online catalog?
a. Keyword Search
b. Subject search
c. Author Search
d. Title Search
e. Search Commands
1. Boolean operators
2. Search Qualifiers
3. Tips
2. Location of Materials
3. Library of Congress Classification System
4. What is a Call Number ?
5. How to Read Call Numbers?
6. Electronic Books
V. Explore Internet Resources
1. Structures and Attributes of the Internet
2. Search Tools for the Internet
a. Google
b. AllThe.com
c. Yahoo
d. AltaVista
e. Ask Jeeves
f. HotBot
g. Dogpile
h. Search Engine Tips
3. Types of Web Sites
4. Categories of Information on the Internet
a. Free Web Sites with Valuable Information
1. Current Company Information
2. Current Events or Topics
3. State and federal Government
Information
4. Information About and From
Associations
5. WWW Resources at TSU
1. Virtual reference
2. Tennessee Resources
3. Government Resources
6. Web Sites in Business Information Systems

5. VI. Evaluate Research Materials
1. Criteria to Evaluate Research Materials in Business Information Systems
2. Criteria to Evaluate the Web Resources
VII. Write the Research Paper
1. Organization of Information
2. Citing Sources and Ethical Issues
3. Guidebooks on Research
VIII. Cite Your Sources
1. Style Manuals
I. Define a Topic in Business Information Systems
Presume you are interested in writing a paper on
Computers . You may want to define the scope of your
paper by defining what constitutes Robotics Design.
1. Search for Ideas
If you do not have an idea what constitutes Computers ,
search and read articles or books on the topic.
For example, use ScienceDirect online database,
set Dates from 2000 to present to retrieve the most
recent information, set terms by using connector
AND within Abstract, Title, Keywords or Full-Text.
Select Subject, in this case either Business Information Systems and
Technology or Computer Science. Type:
Computers
You will access articles with varying numbers according to the
search choices you made.
OR, you may do a subject search in the Library’s online catalog
under Computers.
After scanning through some article and books, you should
be able to come up with preliminary ideas about your
topic. You can always talk to your reference librarians in the
Reference Area or send e-mails or chat online via the ASK A
Librarian service located on the Library’s web page. You can
consult your instructor.
2. Narrow or Broaden Your Topic
You may find too much information on your topic. In that case,
you may want to narrow your topic. For example, in ScienceDirect
you may find over 10,000 full-text articles under Computers. You may
qualify your search by limiting your topic to a certain area such as
hard drives or a time period such as 1990 to present or a
country such as United States or even a certain manufacturer such
as Dell.
If you can find only few sources, you may want to broaden your

6. topic by related fields such as Command and Control Systems, Airborne Computers,
Hybrid Computers. For example, you may find 500 articles in Wiley
InterScience that can assist you in broadening your topic.
3. State Your Topic as a Question
Stating your topic as a question may help you to stay within the
scope of your selected topic. For example, what is the effect of
Computers in manufacturing or research? Or what is the effect of computers in academe
or in secondary education?
4. Identify the Type of Information Needed
The type of information needed depends on the following:
Type of Assignment- is this a presentation, term paper, senior project,
thesis or dissertation?
Amount of Information- how much information is needed for this
assignment?
Currency of Information- does this assignment require current,
historical or a combination?
Type of Resources Needed- should the information come from
scholarly and professional journals only?
Primary vs Secondary Resources- should the information come from
primary or secondary sources?
Information in Various Formats- should the information come from
only print resources or include other formats such as visual/ graphic
sources, numeric sources (statistics), audio sources and/or electronic
sources?
II. Gather Background Information
A brief background information in your topic would enable you to focus
on a theme and an outline effectively. As you peruse the background
information make note of relevant issues within your topic, differing
issues and definitions of key concepts. Appropriate sources for locating
background information include encyclopedias, almanacs and yearbooks,
and handbooks and bibliographies. In order to find information in
Computers, you need to look for background resources in Business Information Systems
and technology. You will locate these resources by
1. searching the Library’s online catalog under the subject
heading Encyclopedias and Dictionaries. From the
entries retrieved, you may chose the relevant ones.
2. Note the appropriate classification numbers for
specific resources or resources in the subject area and
locate them in the appropriate reference section.
3. You may advance your search by searching via
keyword and combining words in general areas such as
Business Information Systems, automation, computers with such words
as encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.
Resources that provide background information include

7. 1. Encyclopedias –
General-
Britannica Online
http://www.tnstate.edu/library/database/htm#B
Encyclopedia Americana
Ref. AE 5 .E333 1996
Subject-
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Ref. Q121 .E53 2001
The Cutting Edge: an Encyclopedia of Advanced
Technologies
Ref. T9 .C96 2000
Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology
Ref. QA76.15 .E5 v.43
2. Dictionaries-
General-
Random House Webster’s Dictionary
Ref. PE 1628 .R294 2001
Subject-
Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and
Technology
Ref. QA76.15 .D5258 2000
Welcome to the Academic Press Dictionary of
Science & Technology
http://www.harcourt.com/dictionary
3. Almanacs and Yearbooks-
Infoplease.com (electronic resource)
http://www.infoplease.com/
Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, 2000
(electronic resource – electronic book)
LB1028.3 .E372 2000eb
4. Handbooks and Bibliographies
Handbook of computers and data processing
QA76 .H278 1983
How to Write Usable User Documentation
QA76.165 .W44 1991
The McGraw-Hill computer handbook (electronic resource-electronic book)
QA76 .M37 1983
III. Search the Databases for Journal Articles,
Technical Reports, Conference Proceedings and Standards
1. What are databases?
In general, databases are organized collections of
information. For example, TSU Library’s online
catalog is a database as well as electronic periodical
indexes that provide full-text articles, including
ScienceDirect, Wiley InterScience, and citation

8. Indexes such as CompendexWeb and others. You may
locate and access Library’s databases online from
our web page at
http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=777&ptid=1
In order to use the databases properly, you should be
able to understand the structure, type, coverage and
attributes of them.
a. Structure-
Databases contain records that are information
about each item within those databases.
For example, the Library’s online catalog
has a record for each book, journal, microfilm,
etc owned by it. In turn, each record contains
information called fields. The fields in a record
may include author, title, publisher, subject
headings, and others. Other database records
may contain fields that include author,
title, title of the periodical, volume
number, date, year and page numbers.
b. Type-
The nature of the information contained in a
database determines its type. The main types
of databases include Bibliographic, Full-text
Numeric, Image, Audio and Mixed.
Bibliographic databases do not contain the
items, however, they provide information as
to where you can find it. The information
provided by the Bibliographic database may
contain items such as Author, Title, Publisher,
Date, Volume Number, Page Number and
others that is called “citation”. Sometimes
they include abstracts ( a summary) or
descriptions of items. If you are interested in
finding records or citations about a certain
topic then you can choose to use these
databases to create bibliographies. However, if
you want to read the information in its entirety,
you will either locate the source given in the
record or use a full-text database. An example
of a record from a bibliographic database such
as an online catalog may look like this:
Title: Absolute beginner's guide to programming / Greg Perry
Call Number: QA76.6 .P464 2001eb
Publisher: Boulder, Colo. : NetLibrary, 2003
Subject Heading(s): Computer programming.
Display Related Subjects

9. Description: xiv, 416 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Notes: Includes index
ISBN: 0768655331 (electronic bk.)
Item Holdings
Location – Internet
Call Number-QA76.6 .P464 2001eb
Volume-
Material- Book
Status- Available
The information we gather from this record is
extensive. We obtain the title of the book, author(s)
or editor(s), call number, publisher, place of
publication, publisher and the year copyrighted and
published, subject area of the book, number of
preliminary pages, number of pages in the text,
whether or not the text contains illustrations, size of
the book, whether or not the book contains
bibliographical references and an index, names of
co-author(s) or editor(s), whether or not the book is
part of a series, international standard book number
assigned to the book, and the location and the
availability of the item you are searching for.
A bibliographic index for journal articles such as
EiVillage-CompendexWeb will provide citations
and abstracts on your topic. For example,
you may search under computers and education.
You may limit your search to abstracts, to journal
articles, to English language only and to certain
years. If you used the above example, you will
retrieve 46854 records which are available to you
immediately. Press Detailed Records button for a
full citation for a record. For example, you will
retrieve the accession number , title, Author(s), First
author affiliation, serial title, abbreviated serial title,
volume, issue, issue date, publication year, pages,
language, ISSN, CODEN, document type,
publisher, abstract, abstract type, Ei main heading,
Ei controlled terms, uncontrolled terms, Ei
classification codes, treatment, and database.
Full-text Databases
These databases are called full-text because they
contain the complete text of publications. For
example, Wiley InterScience provides full-text
articles from scientific journals and books in
addition to summaries. For example, a Basic
Journal Search under software will retrieve 10024

10. documents. You may choose to read the abstract to
determine if this article is useful for your research.
If so you may want to read or print the article. If
you would like to retrieve chapters in books about
software, you can search Wiley InterScience
under Book search. Your search will yield 5
documents in full-text and/or summary of the
chapter.
Numeric Databases
These databases generally provide numeric data,
including statistics, financial data, census
information, economic indicators and others.
For example, FIS Online will provide statistical
information about companies and countries. Census
Data would provide statistics about people,
business and others.
Image Databases
These are the databases that provide access to art
prints, animations, photos and others. For example,
If you access the library’s Artstor database you will find
Many images of paintings
Audio Databases
These databases provide access to audio clips to
music and sound effects. For example, Library’s
Virtual Reference web page would provide access
to the Internet Public Library Listening Room
where you may listen to and observe the videos of
Ray Brooks, Steve Wood Quintet, Pamela Wise,
Blue Dog and others.
c. Coverage
The selection of appropriate databases is an
important factor in finding relevant information.
A description of information covered by a database
is usually found in the introductory screen.
Subject Area-
Some databases cover a specific subject area or
discipline such as Business Information Systems, psychology, nursing
and others. Others cover areas in more general in
nature or a mixture of subject areas. For example,
in Business Information Systems, your library provides you access to
Business Source Premier, Academic Search Premier, ScienceDirect,
Wiley InterScience, Ei Village-
CompendexWeb, MIT Press, SpringerLink,
WilsonWeb-Applied Science and Technology
Index. Due to its varied nature, the subject of Business Information Systems
may be found under business, engineering, computers, and

11. other database classifications. You can also find a list of databases
according to their subject coverage in the Library’s
web page under Databases by Subject at
http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=784
Type of Publication-
Databases may contain information from only
periodicals. For example, MIT Press, Business Source Premier
and Academic Search Premier will give you
access to periodical articles they publish in the areas
of science and technology and business. Some databases will
include information from a combination of sources
such as periodicals and books. For example,
ScienceDirect, WilsonWeb-Applied Science and
Technology Index, and Wiley InterScience will
provide you with articles from periodicals and
chapters from books. Some databases include
only popular sources such as magazines and
newspapers. You can use these databases for leisure
reading. For example, InfoTrac-Expanded
Academic ASAP will provide you access to some
sources related to Business Information Systems such as Popular
Mechanics. On the other hand, some databases
include scholarly materials found in scientific
journals, conference proceedings and reports.
For example, Wiley InterScience, ScienceDirect
and MIT Press will provide access to scientific
journals and materials. Databases differ in terms of
frequency of updating materials, accessibility of
the most recent periodical articles and the
publication dates of the materials included.
Sometimes publishers put an embargo on the
availability of the recent issues. For example, while
searching the EBSCOHost, you may come across
some periodicals that are not currently accessible.
That is, an embargo has been placed for the last two
years. Another feature to consider in selecting a
database is the availability of the material. You
may select a full-text database so that you can read
the material immediately. Or you may choose a
database that may provide only bibliographic
information, however, you library owns a majority
of the items. If you are willing to wait, you may use
amore comprehensive database that indexed a great
number of items your library does not subscribe to
but is able to obtain them for you through

12. interlibrary loan. The decision is yours.
d. Attributes
After you make the selection of the databases you
would like to use, you will need to determine if the
databases use controlled vocabulary and if the
databases do field search or free-text indexing.
In performing searches you will find that some
databases use controlled vocabulary which is a
specific list of subject terms in organizing the
database contents by subject. If you want to retrieve
relevant items or information , you should be aware
of “controlled vocabulary”. For example,
Business Source Premier and Academic Search Premier
provide you with a Thesaurus.
This is a list of subject headings you can use
to retrieve the relevant information you need. If you
look under Software you will find the following
subject headings to chose from:
Software metering Use Computer software metering
Software packages Use Integrated Software
Software portability Use Software compatibility
Software quality Use Computer software—Quality control
And so on. These entries tell us to use the controlled term
in place of our own search term to improve our search.
Subject Headings may be found in special
thesaurus, like in ERIC, in the Thesaurus of Descriptors,
or provided by the database,
or in the Library of Congress Subject Headings
source. You may search most databases by
subject, using controlled vocabulary
OR
keyword, by using your own words
Some databases use field searching which means
that the search term you used is only looked in
specific fields. For example, if you are using the
Library’s online catalog and select the keyword
search, your search will locate items with that
specific search term in the title, subject or content
fields. On the other hand, some databases use free-
text searching which means that the search term
you have selected will locate items anywhere in a
document or record. This type of searching may
return false drops or irrelevant items because the
search term you have located will be located no
matter where it is. Some databases may give you the
choice for field or free-text searching, such as Business Source

13. Premier or Academic Search Premier. Check the
sites for this information before you begin your
search.
2. Searching Databases
A. Search Strategies –
Your library provides access to over 101 databases.
You can search these databases from any computer
on campus and/or from off campus sites. In
selecting the type of database that will provide
appropriate and relevant articles, you may consider
the following:
subject discipline of your topic –
specialized or multidisciplinary
type of resources needed – basic sources,
scholarly sources or professional/trade
sources
the target audience – is the research for a term
paper, independent study, senior project,
thesis or dissertation?
B. Use of Databases Subscribed by TSU
Libraries in Business Information Systems
Your Library subscribes to over 101 online
databases in general and subject fields. The
databases in subject field – Business Information
Systems include the following that provide the
most appropriate and relevant information:
CompendexWeb
Years Covered: 1970-Present
Relevancy: Computer Science
Truncation: *
Search Tips:
1. You need to use truncation (*) to search for words that begin
with the same letters. For example, robot* will return with robot,
robots, robotic, robotics, robotization.
2. Terms are automatically stemmed except in the author field. For
example, the word management will retrieve manage, managed,
manager, managers, managing, management. You can disable this
feature by clicking on “ Autostemming ”.
3. To search for an exact phrase or phrase containing stop words such as
and, or, not, near, enclose term in braces {} or quotation marks “ “.
For example, {Robotics and Autonomous Systems} or “networked
robotics”.
Browse the author look-up index to select all variations of an author’s
name. For example, Smith, A. OR Smith, A.J. OR Smith, Allen J.
MIT Press
Years Covered: Varies by journal titles. You may want to browse journals

14. by subject or title to see the coverage for each journal.
Relevancy: Computer & Information Systems Engineering
Truncation: *
Search Tips:
1. You can search this database by BROWSING the journals and/or
by searching a phrase or phrases. For example, you can browse the
MIT database by journals subscribed by your library. In this case
you will have access to full-text articles. You may chose the format
of the article by clicking next to RealPage, RealPage Plugin, PDF
(full-document), PDF (page at a time) and SVG (page at a time).
You can also browse by title, subject, publisher and LC
Classification of the MIT journals. If you chose to browse all
MIT Journals, you will only retrieve abstracts of articles that are
not subscribed by your library. However, your Interlibrary Loan
librarian can obtain articles you need.
2. You can retrieve information from this databases by using the
SEARCH mode. You can search for articles through
combinations of authors, article titles and abstract keywords.
To include the fulltext of the articles, please either check the
Include Fulltext box, or select Fulltext from the drop down list of
fields.
ScienceDirect
Years Covered: Varies by journal titles. You may want to browse journals
by title, subject and publisher to find out the years covered.
Usually the coverage is from the date the journal is
published.
Relevancy: Computer Science,
Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Truncation: (!) , (*), (**)
Search Tips: (!) Use this wildcard character to find root word plus all
the words made by adding letters to the end of it. For
example, computer! would find computer, computers, computerize,
computerized.
(*) Use an asterisk to replace characters anywhere in a
word, except the first character. Use one astrict for each
character you want to replace. For example, wom*n would
find woman and women.
(*) Use the asterisk to hold a space for variations in
spelling at any point in a word. For example, bernst*
would find both the ei and the ie spelling of the name.
If you use (*) asterisks at the end of a word, they do not all
have to be filled, but may find up to the specific number of
characters. For example, transplant** would find
transplant, transplanted, transplanter.
Note: transplant** does not find transplantation or
transplanting because only two wildcard characters are
used. To find all the variations of transplant, use the (!)

15. wildcard character.
To find a journal or publication you can use the journal
title finder search box, available when you click on
journals on the navigation bar. Alternatively, you can
browse the alphabetical journal list. The journal screen
allows you different options for browsing the list. A drop
down menu allows you to choose to view the entire journal
list available on ScienceDirect {Subscribed (by your
library) or Non-Subscribed ( not subscribed by your
library)}.
Quick Search – can be performed for an author, subject
of interest. The search will look for any relevant results
from abstracts, titles, authors and article keywords. Enter
the search terms into the Quick Search bar beneath the
main navigation bar. You can search all Full-text Sources,
All Journals, This Journal, This Issue, This article, etc. You
may use the Boolean syntax to produce precise results. It is
better not to use words that are too general, such as “cell”
or “behaviour” as they will retrieve too many results.
Basic and Advanced Searching- will perform accurate or
detailed search queries, improve the relevancy of the
retrieved articles or save your search queries. With this type
of search you can search across all journals, a subset of
journals (by subject), abstracts databases, Scirus, etc.
Additionally, you can specify to search for your phrase
within the abstract, title, author, references, or full-text of
the content. You can also limit your search by date or the
journal volume, issue and page number.
Search Within Results- will enable you to refine your
Search. You can run a new search that is restricted to the
list of articles you are already viewing. You can perform
unlimited number of refinements, each time restricting your
search to only the list of results you already have. Each
stage of refinement appears in the search history, allowing
you to return to any stage of your search at any time.
Search Using Scirus- You can search across the entire web
for additional scientific information via Scirus tab on the
search form. This search complements the content available
on ScienceDirect. A Basic Search under server retrieves
3361 articles, a search under Scirus that searches the entire
web renders 9,737,413 entries.
Business Source Premier
Years Covered:
Relevancy: Computer Science, Business

16. • Truncation: The wildcard is represented by a question mark (?). To use the
wildcard, enter your search terms and replace each unknown character with a ?.
EBSCOhost finds all citations of that word with the ? replaced by a letter.
For example, type ne?t to find all citations containing neat, nest or next. EBSCOhost
does not find net because the wildcard replaces a single character.
• Truncation is represented by an asterisk (*). To use truncation, enter the root of a
search term and replace the ending with an *. EBSCOhost finds all forms of that
word.
For example, type comput* to find the words computer or computing
Search Tips: Business Source Premier basic search allows you to search using:
either connected by AND (default) to find articles that contain all the
terms such as computers AND education.
or connected by OR to find articles that contain any of the terms such
as computers OR education. The basic search screen looks like this:
Notice that you can limit by full text, references available, peer reviewed, publication,
publication type,etc. Basic Search allows searching in the title, author, abstract fields.
The Advanced Search looks like this:

17. Automatic linking of terms with and, or and not is offered in the drop down menus on the
left. On the right are drop down menus for searchable fields, including title, author
accession number, abstract, company entity, and more. No natural language searching is
available in Business Source Premier. However, grouping with parentheses is allowed.
For example one might compose this search:
dog or cat and show or parade. A more focused search would be:
(dog or cat) and (show or parade).
In the first example, the search will retrieve everything on dog or cat shows AS WELL
AS everything on parades, whether or not the articles refer to dogs or cats. In the second
example, we have used the parentheses to control our query to only find articles about
shows or parades that reference dogs or cats.
Clicking the Company Profiles button reveals a list like this:
Many companies are listed in alphabetical order, accessible by browsing or by clicking
on a letter in the menu. Location and industry type of the company are also listed.
The Thesaurus button reveals a controlled vocabulary which will allow you to
translate your terms into Business Source Premier terms. E.g., if I search for the
abrogation of legislation, the thesaurus will correct me saying the correct term is repeal of
legislation. It will also tell me if I am using the correct term. For example, if I query the

18. thesaurus on Abstracting and Indexing services, it will tell me I am using the correct term
in the controlled vocabulary.
Wiley InterScience
The opening screen for Wiley Interscience looks like this:
Years Covered:
Relevancy: Computer Science, Business
Truncation: *
Search Tips:
Basic Search allows you to
search either all content, or by publication title. It also allows
you to browse by subject, e.g., Business, Computer Science,
Education, etc.
Advanced Search looks like this and allows you to

19. search limiting by various fields such as Funding Agency, Keyword, ISSN, Author, and
Article title. One can also limit by product type, i.e., journals, online books, references,
etc. One can search online bookshelves, such as Biotechnology and Food Science, or
single subjects such as chemistry, or limit by date.
Boolean operators may be used from the pull down menus on the left, or entered in the
boxes with the terms. Use NEAR/ with a number to indicate proximity. Example: rat
AND cancer NEAR/5 prostate matches rat and cancer within 5 words of prostate. You
can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard character. As a shortcut for OR, you can use a
comma ",". Example: gene, therapy matches gene OR therapy". Search for exact phrases
by enclosing a string in quotation marks.You can use parentheses to create nested
searches. Example: (brain AND serotonin) OR (brain AND dopamine)
Acronym finder, which looks like this:

20. will search for acronyms, using exact match, Match beginning of term, or wildcard
match. Limitation by subject is also possible.
WilsonWeb-
Applied Science and
Technology
Years Covered: 1983-Present
Relevancy:
Artificial Intelligence, Communication and Information Technology,
Computer Databases and Software, Electrical and
Electronic Engineering, Machine Learning, and Solid State
Technology.
Truncation Symbol: *
Search Tips: Basic Search screen looks like this. You may pick a database.
then enter your search in the box.
The truncation symbol (*) serves as a substitute for zero or a string of characters.
For example the search:
cat* retrieves catalyst, catatonic, as well as category
m*cdonald retrieves both mcdonald and macdonald.
The wildcard symbol (?) serves as a substitute for a single alphanumeric character. It is
particularly useful when you are unsure of spelling.
For example, the search einst??n retrieves the correctly spelled einstein (albert einstein).
When searching for SIC codes, which are 4 digits, use the wildcard symbol (?) to search
ranges. For example, 12?? <in> sic retrieves all available codes between 1200 and 1300.

21. You can use the <wildcard> operator in a constructed search query to specify a pattern or
range of characters. You must enclose the word that includes a range or pattern in single
quotes ('). You must also enclose the pattern in brackets or braces, without spaces.
For example the search: <wildcard> 'bank{s,er,ing}' locates one of each pattern, as in
banks, banker, and banking <wildcard> 'c[auo]t' locates one of any character, as in cat,
cut, cot
Relational Operators
You can use relational operators in a constructed search query to find a term (in context)
or number (in a sequence). For example, to locate a series of numbers within the Dewey
Decimal Classification system the search ddc<starts>75 retrieves all headings between
750 and 759.
Relational operators are: <contains>, <ends>, <matches>, <starts>, <substring>.
Stemming
In the Basic Search and Advanced Search screens, when you search on a single word the
search engine will find documents that include that word as well as variations on the
word as a root. For example, if you search for condition, the results will include
documents with the words conditioning and conditioner. To restrict your search to the
word itself, enclose it in quotation marks; "condition" will retrieve only those documents
with that word.
In both Basic and Advanced search Boolean searching is possible . One just enters the
search terms, strings them together with and, or, or not and the database understands the
type of search to be done. One may also use parentheses, like so: (painters or sculptors)
and italy to make a nested search. Also one may use this formation: "Performance
artists" — a bound phrase using double quotation marks, which will search for the
words as a phrase only.
Advanced Search looks like this:
Again you can pick a database. Again you can enter up to three search terms and separate
them by and, or, or not. If I click on the Sort by menu I get:

22. So a high degree of control is possible here in
my sorting. I can sort by Person, Dewey Decimal
Number, ISSN, Date of Death, Date, and so on.
Databases in general that will provide in
formation in the
area of Business Information Systems include
ABI Inform
Academic Search Premier
Academies of Science Abstracts
Business Source Premier
EBSCOHost-Academic Search Premier
Emerald
Engineering Village
Factiva
Findlaw
SpringerLink
WilsonWeb
3. Locating Print and Electronic Journal Articles
The quickest way to locate and access journals is via Full-
text Electronic, Print and Microform Journal Holdings.
You will find this service on the Library’s web page at
http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=777&ptid=1. The page in question
looks like this:
The link in question is Journals.
This service will provide you with
accessibility to the journals you are looking for

23. the list of databases that include the journals you are looking for
IV. Search TSU Online Catalog for Print and Electronic
Books and Other Resources
1. How to Use the TSU Online Catalog?
The access points in finding a book in the area of servers are
keyword, subject, author and title.
Keyword Search is a primary method for searching for a topic.
It allows you to search for individual words in the title, subject
and other fields in the bibliographic record. This is generally the
easiest type of search to do, but it also produces the largest hit list.
You may limit the number of items retrieved by using operators
and qualifiers discussed under Search Commands. You will find
Keyword search in The Library’ online catalog. For a successful
keyword search for servers, you need to identify
Main Concepts- For example,” what is the impact of
servers in internet industry?” The main concepts can
be impact, servers, internet and industry.
Choice of Words- You may try use those key terms that
may be used to describe your main concept. For example,
impact: impacting, influence, resulting
servers: computers, networking, electronic
internet: world wide web, global community,
industry: manufacturing, manufacturers
Subject Search is a method of searching by using subject
headings. The online catalog automatically does it for you. Subject
heading describes the items and there are one or more subject
headings assigned to them. The TSU Library uses Library of
Congress Subject Headings. You may want to consult the Library
Of Congress Subject Headings located at the Circulation Desk to
make sure that you are using the correct words for a subject search.
For example, if you use the subject heading Robots, you may
retrieve a book titled “Teaching and learning with robots”. You
can look for additional books in the area of Robots by using the
suggested subject headings in the record, including Robotics and
Teaching-Aids and devices.
Author Search is used when you have the name of an author and
would like to retrieve a list of items written by that author. For
example, if you do an author search under Goodwill, James,
you will find three (3) books located in the TSU Library. They are
Apache Jakarta Tomcat, Mastering Jakarta Struts, and Pure Java Server Pages.
You may search the online catalog under Author Search by typing the
author’s last name first and first name last. If you need to find
information about the author, in this case, James Goodwill,
you may do a subject research using his last name, first name.

24. Title Search is used when you know the title of an item. One point
to remember is that if the title begins with an A, An or the,
disregard them and search under the second word of the title.
These are called stop words. Do not discard the articles in
between words. Title Search works best
if you are looking for a specific item and know the exact title. If
you do not know the title, a Subject Search would yield better
results.
Search Commands- the following commands may be used in
searching most databases. Same may be titled and used somewhat
differently. You may use the following search commands for a
successful search:
BOOLEAN OPERATORS
AND is used when you want the records to include
both search terms to narrow a search. For example,
Robotics AND Car Manufacturing. In this case you are
limiting your search to only Robotics and Car
Manufacturing.
OR is used to find records in which one or both search
terms appear thus broadening the search. For example,
Robotics OR Automation. In this case you are broadening
your search to include Robotics and automation in
general.
NOT is used find those records that contain the first search
term but not the second search term. In this case those
articles containing both terms are not retrieved. For
example, Robotics NOT Automation. You will find
articles only about Robotics. Articles with Automation will
not be retrieved.
* Truncation is used to retrieve variant endings of a word.
For example, Robot* will retrieve any words starting with
Robot-Robots, etc.
( ) Parentheses will signal priority and order. For example,
(robotics*OR automation*) AND car manufacturing*
will first find records containing words that start with
Robotics or words that start with Automation or both, then
those records that also mention words that start with Car
Manufacturing.
# Pound Sign represents a single character. For example,
Robot# will retrieve robot and robots.
? Question Mark represents characters at the end of a
search term. For example, Robot? may retrieve records
about Robot, Robots, Robotics and Automation? may
retrieve Automation, Automated, Automating.
SEARCH QUALIFIERS
Search Qualifiers include author (au), title (ti), and

25. subject(su). They will allow you to limit your search to
specific fields. By using the Search Qualifiers you can
speed up response time and narrow the search to the more
relevant records. For example,
su robotics not manufacturing will retrieve all
records on the subject of robotics that do not
contain the word manufacturing anywhere in the
record.
ti robotics and Young will retrieve all records with
the word robotics in the title field and Young in the
author field
TIPS:
1. When you search the Library’s Online Catalog, you should
start with a keyword (Word/Phrase) search. For a successful
search, find relevant subject headings and use them for your
search.
For example, a Keyword search in the Library’s online
Catalog in the order below will retrieve 212 resources:
(servers or internet)
2. Online Library Catalogs may differ, some of the features
of the TSU Online Catalog are as follows:
Searching by
Author, Title and Subject, Keyword, Call no. Govdoc no.,
Journal title and ISBN-ISSN
Limiting the Searches by Netlibrary, Main or Downtown Campus,
and available items.
2. Location of Materials
On the first floor of the Brown-Daniel Library books are
arranged according to the Library of Congress
Classification from classification A to LD. On the third
floor you will find books from classification M to Z. In
addition, on this floor, you will have access to the books in
the Dewey Classification, over sized books and the Youth
Collection. Few journal titles are also housed on the third
floor. On the second floor you will find Reference Books
journals and microform collections. Reference Books are
arranged on the shelves by Library of Congress
classification. Journals are arranged by alphabet.
3. Library of Congress Classification System
This system is used so that each book and journal are
identified by their subject, assigned an alphanumeric call
number and placed on the shelves according to that
number with the similar resources for easy access and
browsing. Major classification headings used in the area of
Business Information Systems are as follows:

26. • HD 28-70 Management, Industrial Management
• HF 5546-5548.85 Office Management
• T 58.5-58.64 Information Technology
• T 58.6-58.62 Management Information Systems
• TA 7885-7895 Systems Engineering
• TK 7885-7895 Computer Engineering and Hardware
4. What is a Call Number?
As mentioned before, books and some periodicals are
arranged on the shelves according to the Library of
Congress Classification system. According to this
system each book or periodical is assigned an alphanumeric
call number based on its subject content. This specific
call number identifies the item and places it on the shelves
with the items on the same subject.
5. How to Read a Call Number?
Each call number has several parts. For example, the
following call number
QA
76.9
.C55
T847
2000eb
gives us the following information:
The first line QA defines the class or subclass. It defines the
broad subject area within class Q for Science and QA
represents the the subclass Mathematics.
The second line 76.9 is the classification number. When
browsing the shelves for this book, you need to read this
number as a whole number with a decimal component to
determine its location on the shelf. Combined with class
and subclass, the classification number defines the subject
matter more precisely. In the above example, QA76.9
represents Calculating Machines which is a subdivision of QA-
Mathematics which in turn is in
the broader subject field of Q for Science.
The third line of the call number is called the Cutter
Number. It is a combination of letters and numbers that
usually indicates author. However, sometimes it may
represent a subject division. Some items may have double
cutter numbers. Always interpret the numeric part of the
cutter number as a decimal number when you browse the
shelves. Thus, the numeric component of .C55 should be

27. read as .638. Therefore, QA 76.9 .C55 T847 2000eb
should be shelved before QA 76.9 .C6 T847 2000eb.
The year of publication of the item, in this case 2000eb, may
also be present. The items are shelved in chronological
order which often distinguishes items by varying editions
of that item.
5. Electronic Books- Your library provides access to electronic
books via its web page at
http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=366&ptid=1
Currently you can read general interest electronic books via
netLibrary or technical electronic books via Safari and Books 24x7 In
addition you may find electronic books via the Library’s
online catalog.
V. Explore Internet Resources
The Internet contains a vast number of electronic documents
created by individuals and institutions that reside on computers
(servers) world wide and are linked by hyper-links.
Structure and attributes of the Internet
While the Internet is one giant database, it has no
organizational structure. Most information on the
Internet is free, however, some require a subscription.
For example, you may access some newspapers free
and may be able to read news items in their entirety.
Some may only allow you to read the abstracts of the
headline and require subscription for complete access.
The most important to keep in mind about the Internet
is that the information it offers is not screened or edited.
Note: The databases your library offers on the web are
Screened and edited.
Search Tools for the Internet
1. Search Engines- are used to search for vast
amount of resources on the Internet. These
engines are very useful when searching unique
word or phrases. When choosing a search
engine you should keep in mind that each
search engine searches a different number and
type of sources. Following are the most popular
Internet search engines:
Google (http://www.google.com) – has
been voted as the Most Outstanding Search
Engine for three times. This crawler-based
service provides comprehensive and relevant

28. coverage of the web. It is highly
recommended as a first stop in you hunt for
whatever you are looking for. For more
information about Google go to
http://searchenginewatch.com.
AllTheWeb.com
(http://www.alltheweb.com)- is an excellent
crawler-based search engine. It provides
both comprehensive coverage of the web
and outstanding relevancy. If you tried
Google and did not find it, AllTheWeb
should be next on your list.
Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) – is
Internet’s oldest director, launched in 1994.
Yahoo began using crawler based listing in
2002 for its main results. Yahoo is
important because it enhances Google’s
listings with information from its own
directory may make search results more
readable. Yahoo will help you to narrow and
refine your query.
AltaVista (http://www,altavista.com)-
provides access to 31 million pages found
on 627,000 servers and four million articles
from 14,000 Usenet news groups.
Ask Jeeves (http://www.askjeeves.com)-
gained fame in 1998 and 1999 as being the
“natural language” search engine that let you
search by asking questions and responded
with what seemed to be the right answer to
everything. Actually 100 editors monitored
the search logs. They then went out on to the
web and located what seemed to be the best
sites to match the most popular queries.
Today, Ask Jeeves depends on crawler-
based technology to provide results to its
users.
HotBot (http://www.hotbot.com)- provides
easy access to the web’s four major crawler-
based search engines: AllTheWeb, Google,
Inktomi and Teoma. However, unlike “meta
search engine”, it cannot blend the results
from all of these crawlers together.
Nevertheless, it is a fast and easy way to get
different web search opinions in one place.
HotBot has a strong following among

29. serious searches for the quality and
comprehensiveness of its crawler-based
results.
Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com) – is a
popular metasearch site that sends a search
to a customizable list of search engines,
directories and specialty search sites, then
displays results from each search engine
individually.
Search Engine Tips-
When you get ready to search via a search
engine, always look for the “help” botton.
You need to be on the look out for the type
of results you may get. For example, if you
choose AltaVista, keep in mind that it uses
free-text-indexing which means that
whatever search term is entered, it is looked
for anywhere in the entire document. As a
result, you may retrieve hundreds or
thousands of documents that may have very
little or no relevancy for your search.
Search Features-
Search Engine Math Commands are as
follows:
Command How Supported By
Must include + All engines
term
____________________________________
Must exclude - All engines
term
____________________________________
Must include ““ All engines
phrase
____________________________________
Match all Automatic at All engines
terms
____________________________________
Via AllTheWeb,
Advanced AltaVista.
Search Google,
Yahoo
________________________
Match any OR Alta Vista,
Terms Ask Jeeves,
Google,
HotBot,

30. Yahoo,
AllTheWeb
___________________________________
Try to be specific- tell a search engine
exactly what you are looking for. For
example, imagine you want to find pages
that have references to both servers and
hard drive technology on the same page. You
could search this way by using the +
addition symbol:
+hard+drives+servers
You will find only pages that contain both
words, hard, drives and servers.
You will find pages that have all three of the
words on them. This search is helpful if you
want to narrow or refine your search.
You may want to use Quotation marks, “ “
to multiply terms through a phrase search
and retrieve only pages that have all the
words in the exact order you want.
For example,
“hard drives servers”
will retrieve pages that use “robot arms use”
in the exact order.
Power Searching Commands are:
Command How Supported by
Title Search title: AltaVista,
AllTheWeb
intitle: Google,
Teoma
allintitle: Google
___________________________________
host: AltaVista
site: Google,
Yahoo
Site Search
url.host: AllTheWeb
domain HotBot
none: HotBot,
Yahoo
____________________________________
url: AltaVista
url.all: AllTheWeb
URL Search
allinurl: Google
inurl

31. u: Yahoo
none: HotBot
___________________________________
link: AltaVista,
Google
Link Search
linkdomain: HotBot
linkall: AllTheWeb,
none: HotBot,
Yahoo
____________________________________
* Yahoo
? AOL
Wildcard
% Northern Lights
None: AllTheWeb,
Google,
Hotbot
____________________________________
Anchor None: Google,
Search HotBot
____________________________________
Types of Web Sites
Internet offers a vast number of web sites that
provide varied information such as news,
advertisement, entertainment, and personal data.
You can distinguish the nature of web sites by
looking at their URL domains. URL stands for
Uniform Resource Locator, an Internet address
which tells a browser where to find an Internet
resources. For example, the URL for your library is
http://www.tnstate.edu/library.
There are 4 broad categories of web sites you can
distinguish by their URL domain. They are:
Educational institution-
Domain: .edu (http://www.tnstate.edu)
Government site-
Domain: .gov (http://www.senate.gov)
Organizations or associations-
Domain: .org (http://www.ala.org)
Commercially based sites-
Domain: .com (http://www.cocacola.com)
Network oriented sites
Domain: .net (http://www.butler.net)
Categories of Information on the Internet

32. 1. Free Web Sites with Valuable Information
It is recommended that you should do your
research by using your library’s electronic
and print resources accessible from the
Library’s web page. However, you may find
some valuable information on the web in the
areas listed below:
Current Company Information- You can
read information about a company from its
web site. However, the information you
obtain may be slanted to favor that
company. You can use the search engines or
directories on the Internet to find the
information you need. Always keep in mind
that your library has pertinent and unbiased
information available for you via electronic
and print resources. For example, you can
use the search engine Google to look up
information about Lockheed Aircraft
Company. You will find 786,000 hits or
results. If you look up IBM via the same
search engine, you will find 22,100,000 hits.
Current Events or Topics- Web is very
useful in finding information about current
events because it provides immediate
information on very recent events. For
example, you can find the most recent
pictures of NASA experiments on the web
before the print version arrives.
State and Federal Government Information-
Most state and government agencies have
their own web sites that provide information
about their offices, policies, census data,
congressional hearings and others. For
example, you can find information about
Tennessee Department of Transportation by
either looking for it via a search engine on
the Internet or via your library’s web site
under Tennessee Resources. If you need
information about the Federal Government,
you can either search via a search engine or
you can go to your library’s web site and

33. look under U.S. Government Resources.
Information About and From Associations,
Organizations and Others- If you are
looking for information about an association
pertaining to contact information, or share
information, you may find the web site and
get in touch with the organization. For
example, you may want to see the type of
information is provided by the American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
You can search for the web site via Google or
another search engine. When you locate web site
you will see the following information:
Information and news about the organization,
information about the engineering profession,
awards program, calendar, advertising, conference
schedules, contact person, engineering resources,
fellowships, international activities, membership
services, public policy, publications and marketing.
The url for this organization is http://www.asee.org
WWW Resources at TSU-
1. Virtual Reference-
2. Tennessee Resources
3.Government Resources
Web Sites in Business Information Systems
VI. Evaluate Research Materials
Criteria to Evaluate Research Materials in Engineering-
After you have located various materials on your
topic, you should evaluate them to determine their
usefulness, quality and authority. Keep in mind that
evaluating the information you have located is one
of the major skills of library research process. In
evaluating information in the field of Engineering,
you should apply the ten criteria below:
1. Author’s qualifications or credentials-
Is the author practicing in the field? Is he
an authority in the field? How many
articles or books he has written on the
topic?
2. The Timeliness of the Publication- Is the
information timely or out-of-date for your
topic? When was the information created?
Check the publication dates. Is the
information updated regularly, if so, how
often is it updated? Some information are

34. updated daily, some weekly and monthly.
Is the information still valid for your
topic? If you need the very current
information then timeliness is a must for
you. But, if you are looking for the
historical perspective of your topic, then
timeliness may not be crucial.
3. Accurate and Factual Information Supported
by Evidence- Does the information you
have located come from authoritative
sources? If the information came from a
journal in a database, is the journal
refereed? Refereed journals or
publications are the ones that contain
information reviewed by several experts
in the field. Is there a review about
the book you will use as a source? How
thoroughly the information is edited and
reviewed? If you obtained the
information from a web site, how stable
or permanent is the information? Some
information will remain accessible and
valid over time than the others. Is the
coverage of your topic complete? To find
about this question, you may check the
table of contents, index, or abstract or
summary of the source. Are the factual
statements well documented or footnoted
so you can verify them for accuracy?
4. Primary vs. Secondary Sources- You can
locate your information from two types
of materials:
Primary Sources: These are the first-
hand or eye-witness accounts of an
event. They include, newspaper stories,
reports of experiments, statistics,
government documents, autobiographies
and letters. For example, AT&T
Technical Reports, NASA Reports, and
others.
Secondary Sources: These are the
sources that analyze, relate, evaluate or
criticize based on information on
information gathered from Primary
Sources.
5. Reputation of the Publisher- Check out the

35. publisher of the source. If the publisher
is a university press then it is likely to
be scholarly. Even though you cannot
always guarantee quality based on the
publisher’s reputation, it may be a sign
that the publisher has a regard for the
type of sources it publishes. For
example, University of Texas Press,
Cambridge University Press, Elsevier
Press, John Wiley and Sons and
Blackwell Science are scholarly
publishers in Science and Engineering
and other areas.
6. Type of Publication- is the source scholarly,
popular, trade or government
publication? Is the journal scholarly or
popular? You need to make a
distinction because it indicates different
levels of complexity in introducing
ideas.
Scholarly Journals- the Websters
Third International Dictionary
definition of a scholarly journal is a
publication that is concerned with
academic study, especially research;
exhibiting the methods and attitudes
of a scholar; and having a manner
and appearance of a scholar. These
journals usually have a serious look
and contain various graphs, charts
and other statistical information. The
articles in these journals always cite
their resources in the form of
footnotes or bibliographies. The
authors of the articles are scholars in
the field or someone who has done
research in the field. The language
used is discipline related. Scholarly
journals aim to report on original
research or experimentation and
disseminate it for scholarly use.
Examples of Scholarly Journals
include, Advanced Engineering
Materials, International Journal of
Network Management, Journal of
Robotic Systems, Advanced

36. Engineering Informatics,
Engineering Fracture Mechanics and
others.
General Interest and News
Publications- These publications
are attractive in appearance, their
format can be a journal or a
newspaper. The articles contained in
these sources may be written by
editorial staff, scholars or free lance
writers. The language used is for the
general public. They are published
by commercial entities, individuals
and/or professional organizations.
The aim of these sources is to
provide information to a broad
audience of concerned citizens.
Some examples are Popular
Mechanics, Scientific American,
New York Times, National
Geographic and others.
Popular Journals- these sources are
attractive in appearance. They
contain many photographs,
drawings. They very rarely cite
sources and information they contain
are usually second or third hand. The
articles are in general with very little
depth. The popular journals are for
entertaining the reader, selling
products or promoting a viewpoint.
Some examples are People Weekly,
Traditional Homes, Vogue, Good
Housekeeping, Southern Living,
Essence and others.
Sensational, Tabloid Publications- use
elementary language that is often
sensational. They aim to arouse
curiosity with flashy headlines.
Some examples are National
Inquirer, Globe, Weekly World
News, Star, and others.
Criteria to Evaluate the Web Resources
You can find a vast amount of information on the
Internet, however, not all resources are equally
valuable or even reliable. Your challenge is to sift

37. through the vast amount of information and
pinpoint those sources that are reliable and relevant
for your topic. As a rule the, informational web
pages present factual information. For example, the
web pages with URL addresses that end with .eu or
.gov provide reliable information since they are
sponsored by educational institutions or government
agencies. You may consider the following points in
evaluating web sources:
1. Scope- How complete is the
information covered? Is the
information given in detail?
2. Content- Is the information accurate
or factual and reflects the
opinion of the author? Does the
author list his/her sources for
verification? Is the information
biased? Does the information
clearly provide the name(s) of
person(s) or organizations
responsible for the content of
the information? Is the author
qualified to provide the
information? How current is
the information? Do you see
dates as to when it was written
and when it was last revised or
or updated? Are there links to
other related resources? If so,
are they up-to-date? Is the textt
well written and
communicated clearly?
3. Graphics and Multimedia Design- Is the
Page attractive and
Interesting to look at?
4. Navigation- is the web resource easy to
use? Is it user friendly? Can you access
the resource via standard computer
equipment and software?
VII. Write the Research Paper
1. Organization of Information
Now that you have gathered the pertinent
information, it is time to organize it. You may look
at the organization of your information as if you are
organizing your desk drawer or closet. Similar items

38. are grouped together for easy access. In writing
your research paper, you may group your
information by similar concepts. For example, if
you are using the web to gather information, you
may bookmark them under a concept. One of the
best ways to organize information is to create an
outline, kind of a skeleton that you will later fill
with information. In an outline information is
arranged by hierarchy and sequence. This is done
by identifying Main Topics, Subtopics,
detailed information under subtopics,
Conclusion and Bibliography.. An outline would
also contain forward, preface and table of contents.
An outline may look like this:
I. Main Topic
A. Sub-Topic
1. Detail
2. Detail
3. Detail
B. Sub-Topic
1. Detail
2. Detail
3. Detail
C. Sub-Topic
1. Detail
2. Detail
For example, the book titled “Achieving Maximum Value from Information Systems “ by
Dan Remenyi and Michael Sherwood-Smith has the following
outline:
Chapter I- An Introduction to Active Benefit Realisation
1. Introduction
2. ABR and Its Scope
3. Summary and Conclusions
Chapter II- IS Management: The Need for a Post-Modern Approach
1. Introduction
2. Information Systems in the Context of Business Theory
3. Pre-Modernism, Modernism and Post-Modernism
4. Factors Affecting the Need for a Post-Modern Approach to Information
Systems Management
5. Post-Modern Information Systems Management
Chapter III Some Aspects of Information Systems Evaluation
1. Introduction
2. What Is Evaluation?
3.Types of Evaluation
4. Summary and Conclusion
Conclusion

39. Bibliography
In this example, the title is Behavior-based
Robotics; Intelligent Robots and Autonomous
Agents. The author organized the information into
four Main Topics. They are Whence
Behavior, Animal Behavior, Robot Behavior and
Behavior-based Architectures. The information
relevant to the main topics are sub-topics and they
are are Toward Intelligent Robots, Precursers,
Spectrum of Robot Control, Related Issues,
What’s Ahead, What Does Animal Behavior
Offer Robots, Neuroscientific Basis for
Behavior, Psychological Basis for Behavior, etc.
2. Citing Sources and Ethical Issues-
While writing your paper, no doubt, you will need
outside support for your thesis or point of view.
That is, you will use quotes from other researchers.
When you incorporate someone else’s ideas or
material in your paper, you are obligated to give
credit to the original author. You can give this credit
by citing other authors’ works in your paper. These
citations must be complete and they include books,
journal or newspaper articles, Internet sources. Etc.
Failure to cite the source material is unethical and it
called “ plagiarism “.
You can cite your sources properly by using a
variety of formats available in the following
categories:
Science- CBE (Council of Biology Editors)
Social Sciences- APA ( American
Psychological Association)
Humanities- MLA (Modern Language
Association)
History- Chicago
Tips
You should pick a style that fits your research
topic and use it consistently.
Make sure that you provide a complete citation so
that persons reading your research can locate the
information you are citing.
Examples-
Footnotes:
Print materials-
Electronic resources-
Bibliographies:
Print materials-

40. American Psychological Association (APA) Style
Books-
The bibliographic citation for a book is
generally document as follows:
Braga, N. (2002). Robotics, mechatronics,
and artificial intelligence:
experimental circuit blocks for
designers.
Boston: Newnes.
( Notice that the title of the book is in
Italics)
Journals-
Dario, Paola, Guglielmelli, E. and Lascki, C.
(2001). Humanoids and personal
robots: design and experiments.
Journal of Robotic Systems, 18,
673-690.
(Notice that the title of the journal is in
Italics)
Modern language Association (MLA)
Books-
Braga, Newton C. Robotics,
Mechatronics, and artificial
intelligence:
experimental circuit blocks for
designers. Boston: Newnes, 2002.
( Notice that the author’s name is given
in full and the publication date of the
book is entered at the end of the
citation. There are two spaces after
each period)
Journals- (scholarly)
Dario, Paola, Guglielmelli, E. and
Lascki, C. “Humanoids and
Personal Robots: Design and
Experiments.” Journal of Robotic
Systems 18. 12 (December 2001):
673-690.
( Notice that the title of the article is in
quotation marks, both the volume and
the issue number and the month or
season and year of the publication is
given. The month or the season and the
year of publication are in parenthesis)
Electronic resources-