Library Instruction Handouts & Worksheets

Each year the Early College Program at Idaho State University invites high school teachers involved with the program to come to the Pocatello campus for instruction.  These instructors teach the classes wherein students can earn college credit at reduced rates before even graduating form high school.  On several occasions I have been able to provide a workshop, showing and demonstrating how to access and use the library resources. 

This year, rather than demonstrating and talking the whole time, I decided to put them to work exploring the resources in groups.  Each individual received handouts that highlighted search strategies and important points about all the resources; however, individuals were divided into groups and handed a group worksheet with questions to work on together.  Each group reported their discoveries back to the class.  One thing I failed to do was to explicitly tie the handouts to the worksheet and encourage them to use the handout while answering questions on the worksheet.  At the beginning, one of the teachers was excited to get copies of the group worksheet, so she could have her students learn from this activity.

It did not go over quite as well as I hoped as several groups had too much time and others need more.  Some of the teachers did not seem very engaged.

Following is a short description of each of the handouts I updated or created for this workshop:

• The CQ Researcher handout shows how to access this database via the ISU Library homepage and offers reasons why this may be helpful plus it gives a short description of the resource.  By the way, several teachers seemed quite interested in learning about this resource, asking if it were available to students not dually enrolled at the University.  Unfortunately it is not.  Much of this information was found on the CQ Researcher About page.

• Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test offers criteria for students to apply to sources they find to determine their reliability. 
• Since we have access to many EBSCOhost databases, I shared an EBSCO Best Practices handout, which has been created by EBSCO.  They show some of the basic search functions and offer some useful tips for searching.
• The ISU Library is just beginning to implement the PRIMO search tool, but it still seemed important to make these teachers aware of this new tool, so I created this PRIMO Search handout.

• Perhaps the handout I worked on the longest was the Research Pyramid handout.  It shows how a student can progress from broad/general information to focused and specific information during the research process.  I like to explain how it can be helpful to find reference articles in encyclopedias, handbooks, guidebooks, etc., because they give an overview of the topic, identify areas of focus, and sometimes point to other useful books and articles, thus launching students on a potentially successful research trajectory.  Books can be worth more than 5 or 10 articles sometimes, if you find one that is relevant to your research question.  Articles can be easily accessed online from home; our e-book collection is still not very large.  As the authors, students express their opinions and can cite personal experience to illustrate or bolster an argument.  They may also interview an expert or someone worth quoting in their paper.  This illustrates the research process.

Research Pyramid.  The research process often starts with the general and progresses to the specific.

Do you still create handouts?  Do you use handouts when given them?  Are they helpful in this digital world where we now live?  What makes a good handouts?  Do you print them or just share them online now?

Please cite me or the Eli M. Oboler Library at Idaho State University as the source if you want to use any of the handouts that I created.

Library Handout for English 1102: English Composition

Today I taught an interesting library workshop in which students had to find peer-reviewed articles about video games and violence. The instructor asked that I show a few of the specific databases where they could find information on their topic. She also wanted me to share some ideas for thinking about keywords and offer some advice for evaluating the research results in the sources they found.

The assignment includes the following scenario: "You are a juror in a civil case where a video game company is being sued. You need to decide if the video company is culpable. Your purpose for this paper is to state your decision and persuade your fellow jurors to vote teh same way as you are." Students must consider the following stakeholders: parents of the child killed, the video game company, parents of the teenagers accused of the killing, and consumers of the video games.

Take a look at the handout; it includes suggested databases, potentially useful keywords, contact information to librarians, and sample searches.  See other library handouts for English 1102.  It does seem like an interesting topic, and I enjoyed doing some of the preliminary research myself.  I never new Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in legal court cases involving video games and violence.  Nor had I ever heard about Entertainment Merchants Association.  Wow, their site says that the home entertainment industry is a $35 billion dollar industry.  I can believe it.

When talking about evaluation, these were some of the questions I used to invite a discussion:

• What does a list of references at the end of an article indicate about the article?
• What does a list of references tell us about the article itself?
• What kinds of articles include lists of references or a bibliography?
• What makes an article accurate?  How do we know?
• When is an article not current?  When is it out of date?

See Mehan's blog post: "Anyone Up for a Bit of the Ultraviolence?"

Mass Communications Handout

Potential Sources for Advertising Information, Notes, and URLs
1. CACI Marketing Solutions OR CACI Marketing Systems. www.caci.co.ui/msd.html

2. Adweek: Includes many articles on AOL (American Online). Look for the A to Z Journal List on the following research page, which is free to ISU students. Also found in Business Source Complete. www.adweek.com http://www.isu.edu/library/research/

3. Advertising Age: Look it up in the A to Z Journal List, found on the following research page. LexisNexis Academic has the longest coverage, but other databases also provide access. www.adage.com

4. BPA Worldwide: Provides Circulation Statements/Audit Reports, US Consumer AuditVAR, Trend Reports & Analysis, etc. Access to this library is free, but a user ID is required. http://search.bpai.com/ OR www.bpaww.com/library/index.cgi.

5. Taylor Nelson Media Intelligence: They can provide industry analysis. They do look at the media industry and focus on competitive advertising information. Also do an Advanced Search on Taylor Nelson Sofres to find more ad information. www.tnsglobal.com/market-research/media/ OR www.tns-mi.com/.

6. Consumer Reports: Use the A to Z Journal List, which can be found on the following research page. Oldest data found in LexisNexis = 1988. Business Source Complete = 1991. It gives reports on products and services. www.consumerreports.org. Free to you as an ISU student. [Technically, you and Idaho taxpayers have already paid for it with your tuition fees and state taxes.]

7. Facebook Ads: This blog entry describes a feature for purchasing ads directed at college-age persons and anyone using Facebook. "Called Facebook Ads, the new program is threefold: advertisers can create branded pages, run targeted advertisements, and have access to intelligence and analytics pertaining to the site's more than 50 million users. Partners can participate in all three components of Facebook Ads, or a combination of them.”

Note among the tags on the left-hand side that "Facebook" has been tagged 19 time (probably more if I haven't updated this blog recently), meaning that the author has posted 19 entries on the topic. http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/search/label/Advertising

8. Editor & Publisher: Market Guide which may provide valuable demographic information of the U.S. and Canada. www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/index.jsp

9. AdNetTrackUS: This business-related site offers business persons links to online advertisers, airline tickets, starting a business from home, business offers, etc. www.adnettrackus.com

10. Harris Polls: Conduct an Advanced Search on Google. One result: www.aboutjunkie.com/paid-surveys/harris-polls.php. They seek to gain input from teenagers. Tip: When using Google use the “Advanced Search” option and limit your searche to English, United States, in the last year, to show 50 results on a page, etc. www.harrispollonline.com

11. National Cable Communications [NCC]: If you want to advertise on cable TV, here’s a good place to find out about the networks and where you might want to advertise. They can help you locate the consumers you want to target. www.spotcable.com/index.html

12. Anastasia Goodstein: Author of Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online. Her blog focuses on this demographic and what they do. http://totallywired.ypulse.com/.

13. Nielsen Media Research: go here to find TV’s top 10 programs of the previous week. They can monitor local, national, cultural, and sporting networks. www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/

14. Hey!Nielsen: Allows people to rank stars, shows, songs, videos, etc. This social networking site allows individuals to offer their own views on popular media persons and products. www.heynielsen.com/

15. Media Rating Council: Includes many of the major television stations in the U.S. It appears that they gauge the sizes of television-viewing audiences and their makeup. In their own words: “To secure for the media industry and related users audience measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective.” www.mediaratingcouncil.org/

16. MRI: MediaMark’s Research & Intelligence: The Survey of the American Consumer™ collects information on adult consumers' media choices, product usage, demographics, lifestyle and attitudes. Usage of nearly 6,000 product and service brands across 550 categories are measured, along with the readership of hundreds of magazines and newspapers, Internet usage, TV viewership to the program level, national and local radio listening, Yellow Pages usage and Out-of-Home exposure. www.mediamark.com/

17. MRI Plus: It allows you to register for a free account. Select Top-Line Reports, then choose MRI Cyberstats for a detailed chart showing detailed internet usage statistics. www.mriplus.com

18. Journal of Marketing: LIBRARY HAS CURRENT SUBSCRIPTION. Periodicals (3rd Floor). An online version can be accessed via Business Source Complete with coverage extending back to 1936. HF5415.A2 J6. See also the A to Z Journal List on the following research page. It should appear on the second page of results due to the alphabetized listing of results.

19. MarketingVOX: The Voice of Online Marketing: Found using a Google Search and the following terms: “nielsen ratings millennials generation Y.” www.marketingvox.com/
www.marketingvox.com/categories/?c=17,50

20. New Content for a New Generation: Gives insights into the world that exists today with many comments about Gen Y and their influence on the Media and advertising practices/trends. Good for certain statistics. Source found using Google Search in www.generatela.com/pdf/Generate_White_Paper.pdf

21. The Long Tail: A Public Diary on Themes Around a Book.: Increasingly, people talk about meeting the unique needs of individuals and how the internet makes this profitable. Source found using Google Search in #19. www.thelongtail.com [a blog]

22. Pinpointgolf: It can help you advertise in an outdoor setting. Pinpoint Golf is the largest provider of advertising and marketing opportunities at golf courses and golf ranges nationwide. www.pinpointgolf.com/

23. Statistical Abstract of the United States: Find demographic information about U.S. citizens and residents, that is by age, sex, race, religion, income, education, etc. www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

24. Claritas: Zipcode marketing. “Identifying the right market research solutions for customer acquisition, customer retention, market analysis and site location strategies can be challenging. Your marketing success depends on the right marketing analysis tools, along with reliable consumer information about the US population and dependable business data.” www.claritas.com/claritas/Default.jsp

25. Survey of buying power and media markets: Published by Sales & Marketing Management--found in the library catalog. An annual publication that provides household demographics, buying power and spending, and retail sales. Library has most current volume. HF5438 .A34 Periodicals (3rd Floor)

26. Simmons Market Research: *Do an advanced Google search.
27. Spectra Zipcode Marketing. Another Nielsen product or service. www.spectramarketing.com

28. SRDS: *Need to subscribe to use web site. The Lifestyle market analyst, 2004 : a reference guide for consumer market analysis. www.srds.com
HF5415.33.U6 L54 2004 Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT
29. Media Dynamics: is a full-service, media production company. www.mediadynamics.com/main.htm

30. U.S. Government Printing Office: Statistics, health, government, laws, enforcement, foreign affairs, agriculture, parks, judicial system, labor, etc. www.access.gpo.gov
http://usa.gov = official website of the U.S. govt.


Books, Articles, and Videos on the Subjects of Advertising, social networking sites:
1. Colin McDonald Advertising reach and frequency : maximizing advertising results through effective frequency. HF5827 .M19 1996 Main Book Collection (2nd Floor). Found in the library catalog

2. [Note the subject headings that may be of particular interest to you in this project.] Marketing information. Marketing --Information services --United States --Directories.
Marketing research --Information services --United States --Directories.
Advertising --Information services --United States --Directories.
Marketing --Bibliography --Periodicals.
Advertising --Bibliography --Periodicals.
HF5415.124 .M36 Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT

3. Larry D. Kelley and Donald W. Jugenheimer. Advertising media planning : a brand management approach HF5826.5 .K45 2004 Main Book Collection (2nd Floor).

4. Helen Katz. The media handbook : a complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying HF5826.5 .K38 2003. Main Book Collection (2nd Floor).
5. Hodgkinson, Tom. “Why you should beware of Facebook.” Article retrieved 23 January 2008. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/18/1200620184398.html

6. [Video] “Does what happens in the facebook stay in the facebook?” URL: http://albumoftheday.com/facebook/

7. Joseph Ostrow Do a Google Advanced Search with his name in the title. "Setting Effective Frequency Levels", Effective Frequency: The State of the Art. New York: Advertising Research Foundation, Key Issues Workshop, 1982, pp. 89–102.


Core Databases:
• Academic Search Complete (EBSCOHost) Look for databases here.
• Business Source Complete (EBSCOHost)
• LexisNexis Academic
• LexisNexis Statistical
• Mergent Online

For other relevant databases consider looking at the Resources by Subject pages for Business and Communication, Mass Communication, & Rhetoric.

Look for the A to Z Journal List on the following research page:
It can help you find access to all journals in the library, especially electronic ones. This is where you go for full-text articles.
Click on A-Z Journal List in the Library Quick Links drop-down menu.
Also: www.isu.edu/library/research/.

Company Information: AOL LLC AOL (Time Warner)
AOL home— www.corp.aol.com
AOL within Time Warner www.timewarner.com/corp
Business Source Complete (EBSCOHost) CO “AOL” = company search
Mergent Online (formerly Moody’s) www.mergentonline.com/compsearch.asp (When off campus, access this database via the “Database” link in the Library Quick Links drop-down menu on the library’s home page (www.isu.edu/library).

Internet:
See the list of links on subsequent pages.
Google www.google.com
Yahoo www.yahoo.com
Clusty http://clusty.com/ (It’s a metasearch engine, meaning it searches many search engines.)
Ask www.ask.com

Reference Sources: Search the library catalog for more.
AOL in Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org
The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. (HF5803 .A38 2003) Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT
Editor & Publisher Market Guide. (Ref HF5905.E38, latest edition is 2007)
Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands. (HF5415.3 .E527 1994) Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT
Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. (HF5837 .E53 2000) Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT
International Directory of Company Histories. (Ref HD2721.I58 1988+ ) Includes references to AOL Time Warner Inc & AOL, Inc.
Marketing Plans: how to prepare them, how to use them (HF5415.13 .M369183 2002) Reference Collection (1st Floor) - NO CHECKOUT
Statistical Abstract of the United States full-text tables www.census.gov/compendia/statab. Print copy: (Doc Ref Desk C 3.134:2007.)
State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. (Doc Ref Desk C3.134/5:2006.)
U.S. Government’s official web portal: http://usa.gov.
World Almanac. (Ref Desk AY67.N5 2007.)