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This page will help you find the best information for your topic in the simplest manner. If you need additional help in using the library or would like to make an appointment with a librarian to help you with your research, contact the Information Desk (734) 487-0020 ext. 2100, or ask a librarian
1. Locate Background Information
2. Identify Search Words
3. Organize Your Topic into Concepts
1. Books
2. Articles
3. Internet Resources
1. Locate Background Information
Reference books are good places to start browsing for topic ideas and basic information that will help form a question or narrow a topic. Experienced scholars starting on a new area of research always turn to reference works first. This is because reference works break down larger topics into smaller units of inquiry (helps with narrowing); they introduce specialized vocabulary; and they provide an overview of existing scholarship. Here are some starting places:International encyclopedia of linguistics
Reference Collection - 1st Level North. Call Number: P29 .I58 2003Concise encyclopedia of educational linguistics
Reference Collection - 1st Level North. Call Number: P40.8 .C66 1999Reviews of English language proficiency tests
Reference Collection - 1st Level North. Call Number: PE1128.A2 R48x 1987Longman dictionary of applied linguistics
Reference Collection - 1st Level North. Call Number: P129 .R5 1985Handbook of applied psycholinguistics: major thrusts of research and theory
Storage. Call Number: P37 .H3 19822. Identify Search Words
When researching a topic, it is important to use precise search terms, and to think about possible synonyms. For example, if you search for "sex" you might also want to search for "gender." One useful way to start focusing your topic, as well as to see what resources exist on your topic, is to look at the Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings. These index terms were devised by librarians. Every book is given at least one LC Subject Heading, and often more than one. While you can always search the catalog by keyword, a look at the subject headings can help you think about the breadth and depth of your topic.Here are some examples of subject headings:
Remember that these headings are for books. Articles tend to be more specific, so you may need more specific search terms.Applied Linguistics
Psycholinguistics
Second language acquisition
Interlanguage (Language learning)
Grammar, Comparative and general
Cognitive grammar
Discourse analysis
3. Organize Your topic into concepts
This step may seem tedious, but it is the best way to make your library search quick and effective. Write down your topic or question, divide it into concepts and make a list of the terms that best describe the concepts. For example, if your theme were "What is the role of humor in second language learning of college students?" you might make a list like this:
concept 1 concept 2 concept 3 Humor
or
Word Play
or
Polysemysecond language
or
language instruction
or
language teachingcollege
or
university
or
higher educationOf course, how you actually put your words together in a search will depend on whether you are searching for books (you'll need broad terms) or journal articles (you might have to get more specific).
BOOKSSearch the Catalog:
Look for books in the online Library Catalog. When searching the catalog:
* Use the terms from your concept box as keywords.
* Combine all the terms from one concept in a single text box and search "any of these," while combining them with the next text box using "AND."
* Truncate terms with ?. That is, by typing "ling?" you will get book records containing the terms lingual, linguist, linguistic, linguistics, etc.
Note the difference between subject and keyword searches!
Subject searches should be exact subject headings from the LC Subject Headings as described above. Keyword searches are more flexible and come from any field in the record (title, author, subject heading, notes, publisher, etc.) You may want to start with keywords, look at the subject headings found in the records, and then click on the subject heading link to get a more specific group of materials with that subject heading.Limit your search:
You may also want to limit your search only to those books written in a particular language, or only children's literature. To do this, click the "limits" box in the lower right area of the search screen:![]()
To limit to reference materials, scroll down the "Location" selection list to "Reference Collection First Level North" and highlight that location by clicking on it. To highlight more than one area (for example, Reserve Reference), hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the next other items in the list. Click the "set limits" button (to un-highlight you have to click the clear search limits button at the bottom of the page). Now do your search, knowing that it is automatically limited to the reference areas only.
Request from ARC Storage:
If your book or journal or journal is listed in the catalog as located in storage, you may request it right from the catalog. It takes only 5-10 minutes for you to get an item from storage:
- Go to the record in the catalog of the item that you want
- Confirm that the location is storage
- Click on the "Place Request" link next to the call number.
- Type in your E-number (be sure to include the letter "E") and name as instructed and click "login"
- Select "storage request" from the scroll box, and click "OK"
- Select the volume you want from the scroll box (if there's a choice), and enter your E-number again
- Pick up your item at the Circulation Desk
- If you have difficulty, ask for help at the Information Desk (487-0020 ext. 2100)
Get Material from Course Reserves:
Material that is needed by a large number of students in a course is "put on reserve" by your professor. This material is kept behind the Circulation Desk on the First Level and may be checked out for a limited time.To see what is on reserve for your class, go to the Halle Library Catalog, and click on the bar titled "Course Reserve."
Back to top JOURNAL ARTICLES
Periodical indexes (also called databases) give you references to articles from journals, magazines, conferences, and books. From off-campus, your email password is required for access. Don't know your password? Get password help here.* Note: not all journals are full-text online. If you have a particular journal title in mind, use the Periodicals Locator to see what the Library owns in all formats (paper, microformat, digital).
Listed here are the main databases that will be of use for your classes. For a complete list of all databases, go to http://portal.emich.edu/remote.htm
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Some Full-Text)
Index to 1,300 leading arts and humanities journals. List of periodical titles. Coverage started: 1980. Updated weekly. (via FirstSearch)ERIC (Some Full-Text)
The ERIC database contains abstracts of documents and journal articles on education research and practice. Coverage started: 1966. Updated monthly. (via FirstSearch)InfoTrac OneFile
This multidisciplinary database indexes over 10,000 titles and includes more than 5,100 full-text titles. It includes indexing of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor; full-text from 89 wire services covering agriculture, general news, broadcast news, government, business press releases, industry topics, sports and current events from all over the world; and indexing and some full-text from general interest magazines; refereed academic journals; business publications; technology periodicals; plus specialty titles in law, health care and computers. Updated daily. Coverage started: 1980.Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts (Abstracts Only)
This indexing/abstracting service covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is also given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics. Coverage started: 1973.MLA Bibliography (Some Full-Text)
Index to about 4000 periodicals published worldwide covering literature, languages, linquistics, and folklore. Coverage started: 1983. Updated ten times per year. (via FirstSearch)Project Muse (Full-Text)
Project Muse is an online journal collection in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics including core linguistics journals. List of periodical titles. Coverage: varies with journal; often starts with 1995. Updated when new issues are available.PsycINFO (Some Full-Text)
Index to the contents of about 1400 journals, chapters, books, dissertations and reports on psychology and related fields worldwide. Coverage started: 1887. Updated monthly. (via FirstSearch)Wilson Select Plus (Full-Text)
Index to the contents of about 1300 periodicals, both scholaraly and popular. Coverage started: 1994. Updated weekly. (via FirstSearch)Back to top INTERNET RESOURCESUseful Assignment Calculator:Dalhousie University Assignment Calculator - http://www.library.dal.ca/how/calculator/
General Guides and Links:Intute - Linguistics - http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/linguistics/
Linguist List - http://www.linguistlist.org/
Center for Applied Linguistics - http://www.cal.org/
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© 2001- Bruce T. Halle Library
last updated: September, 2006 by Lisa Klopfer