Hello!
To get started today, log into a classroom computer, or personal laptop, tablet, phone, etc. and open the Seneca Libraries website: https://library.senecapolytechnic.ca/
Once at the Libraries website:
At any time during the class, feel free to "raise a hand", call out my name, or add a question to the chat.
Chris Thomas
Liaison Librarian
Faculty of Communication, Art and Design
School of Legal, Public and Office Administration
christopher.thomas@senecapolytechnic.ca
In today's class:
By the end of this session, you should be able to:
Encyclopedias
Strengths: short, contains background information on a topic, normally a great starting point when you are just learning about a topic
Weaknesses: too short, print encyclopedias are out of date quickly, Wikipedia has reliability issues
Books and Book Chapters
Strengths: Provides an in-depth investigation into a topic
Weaknesses: too long, sometimes hard to tell whether it is scholarly
Scholarly Journal Articles
Strengths: often based on research findings or extensive review, written by experts, reviewed by experts, provides evidence
Weaknesses: Sometimes written using discipline-specific language or terminology, hard to understand,
Media Sources (news, online magazine articles)
Strengths: Good for current information
Weaknesses: Sometimes biased, sometimes written to entertain, often not written by experts, often not reviewed by experts
Websites & Social Media
Strengths: Highly accessible, includes government info
Weaknesses: It is hard to assess credibility and reliability...anyone can post online or create a website
Lectures, Ted Talks, Interviews, Recordings, Testimony
Strengths: Primary, first-hand accounts
Weaknesses: It is hard to assess credibility and reliability...single perspective relying on the accuracy of memory.
Quality
Quality refers to how trustworthy and reputable your source is.
Brainstorming
Simple put, brainstorming is a technique used to generate ideas. This can used to find additional terminology (words, phrases, related topics, etc.), which can improve your searching.
Example: Bicycle
General Search Tools
Subject Specific Search Tools (Use the subject guides to help identify these)
Background / Reference Search Tools (Use the subject guides to help identify these)
Sample Search Topic
Things to remember when using the Seneca Libraries search tool
Additional Search Features
Available on the main Library page and the subject guide: