UCA Library Blog (Legacy)

In today’s quick tip, we are going to discuss a set of search concepts known as Boolean Operators.

Boolean operators are used to make relationships between your search terms and to help broaden or narrow your search results. The three most common Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT (sometimes also referred to as ALL, ANY, or NONE).

• AND connects two or more ideas, and will help to narrow your search results. The database will only return results that contain ALL of the words in the search boxes.
  Example: students AND test anxiety

• OR is useful to search alternate terms or synonyms for your original search terms. The database will return results with ANY of the words in the search boxes broadening your set of results.
  Example: online learning OR distance education

• NOT can be used to exclude search terms. This narrows your search by telling the database to ignore concepts that may otherwise be implied in your search terms. NOT can also be expressed as NONE of these terms.
  Example: higher education NOT community colleges

The neat thing about Boolean operators is that they can be combined to make a search string that will help the databases search for exactly what you want while excluding what you don’t need.

Here’s what a full Boolean search might look like in the databases:

If you want to stay abreast of new trends and developments in your profession, you may wish to read current issues of some of the leading journals in your field. You may even be looking for places to publish your own research. There are several ways to identify top journals in your field of study.

The UCA Library provides access to Journal Citation Reports (JCR), a database that compiles data for evaluating and comparing scholarly journals. JCR can assess a journal’s standing in scholarly literature through evaluation of citation data, and calculation of impact and influence metrics. Citation data is drawn from over 11,000 scholarly and technical journals from more than 3,300 publishers in over 80 countries. The JCR Science Edition contains data about more than 8,000 journals in science and technology. The JCR Social Sciences Edition contains data about more than 2,600 journals in the social sciences. JCR can tell you the most frequently cited journals, the highest impact journals, and the largest journals in a field.

Many of the most respected scholarly journals can be identified through a metric known as Impact Factor. Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from a journal published in the past two years have been cited in the selected JCR year. The Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. An Impact Factor of 1.0 means that, on average, the articles published one or two year ago have been cited one time. A journal with a high Impact Factor has published articles that are cited more frequently, in comparison with other lower-impact journals. Of course, you may wish to consider self-citation rates as part of your journal evaluation. A self-citation is a reference to an article from the same journal, and a common practice in scholarly publishing.

However, Impact Factors are not set in stone, and are not the only metric for evaluating worthy journals. Impact Factor can fluctuate if a journal publishes more or fewer articles from year to year, or if the journal title changes. The Eigenfactor® Score measures the number of times articles from the journal published in the past five years have been cited in the JCR year, but it also considers the source of these citations, so that highly cited journals will influence the network more than lesser cited journals.  The Immediacy Index is the average number of times an article is cited in the year it is published. This metric may be especially useful when comparing journals specializing in cutting-edge research.

If you want to narrow your search, the Web of Science database can help you identify the most frequently cited articles on a specific topic. Web of Science covers over 12,000 of the highest impact journals worldwide, including open access journals. You can search by topic and identify the most cited articles on a subject. You can also search by publication name to find the most cited articles within a specific journal.  Please note: the UCA Library does not have full text access to every article indexed in Web of Science, but some full text access is available.

Check our blog next week to learn more about the Cabell's and Ulrich's periodicals directories.

Did you know that Torreyson Library has approximately 2,000 DVDs available for checkout in our Browsing Collection?

The Browsing DVD collection, located on first floor of the library next to the Starbucks' entrance, features many new and popular films including Oscar-nominated films, foreign-language films, and many current TV series. UCA students, faculty and staff can check out up to 3 DVDs for 3 days at a time.

Want to know if the library has a particular DVD? Simply search the library catalog using the DVD title. Be sure to select the “Videos” option underneath the search box, and look for the location of “Browsing Videos” in your search results. Browsing DVDs are arranged alphabetically by title. Looking for documentaries/educational DVDs located in the Faculty Audio Visual room and on Course Reserve? We'll have another post for those in the coming weeks.

Guest post by Susan Burks and Neco Valley

​Torreyson Library Government Documents is a part of the library that is underutilized.  The Library is considered a partial Government Depository because it houses only 20% of the documents the United States Government produces.  It encompasses Arkansas State Documents as well as United States Federal Documents.  Many of the items may be checked out but many must be used in the library.   

The Government Document area includes items that can enhance reports, papers, etc. if only patrons were familiar with the collection.  There is a professional librarian and a paraprofessional that is more than happy to help with questions concerning the collection.  If a patron desires to locate the collection, anyone at the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk can show the patron where the documents are housed.

This is tax season and patrons often inquire as to whether Torreyson Library has paper tax forms available.  The federal government no longer prints paper forms.  However, the links have been included where tax information may be found.  The links include:

IRS Forms - https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs

Arkansas Forms - http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/incomeTax/individual/Pages/forms.aspx

All other states can be found by searching USA.gov for "state tax forms" or the name of the specific state and "tax forms"

Presidential papers, census records, speeches and many other important government documents may be found in the Torreyson Library Government Document Area. You can also find us on the library's website at: http://uca.edu/library/government-information/.  Check it out and you may be surprised at the treasures that may be gleaned!

Need a study or work break? Like to learn a little history? Come see “The Great War: Arkansas in World War I” exhibit in the library. During the month of February, the library, in conjunction with the UCA History Department, is hosting a traveling exhibit from the Arkansas State Archives. The exhibit is located on the library’s 2nd floor. It is open to the public during regular library hours and will run through Thursday, February 23rd.

This exhibit was created to commemorate the centennial anniversary of World War I and consists of twelve panels with images of Arkansas State Archives’ World War I artifacts, including original documents, photographs, posters, maps, and historical objects. The display takes you through the highlights of World War I, providing a timeline of the war, including information about troop training, fighting overseas, home front support, healthcare, and post war memorials. The exhibit has a special focus on the lives of Arkansans and the impact that the work had on the state. 

Want to learn more about World War I? The library has many books about the war; some are currently on display across from the Circulation Desk at the front entrance of the library. Many others can be found by searching the Library Catalog. The UCA Archives has a wealth of photographs and accounts of soldiers during the war. Additionally, online resources can provide further context. Look at ProQuest American Periodicals (1740-1940) to see newspaper reporting during the time, and for further research and analysis, American: History and Life Full Text and Historical Abstracts with Full Text are great resources. 

Guest post by Dean Covington, Library Director

While we don't recommend calling your favorite librarian at 3 am (even information addicts need sleep), Torreyson Library faculty still provide around-the-clock research assistance. Sure, librarians teach students how to use the library while working at the Reference Desk, they serve as one-on-one Research Coaches, and they instruct entire classes upon faculty request.  But if you say, “They don’t do that 24/7,” you would be right.  So how do they teach when asleep?

Through the library web page, of course! This site is full of 24/7-accessible teaching tools that librarians spend hours developing and refining.  Check out the Research Guides, providing orientation on how to get started searching for various subjects and media. Ask-a-Librarian is an email service that enables students to submit questions at any time. Emails may not be answered instantaneously, since we haven't been able to recruit any Artificially Intelligent Librarian-bots yet, but emailed questions are typically answered within 24 hours. In addition, the How Do I... guide provides immediate answers to frequently asked questions about library services. The Library Survival Guide is accessible online, and also is available in a handy print format that you can keep by your bedside for those middle-of-the-night, existential research crisis questions.

Torreyson Library faculty strive to support your quest for knowledge at all hours of the day and night. Let us know what we can do for you!

Unfortunately, the UCA Library no longer has online access to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The UCA Library used to offer online access through the Library Press Display newspaper database, but the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette has elected to remove this title from this database.  Now, the only option for current online access to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette is a direct subscription from the publisher. Over the last three years, the Gazette’s subscription cost for both online access and archival content on microfilm has increased so dramatically that the UCA Library has been unable to budget and justify the expenditure for online access.

The good news is that UCA Library still subscribes to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in print, and the current issue and issues from the last two months can be accessed on the Library’s 2nd floor in the Current Periodicals section.  In addition, the UCA Library still purchases archival issues of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on microfilm. Past issues of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette are available in the Microforms Room from 1991 to present, with a two-month delay between print publication and availability on microfilm.  The previous title Arkansas Gazette is available on microfilm from 1819 to 1991, although some issues are missing. Copy machines and scanners are available in the library so that articles maybe printed or digitized as needed.  If you really need online access to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Central Arkansas Library System provides online access for its customers. For more information about the UCA Library's current and historical newspaper collections, see the Newspapers LibGuide.  To search for a specific title, use OneSearch.

Here you can find research tips, newly purchased books and DVDs, information about services like printing and research help, any planned changes in library hours, and upcoming special events. We will share staff recommendations and reviews, and occasionally feature some of the weird and wonderful things found lurking in our collections. You can also find spotlights on databases and other resources, as well as some tricks and short-cuts to help you find the information you seek.  You can keep up with us through social media, and remember you can ask us for help anytime.

Looking for a fun read? Or maybe looking to learn something new? Come and see our new display highlighting books enjoyed by library faculty and staff. A Staff Picks display has been set up in the front of the library between the Reference and Circulation Desks. The display will feature titles from different library collections and include a brief description of why each book is recommended. All of our Staff Picks titles, as well as books on any of the front displays, can be checked out. Every month the UCA Library Blog will showcase a few of these titles.

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Call Number: BF448 .A75 2009

ISBN: 9780061854545

This easy-to-read introduction to behavioral economics is great for developing a better understanding of human behavior. Recommended by Caleb Stoval

 

Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon; Shana Knizhnik

Call Number: KF8745.G56 C37 2015

Publication Date: 2015-10-27

First, do a little Google homework on the Notorious RBG memes and tumblr (especially the coloring book!) then dive into this witty, irreverent, and insightful biography. The author's passionate work will inspire you to jump up and say, "I dissent" and, "you can't spell truth without Ruth!" This book was inspiring, and I would highly recommend it. Recommendation by Amber Wilson, Library Faculty

 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Read by)

Call Number: PS3608.O832 K58 2003ab

Publication Date: 2005-02-07

There is no better way to understand a culture that to see from its perspective. Although it is a work of fiction, The Kite Runner tells us the history of the Afghan people from their point-of-view and shows us their struggle to transcend their war-torn past. This is without a doubt one of my all time favorites. Recommended by Tamela Smith, Library Faculty

 

 

Welcome to the UCA Library’s “How to do Research” series. In these posts, we’ll provide you with tools and skills that will help you become a more adept researcher. To begin, we’d like to introduce you to OneSearch.

Have you ever been working on the library’s website and asked yourself, “Why can’t I just see everything the library has on my topic in one place?” OneSearch is precisely the tool you need. With OneSearch you can search many of the library’s databases, as well as our print and ebook collections in one place.

How to use OneSearch:

To begin, simply start on the library’s homepage, uca.edu/library, by typing your search terms into the large box at the top of the page. You can limit to only articles, books, or videos; or you can leave the search on “everything” to search most of the library’s holdings.

Click here to see an example OneSearch screen. Notice the different types of materials (books and articles) and the number of results. You can limit the number of results by using the options on the left-hand side of the screen.

Some things to keep in mind:

• OneSearch will return an abundance of results. You will have to search through them to make sure they are relevant to your purpose.
• Though it includes MOST of the library’s databases, OneSearch does not include ALL of the library’s databases.
• Avoid typing questions in OneSearch. Instead use keywords (influenza, inauguration) or short phrases (influenza vaccine and effectiveness, electoral college and presidential election)

 As always, if you need help navigating OneSearch or finding the right search terms, we are happy to assist at the Reference Desk. Come see us or call us at 501-450-5224.