Kent-Drury
English 340

Library/Internet Guide Assignment*

Warning:

It is crucial that you read this assignment carefully and refer to it often as you complete this assignment. In addition, please feel free to consult with your instructor at any time for advice or clarification.

Due dates--See Course Schedule

Assignment. With collaborators, identify and describe major library and Internet resources in your field for an audience of other students or professionals. Organize and format this information so that other students can use the Steely Library (or other locally accessible library) and the Internet for research by following your guide.

Objectives. By the time you complete this assignment, you should be able to

• Locate research materials used by professionals in your field
• Identify materials necessary to complete your other English 340 assignments, as well as assignments in other classes in your field
• Make decisions about document organization, format, and style of documents
• Design a document so that readers find it usable
• Write a clear, concise, useful abstract/instruction

Resources to Identify in the Guide. Every person in every group must turn in six abstracts, each covering a distinct library and/or internet research resource. All abstracts must describe the resource in detail and must explain fully how a professional in your field would use the abstract. Each abstract must be at least 1/2 page, single-spaced in length; most will be longer, but none shorter! Please note that it is usually a good idea to include sample pages that are referenced in detail by your descriptive abstract. Required elements number 15; groups may allocate remaining abstracts in any manner they wish.

Library resources

1. Identify at least one index to the periodical literature in your major field. If the index appears in print and in an electronic version, include both in your description.
2. Identify resources in your field from four of the following categories:
• Specialized dictionary
• Biographical reference
• Subject guide to the literature
• Collections of abstracts that summarize articles written in the field
• Specialized encyclopedia
• Handbook
• Bibliography of sources
3. Identify two professional and/or trade journals in your field and cite their specific strengths and uses.

Warning:

These should not be popular press magazines, such as Business Week, even though people in the field read such periodicals. If you do not understand the difference between professional/trade journals and popular press magazines, see your instructor.

4. Go to the Government Documents section of the library and use MARCIVE to locate a report published by a government agency that relates to your major field. Describe MARCIVE and its use. Locate the report and use it as an example in your abstract. Find the online version of MOCAT and note the information it provides.

5. Describe the Statistical Abstract of the United States as a reference tool (note: both print and electronic versions exist). Explain how to use the abstracts by investigating what it can tell you about a subject of your choice relevant to your field. Find the online version of the Statistical Abstract at the Census Bureau website and note the information it provides.

6. Locate a style guide or manual used in your field, such as the MLA Handbook (humanities), the Chicago Manual of Style (humanities, technical writing, and many publishers), or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (social science and business). Include pages illustrating the appropriate documentation style for a periodical article and a book. Note: If you do not know which style guide is commonly used in your field, ask a professor working in the field you have selected.

Internet resources. Identify Internet sites that are relevant to research in your discipline. Choose at least five from the following categories of Internet/Web information (or propose other relevant categories of information to me). Feel free to ask your instructor for an opinion if you are uncertain of the value of a particular resource. Be careful. Many internet resources pretend to be sources of free information, but are primarily intended to market a service or a product. Some of these offer good information, but most are misleading. Poor choice of internet resources frequently results in a lower grade.

1. Directory of information sources
2. Sample reports/documents/research studies
3. Government documents
4. Patents and intellectual property
5. Potential employers and job search services
6. News services
7. Discussion groups
8. Professional associations

Information to Include About Resources. Be sure to look at the grading criteria for your individual abstracts. Also, be certain that your abstract describes the resource in detail so that readers will understand how to find and use it. Please refer to the attached examples of strong and weak abstracts.) As a minimum, your abstracts must address the following:

1. The resource's identifying information (e.g., title, author, publisher, date, call number, library, availabilitity)
2. The resource's general purpose and organization.
3. Its specific scope (i.e. in terms of time and geographical area covered, specific disciplinary limitations, kinds of information offered, etc)
4. How to use it (i.e., include a procedure for use and sample pages)
5. Whether or not it is useful (i.e., give your opinion about its value and explain why)

General Information. Provide information about your guide and its use in an introduction and title page. Also include a table of contents and be sure to paginate your document so that readers (including your instructor) can find each abstract. Also, include a page that indicates the individual author of each abstract.

Evaluation Criteria. Evaluation criteria for individual abstracts are available; be certain to refer to them often. Your group's overall grade for your completed Library/Internet Guide will be evaluated based upon the following criteria:

Content	The guide is complete. The sources included are current, significant, and discussed in specific terms (that is, not loaded terms). For internet sources, the URLs are correct.
Organization	Readers can find the information they need. Related materials are grouped. The guide is user-friendly. Appropriate front matter and pagination are included. The format is consistent throughout the guide.
Document Design	The guide looks professional and is attractively designed (e.g., it is bound and has a cover, tabs, paper, and type of reasonable and consistent quality). The page layout, type styles and fonts, pagination, sample pages, etc. are consistent within the overall guide. The guide looks like a document one could reasonably hand to an employer in the business world.
Style	Abstracts give specific information efficiently, clearly, and precisely. Use of loaded expressions is minimized.
Audience adaptation	The guide offers explanations and instructions to help the audience conduct research through the library and Internet. The audience can determine the usefulness of the resource without looking at it.
Mechanics	Spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, capitalization, etc., are correct
Collaboration	All members of the group have contributed substantively to the project, both to the research and the writing. (Note: Group members who do not complete their assigned tasks will not receive an "F" for the group grade.)

Large groups are expected to produce more information (resources) than small groups or people working alone.

Collaboration is encouraged, both between and within groups. Division of labor is OK, but each group member should understand all components of the research guide and be able to use it.

*This assignment was adapted from an assignment created by Carolyn Rude, TTU.