Sports Psychology Guide OWH Library at Phillips Academy Andover

Oliver Wendell Holmes Library
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Sports Psychology

Teachers: Mr. Sormrude

Instructional Librarian:Mr. Blake

Summer 2006

Get Organized!
Gather Information
Use the Information
Take Time to Reflect

1. Get Organized!

Before you begin your research follow these crucial steps:

1. Understand the assignment.	Questions to get you started.
2. Choose a broad topic or area of interest.	Need help choosing a topic?
3. Get an overview of the topic.	Where to find good overviews.
4. Narrow the topic.	Get focused!
5. Write a thesis statement or statement of purpose.	Statement of Purpose/Essential Question /Thesis Statement Tips for developing a thesis statement.

Plan your time wisely. Try the Planning Assignments Calculator

2. Gather Information

Definitions of frequently confused concepts are just a click away: Helpful Explanations.

There is no one perfect source. The best source for you depends on your particular information need. This discussion of Choosing the Right Sources can save you time by helping you to match your information need with one or more source types.

Don’t forget to capture the information you will need for your annotated bibliography the first time you use each source.Use these handy forms for collecting all the data elements you will need.

Begin your research with reference sources located in the Garver Room. Reference books will provide you with an overview of your topic, a vocabulary of terms to search for more information, and will frequently give you a bibliography of works related to your topic.

Reference Sources:

Ref 150.3 En19	*Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behaviorial Science*
Ref 150.3 En192	*Encyclopedia of Human Behavior*
Ref 150.3 H88	*Human Behavior*
Ref 150.3 M27	*Magill's Encyclopedia of Social Science: Psychology*
Ref 617.1 Ox2	*The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine*
Ref 617.1027 OA47EN	*The Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine*

** Remember that each of the encyclopedia sources will provided you with bibliographies of useful titles for further research.

Finding books:

OWL the library's online catalog, search by author, title, keyword, or Library of Congress subject heading.

Click here for a list of useful books to get you started.

Tip: Ask a Librarian, stop by a Help Desk early and often during the research process for assistance.

Finding Journal Articles:

OWHL Subscription Database(s) best suited to your project.

GENERAL REFERENCE

NATURAL SCIENCE & HEALTH

Selected Websites

Selected Health Internet Resources: Health sites chosen by the OWH Reference Librarians for Authority and Quality of Content.

With any source, remember to look at it critically. Check out Evaluating the Sources for more information.

3. Use the Information

Now that you’ve found your resource material, follow these steps to get the most out it.

Locate information within the source.
Organize, Organize!
Take notes.
Avoid plagiarism! (Plagiarism /Copyright) (Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting (from Joyce Valenza's Online Lessons and Activities))

As you work, remember to create a bibliography or works cited page using the citation style specified by your teacher for this assignment: APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago.

To cite Electronic sources

To cite Print Sources

The next step is to bring structure to your notes by creating an outline.

You’ve now reached the stage where you’re ready to pull everything together into a finished product. Write your paper, prepare your oral report, put together your PowerPoint presentation. Don’t forget to proofread!

4. Take time to reflect.

Are you satisfied with your efforts and outcome? If not, be sure to review this process thoroughly before your next assignment. Make an appointment with an Instructional Librarian as soon as you receive your assignment to make sure that you get off on the right track next time.