Economics Resource Guide OWH Library at Phillips Academy Andover

Oliver Wendell Holmes Library
Catalog	Resource Guides	Databases	What's New

Money, Economics & Society

Teachers: Mr. Batcheller

Instructional Librarian: David Hegarty

Summer 2007

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.

Your topics can often be found in these Dewey Decimal numbers:____330's____________

Click here for a list of selected specialized reference books (available in the Garver Room) you may want to consider.

Finding books:

OWL the library's online catalog, search by author, title, keyword, or Library of Congress subject heading. The library is now a member of the NOBLE network, providing access to over 3 million items. Please note that the default is to search our collection. You may expand your search by clicking on the drop down menu and "view the entire collection." You need a pin number to request books from other libraries. Please see a Librarian.

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.

ECONOMICS

GENERAL REFERENCE

HISTORY & SOCIAL SCIENCE

A TO Z LIST OF DATABASES

Selected Websites

Selected Economic Internet Resources: Economic 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: MLA style. Additionally, you may try REFWORKS to create and produce your bibliography in Turabian style. Click here to go to REFWORKS. Note: REFWORKS can only be used from on-campus computers.

The first time you access this product you will have to create a personal account. Then track all of your research needs with this one source!

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.