Spanish Language Studies Capstone - Recently Updated Pages

Spanish Language Studies Capstone Home

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:02:22 CST

Choosing a Topic and Starting Research Reference Books Cornell University's Seven Steps to Effective Library Research	Find Books George T. Potter Library From other libraries Forgot how to search for books at Ramapo? Try this tutorial
Articles Databases: places to find journal articles (from Potter Library) Other places to locate scholarly articles Google Scholar getCITED Journal Finder: locate a journal TITLE that we have in full-text Forgot how to use the library databases ? Try this tutorial	Web Resources For a variety of Spanish Studies sites Latin American Studies Websites Forgot how to evaluate websites?Try this tutorial
Avoiding Plagiarism Get help with citation styles Help with annotated bibliographies Forgot about citation styles? Try this tutorial	Additional Help Contact Me: Leigh Keller Email: lkeller1@ramapo.edu Phone: 201.684.7316 Go to the reference desk! Hours: Mon-Thurs 9-10pm: Friday 9-5pm: Sat. 10-2pm: Sunday 2-10 pm Call the reference desk 201.684.7574 Ask your question online QandA NJ 24/7 online reference service Having technical problems Call 201.684.7777 Using Interlibrary Loan? Forms for Articles and Books

Choosing a Topic and Starting Research

Reference Books

Cornell University's Seven Steps to Effective Library Research

Find Books

George T. Potter Library

From other libraries

Forgot how to search for books at Ramapo?

Try this tutorial

Articles

Databases: places to find journal articles (from Potter Library)

Other places to locate scholarly articles

Journal Finder: locate a journal TITLE that we have in full-text

Forgot how to use the library databases ?
Try this tutorial

Web Resources

For a variety of Spanish Studies sites

Latin American Studies Websites

Forgot how to evaluate websites?Try this tutorial

Avoiding Plagiarism

Get help with citation styles

Help with annotated bibliographies

Forgot about citation styles?

Try this tutorial

Additional Help

Contact Me: Leigh Keller

Email: lkeller1@ramapo.edu
Phone: 201.684.7316

Go to the reference desk!

Hours: Mon-Thurs 9-10pm: Friday 9-5pm: Sat. 10-2pm: Sunday 2-10 pm

Call the reference desk

201.684.7574

Ask your question online

QandA NJ 24/7 online reference service

Having technical problems

Call 201.684.7777

Using Interlibrary Loan?

Forms for Articles and Books

Find Journal Articles

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:59:59 CST

The library subscribes to several databases that include hundreds of journal articles.

Here are some that maybe be useful for your research:

These databases are for finding journal articles
They are available 24/7 ONLY to Ramapo students
Off campus use requires login: Ramapo email and password
A list of all the library Databases

Some suggested databases:

General Databases
Project Muse	A multi-disciplinary database containing all scholarly articles. Tip: Click "Link to JSTOR" to link to articles that may also be in JSTOR. **Tip: Can search just for Spanish language articles
Academic Search Premier	A multi-disciplinary database containing both full-text articles and citations. Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the "Check availability at Ramapo" link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.
Wilson Omnifile Mega Full-Text	Over 4,000 journals. Coverage back as early as 1982 ensures that every search is as deep as it is broad. Users have access to information on virtually any subject. Tip: Use the Find Article link to locate full-text **Tip: If the article is FULL TEXT in Wilson, you can translate the article into Spanish
Informe	We have access to this database through Jersey Clicks. When accessing, you must go through Jersey Clicks and select "Informe." **Tip: Can translate full-text articles from Wilson only.
Literature Database
MLA	Premier literature database. Can select "Language of Item"
History Databases
America: History and Life	(1974-present) Covers the history of the world (excluding the U.S. and Canada) from 1450 to the present from over 2,000 international journals. Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the "Check availability at Ramapo" link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection. **Tip: Can search in Spanish and can limit your results to Spanish language material.
Historical Abstracts	Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the "Check availability at Ramapo" link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection. **Tip: Can search in Spanish and can limit your results to Spanish language material.
JSTOR	Entirely full-text. Cannot email articles. email yourself the stable url. Do not print from browser print button. Use the JSTOR print option **Tip: Can search in Spanish and can limit your results to Spanish language material.
Current Newspapers and News Articles
Lexis-Nexis	Entirely full-text. Includes news and articles from mainstream papers as well as papers from all over the world.

Strategies for searching the databases

Always go back and revise your searches! Look at using different terms and synonyms.
Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: spanish and conquest and mexico
- AND: narrows your search ex: spanish and mexico
- OR: broadens your search ex: (christopher columbus or cristobal colon)
- NOT: eliminates ex: "Mexico" not "New Mexico"
Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.
To look for full-text use the: check availablity at Ramapo, Find Article, primary catalog, or check availability links in the databases
Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link in databases to find the best search terms to use

Forgot what I showed you? Refresh your memory with a quick tutorial!

Beginning Research : Finding Articles
This tutorial is designed to help you find articles using a database.

Web Sources

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:51:54 CST

Iberian Studies Web

Maintained by the Western European Studies Section of the Association for College and Research Libraries. Specializes in gateways to Spanish and Portuguese sites, links to libraries and book dealers. Also known as WESS Iberian Studies Web.

LANIC: Latin American Network Information Center

The most ambitious of all the Latin American sites, it probably provides the most links, and is particularly helpful for the web surfer with scholarly interests. Because of the institutional commitment of the University of Texas it is very well maintained.

Zona Latina

Major Latin American media and marketing site, with links to hundreds of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, etc. The site contains research data, photographs, event schedules, discussions, and book reviews.

Border & Latin American Information

New Mexico State University Library site strong in its links to border information and resources, as well as in its guides for using the internet effectively for Latin American subjects.

Fulltext Literary Sites:

Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes

Cervantes Virtual is a digitization project of the bibliographic, documentary, and critical patrimony of Spain and Hispanic America (“proyecto de edición digital del patrimonio bibliográfico, documental y crítico de la cultura española e hispanoamericana.”) Based at the University of Alicante in Spain, it is international in terms of its contributing institutions and outreach. In addition to providing the full text of tens of thousands of works, most in Castilian and some in facsimile, the library offers videos, recordings, announcements, articles, online discussions and presentations, etc., all with the objective of making Spanish and Hispanoamerican culture more accessible ("difundir la cultura española e hispanoamericana").

Help with Annotated Bibliographies

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:43:20 CST

How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography - Cornell University Library

Writing an Annotated Bibliography - Roger Williams University Library

Annotated Bibliographies: More Info - The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Find Books from Other Libraries

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:45:10 CST

Good researchers need to be creative!

Find and Borrow books from other New Jersey State Colleges

Catalog: use this link to locate material at other NJ academic libraries.
Several NJ College libraries participate in a reciprocal borrowing program
You can go to any participating library and borrow the book
Just visit our reference desk first to get a form before you go!

Here is a list of catalog's for the closest libraries:

William Paterson: Cheng Library

Montclair University: Sprague Library

Rutgers University: Iris and other catalogs

Seton Hall University: SetonCAT

Search and Interlibrary Loan any books/articles you find

You can use any library or web catalog you come across
For Example: Open WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of books/material and tells you who owns it
Don't worry about where it's coming from. WE WILL TRY AND GET IT FOR YOU!
Use Interlibrary Loan to request the material (remember to give yourself time!)

Find Books at Ramapo

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:39:21 CST

Catalog:use this link to find Books, government documents, reserve items, music, movies and journal titles (NOT JOURNAL ARTICLES) in our library

Search the catalog using keywords to find materials
- Write out a few keywords on your topics and enter them into the search box.
- Don't write out a sentence. You will get zero results.
Search the catalog using Subject to find material

Put in the name of an historical person
The results will break down the types of material we have on that subject

For Example: Search name of the person

When you search an artist as a subject, you can see the different types of materials we have on that artist

Search for books, videos, and other material in Spanish

Use the button on the right side of the search box to limit your language search to Spanish.

TIPS:

ALWAYS go back and revise your searches. Look at your terms and think about alternative terms to use!!
Start with broad searches!!
Use the Subjects, etc... link in a catalog record to find more information on a specific subject area
Click on the call numbers to "virtually browse" the library's shelves

Forgot what I showed you? Use the tutorial below as a refresher!

Beginning Research : Finding Books

This tutorial is designed to help you use the Library catalog effectively.

Reference Material

Cregan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:32:03 CST

Picking a Topic

Think about:

a topic that interests you. You'll have to write about it -- try to make it fun!
make sure your topic is manageable. Avoid researching something too broad or too narrow. Too broad will mean you will be overwhelmed. Too narrow will mean you might not find enough information to back up your thoughts. TIP: If you feel you are overwhelmed or not getting enough, you may need to refine your search. How? Think about broader/narrower time span, a larger/smaller place, broad/specific group of people, general/specific event.
making sure you are clear about what your topic is. Its okay to adjust your topic while you research. However, try to have a basic idea of what you want to do when you begin.

Avoiding research stress:

Browse general reference resources to give yourself ideas. You may not want to cite from these resources, but try subject encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, etc. to get the ideas flowing. These resources are located on the 3rd floor of the library.
Be careful about time! Finding materials takes time. Interlibrary Loans take time. Putting together your thoughts takes time.

Some Reference Material (3rd Floor)	Call Numbers
Diccionario de Sinonimos Antonimos e Ideas Afines	Ref PC 4591.A43 2000
Conjugacion	Ref PC 4107.L37 1998
Writer's Reference Guide to Spanish	Ref PC 4410. F68 1999
Dudas e Incorreciones del Idioma	Ref PC 4107.C67 1996
Exacto! a Practical Guide to Spanish Grammar	Ref PC 4112.E93 2002
Firefly Spanish-English Visual Dictionary	Ref PC 4640.C67 2004
Oxford Spanish Dictionary	Ref PC 4640.O94 2003

Avoiding Plagiarism

Cregan — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:11:54 CST

Merriam-Webster defines plagiarism as: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source. To commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Get help from the following sites:

CitingSources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"

MLAStyle Help: from OWL

Need a print copy of the MLA?

Ask at circulation for: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Call Number: LB2369 .G53

Circulation has copies of all the style manuals. Here are the call numbers: CitingWebsitesandPrintSources

Forgot about citing sources? Use the tutorial below as a refresher!

Citing Sources

This tutorial is designed to help you cite sources properly and understand plagiarism.