Mildred F. Sawyer Library Blog

Notable E-book: American Ethnic Writers

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:54:00 +0000

It's always been easy enough to research well-established literary writers of the the type I generally refer to as "Dead White Guys." Esteemed writers like William Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Milton have been read and studied by English students for a hundred years or more. Scores of scholarly treatises have been written about their lives and work. So, if you do a bit of research in any of our literature databases, you will find materials on the symbolism of "The Minister's Black Veil" without undo effort.

But in the last thirty years, the editors of literary anthologies and many college professors have tried to widen the spectrum of authors that students read. They have rediscovered "lost" women writers like Charlotte Perkins Gilman and looked to contemporary writers of every race and ethnicity to expand our experience of literature.

The problem is that it takes a long period of time for a body of literary criticism to develop around a particular author. And sometimes it is still hard to find even a short overview of a contemporary "minority" author who might appear in a textbook anthology.

One three volume set, published by Magill/Salem Press, and available on our GVRL platform, helps fill the gap. It is American Ethnic Writers, Revised Edition, published earlier this year. As the editors claim: "This edition of American Ethnic Writers covers not only the core writers and the classics of African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Jewish American, and Native American novels, short stories, plays, and poetry—but many recent voices as well." They continue that "all major American minority cultures are covered: African American, Asian American, Jewish American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American; the set also includes 94 women. The authors represented here are identified with one or more of the following ethnicities: African American (103), Caribbean (5), Chilean American (1), Chinese American (14), Cuban American (7), Dominican American (1), Filipino American (4), Japanese American (7), Jewish American (31), Korean American (1), Mexican American (24), Native American (20), Peruvian American (2), Puerto Rican (12), South and Southeast Asian American (6), Spanish American (1), and Vietnamese American (1)."

So, yes, you will find Sandra Cisneros and Gish Jen profiled here. And, clearly an attempt has been made to represent many forms of diversity beyond obvious racial/ethnic heritage, too. Gay authors like Harvey Fierstein and radical feminist writers like Andrea Dworkin can be found here. (Both are conveniently identified as "Jewish.") But even writers who are simply multicultural in their approach to literature and life are included, like the "Euro-American" Barbara Kingsolver.

To use the book, just click on the link in our online catalog entry. You can then either plug the name of the author you want into the "Search....within this publication" box to the left. Or you can browse authors using the "eTable of Contents" link in the middle of the opening page. The entries are clearly written, but brief. A good starting point for your interest and research. But don't forget to explore those previously mentioned literature databases to (hopefully) find more materials in the journal and reference book literature. And keep in mind that your author might be profiled in some other ebooks in our GVRL collection, as well.

New Database: Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Sawyer Library recently added a new database via the Boston Region contract that will be a helpful tool for anyone researching contemporary "hot button" social issues, with an eye towards a balanced, both-sides approach to coverage.

Called Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, it is, according to the publisher Gale/Cengage, "a full-text resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from Terrorism to Endangered Species, Stem Cell Research to Gun Control. Drawing on acclaimed series published by Greenhaven Press and other Gale imprints, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center brings together all the information that’s needed to fully understand an issue: pro and con viewpoint articles, reference articles that provide context, full-text magazines, academic journals, and newspapers, primary source documents, government and organizational statistics, multimedia, including images and podcasts, links to hand-selected web sites, and more."

The database is very user-friendly. When you go to the opening screen you will notice that there is a long, two-column list of some of the most "popular" topics. But you can also do your own basic search using the box on the left.

Let's say that even though I see "Animal Rights" listed in the hot topics, I decide to look for materials that speak directly to vegetarianism. If I do a basic search for that

The default tab is the "Viewpoints" section that presents arguments about the topic, like the entry "Human Consumption of Animals is Immoral" from a 1999 Opposing Viewpoint Digest. More up-to-date materials are also available, like an item entitled "A Vegan Lifestyle Is Necessary to Stop the Mistreatment of Animals" by Bruce Friedrich, from Current Controversies: Rights of Animals, 2009.

And note those other colorful tabs above the results that lead to materials like "Reference Books," "Academic Journals" and "Statistics." For different topics you will find more or less material of various levels of usefulness at these other tabs.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center is just another tool for those interested in a pro-con debate-oriented presentation of social topics. CQ Researcher is another excellent source for both sides to key social issues. And a periodical available through Academic Search Complete, called Congressional Digest, is another very useful pro-con resource.

For more on Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, you can take a look at some materials prepared by the publisher: An Overview Factsheet PDF, A Search Tips Guide, and A PowerPoint Demonstration of database use.

[FIND Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center on our "Databases by Subject" List on the second column of our "Social Sciences" list. ]

Meebo Instant Messaging

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:06:00 +0000

What is Meebo?

While reading the Mildred F. Sawyer Library Blog, you may have noticed the box on the right side of the page that reads “SawLib.LiveHelp." The Reference staff is now offering a means for the Suffolk University community to ask a question using Meebo, which is an instant messaging system. Simply go to the library blog page and type a question. You are automatically signed-in to Meeboquest. When you send us a message, we will try to answer immediately. In addition to our telephone and email services, Meebo is another way for our patrons to obtain reference service.

If Librarians are not currently available...

If reference librarians are not available, the Meebo box will read "Away,"
"e-mail us instead." In this case, please email your question to sawlib@suffolk.edu or call 617-573-8532. Occasionally Meebo accidently logs us out, and the message in Meebo box reads,"leave a message." The Meebo system does not, however, actually leave us messages, therefore it is important to use email or phone as your alternative means of reaching us.

What kind of questions may I ask?

We will attempt to answer all of your questions about library resources and
services. Any question you might ask at the Reference Desk is appropriate.
In order to answer your questions fully, you may be asked to email the
librarian or to schedule a research consultation.

[FIND Meebo on the Mildred F. Sawyer Blog Page]

New Database: Global Issues in Context

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:46:00 +0000

More and more databases are taking a specific (yet often very ambitious) approach to research these days. One that Sawyer Library has recently acquired through the BRLS regional contract is Global Issues in Context (GIC). This high-concept resource gives students country and regional information. But it goes beyond simple facts and figures. It tries to explore major issues--be they social, political, medical or environmental--and present them as challenges faced by nations around the world. Gale/Cengage sums up the product this way: "Global Issues in Context empowers users with the tools they need to understand today’s world issues from a global perspective."

It's a lofty goal. And makes for an interesting database to explore. Content includes 400 full-text English-language news sources, magazines and academic journals, such as The London Times, New African, Al Jazeera, Moscow Times and the BBC; more than 250 issue pages with topic overviews and global perspectives, reference and primary source documents, statistics, periodicals, web sites, and multimedia; and 193 country pods that feature in-depth cultural information, statistics, maps, flags, and encyclopedia articles.

There are various browse features from the product home page. And there are indications of new content recently added. If you know an issue and country you want to explore, you can certainly just use the Basic Search box in the upper right. For example, when I did a search for AIDS and South Africa, I got relevant editorials from the New York Times, news articles from AIDS Weekly, and to the right was offered appropriate video news stories from PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer. In the left frame, I was offered a variety of document types, so I could choose to look specifically at a "Topic Overview" or a "Country Overview" if I liked. In short, many material options are offered. And the overview articles--like "South Africa's Struggle with AIDS" from History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide--often come from reference books published by Gale and their publishing partners.

If you want to start simply, click on the "Browse Issues and Topics" tab on the opening screen. Then you can either click through the eight issue categories, or choose the other tab on that page to "Browse Regions." If I choose this option, click on Europe, then Southern Europe, I can then either pick a country (like Greece) or a topic (like "Cyprus Conflict" or "European Union Expansion") to delve into.

Interestingly, Gale/Cengage says that this database serves "a wide variety of subject areas, including sociology, current events, civics, politics, science, economics, cultural/religious studies, women’s studies [and] human rights." I would say that, here at Suffolk, this database would be of special interest to government/international relations students. But it might be even more useful for SBS students in their globalization course who are trying to understand the social dynamics of potential business markets.

Although neither exhaustive nor especially "scholarly," GIC definitely provides a useful grounding in the issues we face in our increasingly complex and interconnected world.

For further information, here is a quick PDF from Gale, and a link to a stored webinar.

[FIND Global Issues in Context on our "Databases by Subject" Lists for "Business and Management" and for the "Social Sciences".]

New Database: LitFinder

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:57:00 +0000

By way of a new Boston Region (BRLS) contract, Sawyer Library is happy to add several new databases. One that will come in handy for literature researchers is LitFinder, a Gale InfoTrac database that indexes and reproduces literary "primary sources." That is, LitFinder is a database that provides "access to more than 135,000 full-text poems, stories, plays and more."

Although we have many databases that provide descriptive and critical materials about works of literature--see, for example, the many listed on our Literature, Arts and Humanities database list--this is the first one that actually gives you the literary works themselves.

Let's say I'd like to find a few of the poems that Emily Dickinson wrote about death and dying. I might go to LitFinder and do a simple search for Emily Dickinson and Death in the search box.

The initial results page will list eight "Topic & Work Overviews." These are short descriptive and critical entries. They give some background on a particular poem and may quote a few lines from a major literary scholar about what the poem is about or why it works or doesn't. At the bottom of one of these Work Overview pages, you will often link to a reproduction of the poem itself.

But if it's the poetry you want. Look at the tabs above the initial results and click, instead, on the one for "Primary Sources & Literary Works." Here you will find citations (and, in most cases full-text) to many of Dickinson's works that mention death. (And there are lots!)

The text will be presented in most cases. And it you look at the top of the entry, there is even a an icon and link for a ReadSpeaker function

that will read aloud (albeit in a slightly robotic voice) the text of the work.

Regarding the availability of full-text sources: Keep in mind that works in the "public domain" (that is, where copyright has expired) are more likely to be reproduced in LitFinder than contemporary works. For more modern writers, you may find, at best, only a citation to a story or poem in an anthology. You would then have to check our online catalog to see if we actually own the book being referred to. If I search, for example, for Jhumpa Lahiri, I get only a short biographical note and absolutely no citations or reproductions to her works. However, if I want Susan Glaspell's 1917 short story, "A Jury of Her Peers," I will find it reproduced here.

So, although this database can be very useful in finding works from authors from the World War I period or earlier, it will not be particularly useful for late 20th or early 21st century authors.

If you'd like more information on this database, Gale has created a Search Tips Word Document, as well as a Guided Tour in PowerPoint Slides.

[FIND LitFinder on our "Databases by Subject" List on the second column of our "Literature, Arts and Humanities" list.]

Database Alert: GMID Requires Individual Login

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:04:00 +0000

8/28/09 UPDATE: I am VERY happy to say that Euromonitor has reconsidered their actions for academic clients. You will no longer HAVE to set up a personal login to use GMID on campus or through our proxy server off-campus. If you wish to set up the account, you may.

The company claims that "personalizing" will provide added functionality, which includes the option to

Create your own customised email alert: By selecting the categories and geographies you are interested in, you will receive an e-alert keeping you up to date with the latest developments.

Sign up to our RSS News feed: Receive timely updates on new content viewable via iGoogle, Outlook etc. from your customised content.

Create a My Home Page: View all your customised content in one place, along with your latest saved searches.

Create Saved Research: Save your research and queries if you are in a hurry and need to access them later or to share with your colleagues.

If you wish to create an account, look for the below graphic
On the GMID (after the license agreement) frontpage.

Meanwhile, I congratulate the company for their decision. And this librarian considers it one small victory for "intellectual freedom."

**********************************

A few users have been concerned and confused when they've tried to access Euromonitor's Global Market Information Database (GMID) through the Sawyer Library links recently. Unfortunately, in an obstructionist Big Brother move, the company now requires (even on an educational account) that each individual user must have their own account to use the database. Therefore, if you try to access the database you will likely first see a screen like this:

Look for the orange link in the bottom left that instructs that "New Users Register Here." You will then be directed to a page that looks like this:

Most of the registration is straight-forward. The form wants a salutation (Ms. Mr., etc), Name, Course, Department as well as location information like City, Country, and Region. Although it's more than a little odd to set your region AFTER you've entered your country, as there is no USA in Australasia, or any other region than North America, as far as I know. (But maybe that field in the form is a geography quiz.)

Unfortunately, Telephone is a required field, but it is outrageous that an information vendor that Sawyer Library contracts with should have your personal phone, so be creative, or use the general Suffolk switchboard number, which is 617-573-8000.

Other aspects of the instructions to the left are either unclear or incorrect, as well. It says, for example, to use your "business email address only" when registering. However, if you work for a company--as many of our students do--you should, in fact, NOT use your work email. You must use your SUFFOLK email to register, as Euromonitor wants to link the individual user to the subscription provider. The text also says that "if you click remember my details the next time you log in, you will not need to enter your email address and password again." Although this will work on your personal computer, it will not work if you do your research in the library as our machines wipe out cookies and other clutter every time they reboot. This means that although you will not have to do the full registration a second time, you will have to login (in the blue circle, with your Suffolk email and password) every time you enter the database again. So, remember your password and/or keep the email that Euromonitor will send you acknowledging your registration.

We apologize for the extra bureaucracy related to this useful marketing and demographic database, but this regrettable policy was set by the publisher and not by Sawyer Library.

New Database: Tax Analysts Web Services

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:06:00 +0000

The Mildred F. Sawyer Library has added a high-quality database for tax researchers. Tax Analysts Web Services offers access to the following materials:

Tax Notes Today (TNT)- The well-known TNT contains daily federal news and tax-related documents dating back to 1987. The news include events in Congress, the IRS, and the courts. Supporting documents include legislation, court opinions, IRS rulings, press releases, regulations, and more. TNT also provides a federal Commentary & Analysis section that offers analysis by economic experts on the Tax Analysts staff.

Federal Research Library -A comprehensive federal tax resource that includes essential primary source materials from the IRS and Treasury, including:

Internal Revenue Code and explanations

Regulations & Treasury Decisions

IRS Documents- rulings, procedures, announcements, notices, etc.

Internal Revenue Manual

Within this library are the following additional groupings:

-The Chief Counsel Advice Library (CCA) offers letter rulings, technical advice, field service advice, legal memorandums, Chief Counsel Notices, Information Letters and other forms of IRS guidance.

-The Court Opinions Library holds more than 100,000 full-text opinions and summaries of tax cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Tax Court, bankruptcy courts, federal appellate courts, and federal district courts.

-Tax Legislation Library - provides full-text of federal tax legislation, including bills and public laws, as well as legislative histories which offer full-texts of House and Senate Reports. Also, includes the outstanding Congressional Research Service Reports.

State Tax Today (STT)- provides daily news and tax-related documents that affect the states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. It includes information from state governments, state revenue departments, state courts, and state legislatures, plus activities of multistate organizations and federal or international changes that influence state tax policy. STT also provides a Commentary & Analysis section that offers analysis by experts on the Tax Analysts staff. STT news coverage and supporting documents date back to 1992.

Worldwide Tax Daily Worldwide Tax Daily (WTD)- provides daily news and tax-related documents from over 180 countries and multinational organizations, including U.S. federal information concerning international tax issues. WTD also provides a Commentary & Analysis section that offers analysis by experts on the Tax Analysts staff.

Worldwide Tax Treaties -includes over 3,500 tax treaties and similar documents from over 180 jurisdictions. Treaties concern taxes on income and capital as well as estate and gift taxes, model tax treaties, and more. Includes in-force, pending, and terminated treaties. Documents date back to 1828. Allows comparison of different income tax treaties.

Tax researchers may also utilize the Sawyer Library's access to Lexis/Nexis Academic for tax information. Choose the "Legal tab," then select "Tax Law" from the left column to search tax journals, state and federal tax cases, treasury regulations, the Internal Revenue Code, Cumulative Bulletin, and more.

Make selections from the drop-down menu before searching:

Department of Labor ERISA Opinion Letters

Federal Courts Tax Cases

Internal Revenue Code

IRS Cumulative Bulletin and Internal Revenue Bulletin

IRS General Counsel Memos, Actions on Decisions, & Technical Memos

IRS Private Letter Rulings and Technical Advice Memoranda

State Courts Tax Cases

Tax Law Review Articles, Combined

Treasury Regulations - Final, Temporary, and Proposed

[FIND Tax Analysts Web Services on our "Databases by Subject" List on the first column of our "Business and Management" list.]

Notable E-Book: Gran Enciclopedia de España

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Sawyer Library recently added an important Spanish language reference set to our e-book database, Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL). It is the 22 volume Gran Enciclopedia de España (Great Encyclopedia of Spain), a new edition of a classic encyclopedia published over a sixteen year period from 1990 to 2006. It constitutes the largest encyclopedic work done on Spain.

The massive reference set contains more than 150,000 entries dedicated to the art, sciences, culture, economy, geography, history, institutions, nature and society of Spain. Major specialists and scholars--from the Royal Academy as well as major Spanish universities--contributed entries. Altogether, there are more than 11,000 pages of content here, as well as 20,000 illustrations. Graphics include drawings, genealogical tables, statistics, maps and chronologies. Selected historical documents are also included.

Keep in mind that the encyclopedia is both in the Spanish language and designed for Spanish audiences, however. Entries may, therefore, not be presented as U.S. readers would expect. If you try looking up "Generalissimo Francisco Franco" in the GVRL search engine for the encyclopedia, you get no results--not even a cross-reference. And if you drop the military title, and look up Francisco Franco, you also don't get very far. The entry, which is extensive, is actually under his proper name, "FRANCO BAHAMONDE, Francisco." So, stay flexible as you search and browse through this resource.

Because it is on the GVRL platform, users will have the option of quickly opening and scrolling through HTML text with highlighted keywords. Or, if you prefer, look for the small Adobe icon at each entry to open up the PDF version that looks exactly like the original volume entry.

We hope that this authoritative reference tool will be useful for both Spanish speakers and Spanish learners....And especially for our students and faculty at our Madrid campus.

New Database: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Sawyer Library recently added a most impressive databank of polling research. It is sometimes referred to as The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, and is other times referred to by the Center's major database component, iPOLL.

Whatever you call it, The Roper Center, housed at the University of Connecticut, is one of the world's leading archives of social science statistics, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The Center's mission includes promoting the informed use of survey research and public opinion information; maintaining, and constantly enlarging, a computer-based library of survey research and public opinion data; developing access tools for researchers to secure required information; and increasing international understanding and promoting cross-national research on political and social issues.

The data held by the Roper Center range from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented.

iPOLL, their easy-to-use database is the most comprehensive, up-to-date source for US nationwide public opinion available today. A full-text retrieval system, the iPOLL online database is organized at the question-level. The system allows for users to sift through nearly half a million questions archived from national public opinion surveys since 1935. The database is updated daily. iPOLL includes data survey results from academic, commercial and media survey organizations such as Gallup Organization, Harris Interactive, Pew Research Associates, and many more. The data come from all the surveys in the Roper Center archive that have US national adult samples or samples of registered voters, women, African Americans, or any subpopulation that constitutes a large segment of the national adult population.

To access iPOLL, click the large icon link on the homepage, or choose the option from "Data Access" pull-down menu. You will first enter your email and fill out a short registration form, and then accept the terms and conditions.

You will then have access to the files. Search for keywords within the extensive topic list categories. Often the immediate poll results, with questions and numerical breakdowns of responses, will be all you will need.

However, Roper also allows you to manipulate and download much of their data. RoperExpress is a data access tool for on-demand downloads. Faculty and students at Suffolk now have unlimited access to those datasets in the Roper Center collection that are in ASCII or SPSS portable formats. Simply do a search for datasets and the studies accessible for immediate download in RoperExpress are marked with an icon: Although the Center does assume that anyone wishing to do SPSS work with their data is familiar with the program and has access to the software, Roper does provide a page with guidelines for bringing ASCII data files into SPSS. Here users have the opportunity to download sample SPSS syntax files with their corresponding datasets and codebooks. (Please note, SPSS, a productivity software package for "number crunching" is available at the University computer labs, but is not available at Sawyer Library.)

Roper has several pages of tutorials and other educational materials to get people started. You might want to take a look at their 20 page PDF introduction to iPOLL. Their page on the Fundamentals of Polling is also a useful. Those interested can also look at one on Analyzing Polls. There's even a glossary of terms for the field of public opinion research. A Topics at a Glance page provides a sampling of different types of surveys to help you get a sense of what the Roper Center has and does.

Those who are interested in polling data might want to know that Sawyer Library also provides access to Polling the Nations, an online database of public opinion polls containing nearly one half million questions and responses from 14,000 surveys conducted from 1986 through the present in the U.S. and 100 other countries. However, Polling the Nations is less extensive and updated less often. (We also have a limited access contract, so please be sure to logout when you finish using it.) In addition, according to Roper, because nearly 60% of iPOLL questions are linked to respondent level datasets, this new database provides researchers access to the full questionnaire and details of the methodology, codes, demographic variables, etc. instantly. iPOLL also provides search within results, save a search, and search history features.

Public opinion data can be useful for students and faculty in a wide variety of disciplines, from Communication to Marketing to Government to Sociology. So we hope you'll explore this database anytime you need to get some measure of American attitudes.

[FIND Roper Center for Public Opinion Research on our "Databases by Subject" List on the second column of our "Social Sciences" list.]

New Database: Education Research Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Sawyer Library is happy to have recently added a high-quality database of educational literature called Education Research Complete (ERC). Delivered via our familiar EBSCOHost platform, this proprietary database from Ebsco is the most wide-ranging database available for the discipline.

Here's how the publisher describes it: "Education Research Complete is the definitive online resource for education research. This massive file offers the world's largest and most complete collection of full text education journals. It is a bibliographic and full text database covering scholarly research and information relating to all areas of education. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing.

Education Research Complete also covers areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration, policy, funding, and related social issues. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 1,870 journals, as well as full text for more than 1,060 journals. This database also includes full text for 133 books and monographs, and full text for numerous education-related conference papers. "

You might think "I'm not an education major, so this database has nothing to do with me." But many of the topics that Suffolk students (who've never taken an education course) write reports or prepare speeches about do, in fact, relate to education in some way. Topics like school violence, local property taxes, uniforms and dress codes, assessment in higher education, self-esteem issues affecting the young, financial aid for college students and scores of other topics could be found in this database.

If I were interested in girls bullying each other in school, I might start with a search for girls and bullying.

I end up with over 200 possible sources to utilize.

Although many journals, chapters, papers and documents are available full-text in ERC, not everything (especially the most recent articles) will appear with a PDF or HTML symbol underneath the citation. But if that is the case, don't forget to click the 360 (green dot) or other links that will likely be presented. These might well link you to the article you want in another electronic file.

As is always the case with an EBSCOHost database, I could limit the 242 articles I find on girls and bullying by clicking one of the subject headings in the left frame (like Bullying in Schools), or I could limit to Academic Journals in the left frame, or perform the same limit by checking the box for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals in the right frame, and then updating my results. Do this type of limit if the teacher ever tells you that the articles you use must be scholarly, and cannot come from secondary materials like magazines and newspapers.

We hope that this database will be the go-to file for any of our students and faculty researching anything related to education.

[FIND Education Research Complete on our "Databases by Subject" List on the second column of our "Social Sciences" list.]

Library Systems Alert: Server Replacement, May 27th, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Time of Latest Update: 11:25 am

Status: All Library Systems Are Back Up on the New Server. Our testing indicates we are back to normal. Please advise if you have any issues with the Online Catalog or Database Access. And thank you for your patience!

As we previously warned through the University Email, Library News, and this blog: The Suffolk University Libraries are replacing our systems server TODAY, May 27th.

This process will NOT affect any other University web services (like Blackboard or email). This will ONLY affect library functions. During the server switch library users will not be able to access library databases OFF-campus through the proxy. Nor will they be able to access the online catalog or their circulation records online.

We hope this process will not take too long and we apologize for any inconvenience. And we will try to update this page with information, as we learn it.

For most of our users, the most practical approach to this outage of service is to simply avoid doing research during this time period. However, for those who wish to pursue a "work-around" during the down time, here are a few detailed notes on two major library research functions.

1----TO ACCESS LIBRARY DATABASES

We are sorry, but OFF-campus use of databases is not possible during the server replacement. However ON-Campus, our databases can operate through IP recognition. But you cannot go through the proxy server for access. So, you will need to capture the shortcut and remove the proxy parts of the URL.

First, go to our database list as you normally would, but instead of left-clicking on the name of the database you want, right-click on it and on the box options that display, choose to "copy shortcut." Then paste this shortcut in, say, Notepad (or directly into your browser address bar, if you are very comfortable with web manipulations)

For Academic Search Complete, the shortcut we copy would look like this:

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.law.suffolk.edu/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=asp

To make the database recognize our IP WITHOUT going through the proxy server we would remove the bolded parts (a leading 0- and the .library.law.suffolk.edu from the first part of the address) :

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.law.suffolk.edu/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=asp

which leaves us with a URL that reads

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=asp

If I copy and paste this stripped-down URL into my browser address bar and hit enter, the database will pick up on my valip IP address (if I am ON CAMPUS) and allow me into the database.

If you are here at the Suffolk Boston campus, you can de-proxyize any of our database links and you should be able to get at the database. But, again, this will unfortunately NOT work if youare at a non-Suffolk (Boston Campus) location.

2-----TO SEARCH FOR BOOKS

Here is an alternative to our Archer Online Catalog (OPAC):

Go to http://www.worldcat.org/account/?page=searchItems

On campus, WorldCat will pick up our Suffolk IP and will enter a 02108 "location" and indicate on the search results pages that "You are connected to the Sawyer Library network." If this does not happen, you can "enter your location" by zip code when you see the appropriate box. For Suffolk, enter 02108.

When you search for an item, the links to libraries will appear below the book information. With a 02108 zip, Suffolk will come up first if we own the book. However, you will not be able to click on "Sawyer Library" to get the call number (since the server is down and the OPAC is non-operational). Therefore, if you wanted to try to find the book in our stacks, try clicking on the next library listed and look for a call number.

For example, I search for Panic : the story of modern financial insanity

and click on the book in results list. I see that Sawyer Library owns the book, but I cannot click into our OPAC by clicking on the Sawyer Library link, so I click on Boston Public Library (BPL), the entry below Sawyer, instead.

I see that BPL owns the book--although all of their copies are checked out or on hold. I also see that they assigned the book the call number of HB3722.P36 2009, which happens to be the same Library of Congress (LC) call number our copy was given. (The fact is that most academic and large public libraries will assign the same LC call number to a book.)

With that call number and the knowledge that Sawyer owns the book, I should be able to find it in our 4th floor stacks. (With one caveat: If the book is checked out or at a secondary location like "New Books" or "Reserve", it would not be on the normal stack shelves.)

NOTE: WorldCat might try to get you to create an account and sign in to create a bibliography, but you do not need to do this to use the service.

If you do not wish to "wait out" the server change, give these work-around techniques a try. And if you need additional assistance, please come and see us at the reference desk. Although we will also be inconvenienced and frustrated by this systems outage, we will try our best (as we always to) to provide research assistance to Suffolk researchers.

New Database: Public Administration Abstracts

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Public Management is an active field of study here at Suffolk. But until now, student and faculty researchers in that discipline never had their own professional-level database. They had to sort through all the private sector materials in our excellent Business Source Complete in order to find the public sector articles, or they needed to find appropriate resources through our governmental databases, like Political Science Complete.

Both of those techniques can still be useful, in many instances. But a better starting point for public management research can now be found in Public Administration Abstracts (PAA).

Many years ago, Public Administration Abstracts was a print index and abstracting service published by Sage. Ebsco, our primary supplier of databases, recently acquired the index and besides keeping it up-to-date in an electronic form, they have also digitized the entire archive, bringing the index (of 60,000 records) back to 1974.

Abstracting services are not generally full-text oriented resources. If "Abstracts" is in the title, that is usually an indication that you will see a short summary of any indexed material, but you will not be able to see the entire article or publication. In one sense, this is also true of Public Administration Abstracts. However, because of all the linking we can do between PAA and Business Source Complete, Academic Search Complete, Political Science Complete, and the "custom-linking" we can do with other non-Ebsco databases like JSTOR and LexisNexis Academic, anyone using PAA here at Suffolk will find a surprising number of records will link directly to PDF or HTML full-text. And those that do not might well link out to the full-text, with a few extra clicks, after following the shortcut to our other aggregates via the eJournal Locator (the green-circle "360" link below records in any EbscoHost database).

Suffolk researchers in public management can find a wealth of research articles in a much more consolidated and convenient way, using the familiar and flexible EbscoHost platform, now that we are able to provide them with Public Administration Abstracts.

[FIND Public Administration Abstracts on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Business and Management" category.]

Notable E-Book: Encyclopedia of Homelessness

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:00:00 +0000

The two-volume Encyclopedia of Homelessness describes the basic knowledge of homelessness, including the history of homelessness, the current situation in the United States, and examples of homelessness around the world. This is an online fully searchable ebook available to Suffolk University students and faculty through both Gale Virtual Reference and Sage eReference. Entries cover causes, history, legal issues, governmental policy, legislation and programs, health problems, services, demography, lifestyles, and world perspectives. Specific articles describe homelessness today in eight major American cities, including Boston, New York, Houston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, and more than thirty cities and nations around the world.

Some of the more specific topics covered include, social welfare policy, the Great Depression, HIV and AIDS, health care, child care, causes of homelessness, legal advocacy, mental illness, families, food programs, legislation, housing (fair housing laws and shelters), and literature (hobo and tramp).

The Appendix includes a Documentary History of Homelessness (23 primary documents), a Directory of Street Newspapers by state and country, and a Filmography of American Narrative and Documentary Films on Homelessness.

These two volumes are geared toward sociologists, anthropologists, economists, historians, and other social scientists, social policy analysts, program administrators, physicians, social workers, advocacy lawyers, journalists, and students in high school through graduate school.

[FIND The Encyclopedia of Homelessness by entering this title in the Suffolk University Library Catalog or by going to our "Databases by Subject" list and selecting E-Books. Choose either Gale Virtual Reference or Sage eReference, and enter this ebook title.]

New Database: CQ Congress Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Sawyer Library recently added another database to our collection of online resources from the CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Press. CQ Congress Collection is, as the name indicates, a group of descriptive and statistical materials supporting research related to the United States Congress.

CQ Press describes it in this way: "CQ Press Congress Collection presents a powerful research and reference tool that provides an analytical survey of the history and development; powers; personalities; current developments; and legislation considered and passed by the United States Congress. A wealth of data with nonbiased commentary is organized under four sections: Public Policy Legislation presents legislative information and analysis under 23 broad topics — such as agriculture, civil rights, national security, and transportation — and hundreds of subtopics. Members of Congress includes biographical, political, and electoral data about every member of Congress since the 79th Congress (additional Congresses will be added periodically). Floor Votes organizes, by Congress and topic, the preferred data for scholarly research. The Legislative Branch provides encyclopedic information, statistical data, legislative analysis, and Supreme Court case summaries relating to the structure and powers of Congress — including committee information — and its relationships with other branches of government and the media."

Although the interface is less than friendly, and linking between sections of the database can be painfully slow, this is indeed "a powerful research and reference tool" for political science research.

It is easy to get a basic profile of a member of Congress, like Barney Frank.

Then we can click various links, like the one for "Key Votes," and see his voting record.

Each of the vote titles is itself a link to further information on that piece of legislation.

You can even compare how members of Congress are rated by various special interest groups. Comparing Senator Ted Kennedy to Senator Mitch McConnell certainly allows for a vivid contrast. The ACU (American Conservative Union)--not to be confused with the ACLU, which has a much different viewpoint!--gives Senator McConnell a 92 rating, while the senior senator from Massachusetts receives an emphatic goose egg.

There's a lot of useful material here, even if it isn't always easy to find. Once you DO find it, you can export data as needed, or create a profile so that you can save your favorite documents and searches for further use.

We hope that those researching public policy and the legislative branch will find this a valuable resource. And don't forget our other useful CQ products, including CQ Researcher (great for Pro-Con analysis of hot button social issues) and CQ Press Political Reference Suite (which includes a wide assortment of online reference materials, from the Political Handbook of the World, to the excellent primary documents resource, the Historic Documents Series).

[FIND CQ Congress Collection on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Social Sciences" category.]

New Database: DemographicsNow

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Sawyer Library recently added another valuable database called DemographicsNow. It allows you to build a demographic (that is, statistical characteristics of a specific population) report after setting your own criteria and stepping through a simple report-building process.

The resource self-describes itself in this way: "DemographicsNow is a comprehensive yet easy-to-use tool that provides highly sought after demographic data that allows prospective entrepreneurs, long-time business owners and students building marketing plans to collect, analyze and quickly act upon that data. With demographic information including income, housing, race, age, education, consumer expenditures and more, users have immediate access to untapped opportunities that can significantly enhance their current business intelligence."

Of course, it's not just business people that find demographic information useful. Many researchers in the social sciences will also find this a useful way to build a quick snapshot of social factors in a particular area!

You would first pick a geographic area--these include state, county, zip codes, and the like. Then you select specifics in your geographic category, then pick the types of statistics you want, or look for the grey tab that says "Report Packages" to choose a "Express Pack" report that covers topics like "Business Location" or Census or Population. You can even do comparisons or ranking reports, and produce maps. Once you build or open the report you want, it can be put into a Printable Version, a PDF Version, or an Excel Version which would allow you to manipulate the data further. (Just look for the buttons at the top of the screen.)

In some cases, you might wonder what some of the terms and statistical categories mean. Look for the "Help and Info" link in the upper left corner for tips and explanations. The glossary, for example, will help define things like a DMA. (A "Designated Market Area" as a "formal term for what is more commonly known as a TV or broadcast market....")

Gale/Cengage, the maker of our InfoTrac and GVRL databases, is the company releasing this Library Edition of DemographicsNow. If you are interested, they have a few informational web resources on the database. These include a PDF descriptive factsheet on the product, as well as a nice PowerPoint presentation that details features and techniques.

We hope you find this resource a useful one!

[FIND DemographicsNow on our "Databases by Subject" List in both the "Business and Management" category and the "Social Sciences" list.]

Notable Reference Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:53:00 +0000

How do I find current German immigration policies?

A good place to start is Ebsco’s Academic Search Complete (ASC). Since Germany’s immigration policies will no doubt involve labor issues, Business Source Complete (BSC) should be utilized, as well. A search using both databases simultaneously is most efficient. From Databases by Subject on the Sawyer Library home page, choose Social Sciences, and click on Ebsco. Select ASC and BSC.

Search “Germany and immigration and policy.” See Subject Thesaurus Terms (in the left column)– “Emigration and immigration- - Government Policy.” Add this subject to the search. Restrict the Date according to your wishes. Also, you may change search result order from Date to Relevance.

Try LexisNexis Academic from the Social Science or Business Subject listings. Choose the News Tab and Major World Newspapers for 5 Years. Place search terms in (Hlead) Headline & Lead Paragraph (located in the search drop-down menu).

Hlead =“German”

Hlead= “immigration”
Hlead= “polic!” (! = truncation)
You can choose particular newspaper results from names in the left-hand column. All results are full-text (except the Wall Street Journal). We have a separate database for the Wall Street Journal. You may change the order of results from Date to Relevance.

Go back to the opening search page of LexisNexis, and click the Legal Tab. Choose EUR Legislation, Statutes, & Codes from the left column. Select EUR – Lex EU Law database-Legislation – from the drop-down menu and choose 5 years.
Search “immigration and migration and work”

Select SourceOECD from the Social Science or Business Subject listings. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of 30 market democracies which work together to tackle the economic, social and governing challenges of globalisation.
Search “German immigration” (upper right corner)

Select Country Commerce from the Business Subject listing. EIUs Country Commerce provides operating conditions and business regulations in 55 countries.
Choose the country of Germany - Human resources: Employment of foreigners

Check the Suffolk University Library Catalog for books Keyword “immigration and Germany”

[FIND selected databases in our "Databases by Subject" Lists for Business and Management and for Social Sciences]

New Database: First Research

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Sawyer Library has added another database that will make it easier for students and faculty to get quick snapshots of U.S. industries. Called First Research (alas, not the most descriptive name in the world!), it is owned by Dun & Bradstreet, aka D&B, and is a companion product to the company profile database, Hoover's.

When you enter the database you will notice that you can either browse and "expand" major industry sectors (in the blue bars), or use the search box just above. The default is to search by key word, and this works well. However, you will see tabs just above the search box that allow you to switch the search to SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) or NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code, which is a more precise way to search, especially when you are trying to put a real company in the context of their industry. (Check the company's profile in any number of resources and look for their "Primary SIC" to get a four digit code to use as their industry grouping.)

However, as indicated, the keyword search works well, usually ranking several industries by relevance. For example, if I type pizza, I am offered reports on Fast Food and Quickservice Restaurants, Restaurants, Food Distributors, Convenience Stores, and several other options. The reports offer a basic Overview and an additional section on Specific Issues and Trends. Usually there are also links to the websites of industry groups and trade magazines (however, these are not as useful as the materials you would get out of our high quality databases like Business Source Complete). Many reports also include a Quarterly Industry Update, a few data tables of things like employment figures, or links to specific Monthly News stories.

Another handy feature--look for the light blue tab in the top border--are the State (and Canadian Province) profiles which provide a "Big Picture" overview of the business and economic climate of specific locales.

Please note, First Research does not provide extensive or exhaustive information, but it is a useful snapshot for student researchers, or even for job seekers. You will want to combine First Research with a wide variety of other electronic resources. When doing industry research, do take a look at our very useful Industry Information Resource Guide that details other library databases and web and print resources that help fill in the picture.

One final note about the relationship between First Research and Hoover's. At this point, they do not adequately link between one another. If you are in Hoover's and click on the Industries tab, it does eventually search First Research content, but the search results are not an exact match nor are the First Research reports that you pull up in Hoover's exactly the same as those in the separate database. (They are usually briefer, without the add-on tables, links and updates.) Therefore, you are better served by searching both files if you are trying to find information on both companies and industries.

As with all of our databases, First Research is available to any current Suffolk student or faculty from anywhere you have an internet connection.

[FIND First Research on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Business and Management" category.]

Notable E-book: Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Sawyer Library is happy to add another valuable electronic encyclopedia to our online reference options. It is the newly available internet version of Academic Press/Elsevier's Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. The equivalent of a six volume set, this encyclopedia provides a solid, academic overview of many topics related to ocean studies.

The content includes, according to the publisher, 402 original articles covering all the physical, chemical and biological aspects of ocean science. Those articles present "classic scientific theories" as well as the "the newest discoveries, technologies, and applications." Entry authors are "the world's leading researchers" working under "a prestigious editorial board." And the six volumes also feature more than 1900 figures and full color illustrations.

The review that greeted the original paper publication in Choice : Publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries offered a more impartial but equally enthusiastic response. It said, in part: "Destined to become a classic in oceanographic studies, this work achieves its intention to be the most comprehensive, current work in its field. The signed articles, by leading experts in the field, are extensive, well written, and highly informative. Topics covered range from the study of atmospheric input of pollution to the effects of waves on beaches. Many of the articles will not be found in briefer general encyclopedias on this topic. Entries are well indexed and cross-referenced; many list additional citations for further reading. The volumes are well illustrated with graphs, charts, formulas, drawings, and pictures. This will be an extremely useful reference tool for students, educators, or researchers looking for information in oceanographic studies."

When you open the ScienceDirect electronic version, you will see that the entries are delivered in both HTML and PDF form. You may browse through entries alphabetically or by author name. You may also consult the Subject Index--see the link to the left. An even easier approach is to use the quick search in the upper frame to search the content of this particular title.

If I search for Cephalopods, I get a wide variety of entries ranging from a solid overview specifically of the Cephalopoda class to entries on everything from Bioluminescence to Deep-sea Fishes to Ocean Gyre Ecosystems.

Although this encyclopedia is no substitute for the kind of primary research articles you would find in databases like BioOne and Wiley Interscience, it provides useful scholarly introductions to a great many ocean science topics. And unlike our paper reference books, this content would be available to Suffolk students and faculty 24/7, even "Downeast" at the Friedman Field Station!

[FIND the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences by searching the title in our Online Catalog or through the link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

New Database: Morningstar Investment Research Center

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:30:00 +0000

After surviving the financial crash (aka "recession") of 2008, many people are trying to figure what investments, outside of stashing dollar bills in mattresses, make the most sense. One tool that might help Sawyer Library users interested in equities, funds and etfs (exchange-traded funds) is our new database, the Morningstar Investment Research Center.

Anyone who has done general web research into mutual funds has probably seen the basic Morningstar snapshot report with its (1 to 5) star rating system. The short snapshot is freely available--if you don't mind obscuring pop-up boxes and relentless video ads--on the free web version of Morningstar. However, our higher-quality "Library Version" of the resource is much more extensive and much less frustrating.

First of all, our subscription version makes available all of those value-added supplementary reports that Morningstar produces. This content includes the mutual fund Analyst Reports and Stewardship Grades that the free version teases you with, but refuses to show you. The stock evaluation is equally detailed with Analyst Research, the Data Interpreter (Snapshot equivalent), as well as nice presentations of valuation and key ratios. And like many of our financial databases (like S & P NetAdvantage and MergentOnline), Morningstar also provides easy access to company financials and SEC filings.

Morningstar also features (stock-oriented) reports on selected industries, as well as a handy-dandy tool called Portfolio X-Ray that helps you discover how diversified you really are by exposing how much stock and sector overlap you have in your various mutual funds. One downside of tools like Portfolio X-Ray is that you might want to store your information in a personal "account" or folder so that you don't have to re-enter all your funds every time you want to check on your portfolio. That personalization is not yet available, unfortunately. But when Sawyer Library was pricing out the product, I pointed out to the company that this was an important and needed enhancement and they told me that they understood this need and were actually working on developing personalized functionality for their Library Version of the product.

In the meantime, Morningstar Investment Research Center has plenty to offer. And when combined with the the stock and mutual fund reports available through our Value Line Research Center, Suffolk SBS/CAS students and faculty can easily get good quality investment information from well-known and respected sources.

....Unfortunately, good research does not make the stock market go up. More's the pity!

Added Note: Because financial databases are so expensive, we have a limited contract (in terms of "simultaneous users") for most of these resources. So please, don't simply close your browser when you finish using a database like MergentOnline, Corporate Affiliations, or Morningstar. Look instead for the link, usually in or near the upper border, that allows you to "Log Out" or "End Session." This will make it more likely that the next user gets into the database easily.

[FIND Morningstar Investment Research Center on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Business and Management" category.]

Notable E-Book: International Encyclopedia of Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Sawyer Library has recently added and electronic version of an impressive new encyclopedia called the International Encyclopedia of Communication.

Jointly published by Wiley-Blackwell and the International Communication Association (ICA), it represents, according to the publisher, "the definitive reference work in this interdisciplinary and dynamic field." This electronic resource is the equivalent of a 12-volume set containing 1,339 newly-commissioned A-Z entries, divided into 29 editorial areas representing major fields of inquiry, each of which is headed by a leading expert in their respective field. Spanning the breadth of communication studies, entries cover major theories, media and communication phenomena, research methods, problems, concepts, and geographical areas. Entries range from extended explorations of major topics to short descriptions of key concepts.

The International Encyclopedia of Communication was written and edited by an international team of well-respected scholars and teachers, representing the international character of the ICA. Editorial areas include: communication theory and philosophy, interpersonal communication, journalism, intercultural and intergroup communication, media effects, strategic communication/PR, communication and media law and policy, media systems in the world, and communication and technology.

There are multiple ways to use the online version. You may click on the "Explore" option in the upper border to see various subjects, places, periods, people or key topics to browse through. Or you can simply use the search box in the upper right.

If, for example, I search for the term dissonance, I get forty results (listed to the right), ranked for relevance. These start with "Cognitive Dissonance Theory," which is followed shortly thereafter by an entry on "Leon Festinger." Or I can explore other related subjects, topics, and so forth, from the offered options in the colorful left frame.

The ICA hopes that "this unique and inclusive work will strengthen the identity of the growing field of communication studies, support its institutions, and most of all, improve the study of communication problems and phenomena worldwide." And we here at Sawyer Library hope that the Suffolk community finds this a useful online reference source.

[FIND the International Encyclopedia of Communication by searching the title in our Online Catalog or through the link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

What is a Journal's Impact Factor, and How Can I Find It?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:18:00 +0000

An Impact Factor (IF) provides a quantitative assessment of a journal's influence or impact. Thomson Scientific (now Thomson Reuters Scientific) offers the Impact Factor via Journal Citation Reports (JCR). According to Thomson Reuters, the Journal Impact Factor is the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year. A journal’s Impact Factor is determined by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. A Journal Impact Factor of 4.0 means that, on average, the articles published in that journal within the past three years have been cited four times. There must be at least two years of data in order to calculate the Impact Factor.

Using Impact Factors Wisely:

As Thomson Reuters indicates on their Information About page, one should not depend entirely on JCR data to evaluate a journal because:

IF only includes journals indexed by Thomson Reuters Scientific (ISI).

IF does not evaluate individual researchers.

Journals can only be compared within the same discipline. Citation results vary widely across disciplines.

The number of articles found in journals include both research and review articles. "Citation counts in JCR do not distinguish between citations to letters, reviews, or original research articles, even though only original research and review articles are used in IF calculations."

Title changes or changes in format of a journal affects the IF.

Some Additional Methods for Constructing Impact Factors:

Google Scholar - From the Advanced Search screen, enter author and title information to obtain cited references. Publish of Perish may be used to track an author's impact using Google Scholar.

eigenfactor.org - Ranking and Mapping Scientific Journals

Journal Ranking - Center for Journal Ranking (CJR)

To Find Journal Citation Reports:

Go to the Mildred F. Sawyer's home page, and select "Databases by Subject." Choose "Business and Management" or "Social Sciences" and click on Journal Citation Reports in the list.

To Utilyze JCR:

From the opening screen, select an option.

View journals by Subject, Publisher, Country/Territory. The default option is subject categorySearch for a specific journal.

Search for a specific title.

View all journals in the JCR edition and year you selected. (The Sawyer Library has the Social Sciences edition from 1998 forward).

For example, if searching by Subject Category, select the subject from the second screen, and choose data sorted by journal title, total cites, impact factor, or other options provided from the drop-down menu. Use the Help button for more detailed information and instructions.

[FIND Journal Citation Reports in our "Databases by Subject" Lists for Business and Management and for Social Sciences]

Notable Ebook - Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:46:00 +0000

We are happy to offer a new edition of a valuable 6 volume encyclopedia, via our easy-to-use electronic reference platform, Gale Virtual Reference Library. The set is the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (2008). This new edition adds nearly 600 entirely new topics over the award-winning first edition of 1996. It also replaces some 150 obsolete entries and provides substantial revisions to hundreds more. According to the publisher, Scribner's/Gale, Every one of the 5,700+ entries "has been reviewed for currency of content and bibliography. An entirely new illustration program features over 100 full-color photographs in addition to hundreds in black-and-white. National statistics have been conveniently tabulated for every one of Latin America's 37 countries. New content addresses research on prehistoric environments and cultures, U.S. Haitian interventions, the consequences of NAFTA and increased Mexican immigration, the troubled aftermaths of Pinochet's Chile and Fujimori's Peru, truth and reconciliation commissions, and the still-contested legacy of the Mexico City massacre of 1968. New leaders like Brazil's Lula da Silva and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez are profiled along with hundreds of other rising figures in politics, letters, and the arts. Newly commissioned master essays synthesize current knowledge on such major regional themes as Democracy in the Americas, Hemispheric Affairs, and the Hispanic Impact on the U.S."

Because the resource is cultural, too, you will find entries on film and festivals (like Carnival), and author profile entries (like the one on Jamaica Kincaid), in addition to the many on more social science and history-related topics like indigenous peoples, public health, and U.S. policies towards Latin America, like the "Big Stick Policy."

If you go directly to the page for the Encyclopedia, simply look for the yellow search box to the left of the page and enter the topic you are hoping to find. Then click the box below to search specifically "within this publication." And because the search delves into fulltext, if I search "samba," I get not only entries on Samba, and Samba Schools, but also related articles on Popular Music and Dance and on great Samba artists like Sinhô and Clara Nunes.

And remember, if I don't click that "within this publication" box on the opening screen, GVRL will actually check all of its other collections for my topic. In the case of "Samba," I get a variety of entries, including several from Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, as well.

We hope you find this new encyclopedia useful. And the great thing about eReference is that it is not only easy to search, but also available 24/7 to any current Suffolk student or faculty with an internet connection.

[FIND the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture by searching the title in our Online Catalog, or through the Gale Virtual Reference Library link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

New Database: Cambridge Histories Online

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Up in the stacks of Sawyer Library, we have many valuable (and heavy!) volumes in the history series published by the Cambridge University Press. Sadly, the scholarly content of these books hasn't gotten as much use as it deserves. But we hope that will now change with the purchase of an impressive, cross-searchable archive of all of the Cambridge History volumes published since 1960.

Cambridge Histories Online (CHO) self-describes as a "unique historical reference compendium" that "allows instant access to the renowned texts of the Cambridge Histories series. With access to the most up to date and authoritative scholarly content, Cambridge Histories Online is an invaluable resource, for undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and researchers alike.

All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research."

CHO currently contains over 250 volumes published since 1960, equating to around 196,000 pages of historical scholarship covering not just world history, but also histories of cultural fields like music and theatre, and even science. Over 15 different academic subjects are covered by the archive. And more electronic volumes will be added each year.

Users can search and browse content (basic & advanced search and a content specific browse), and the database provides options for personalization including saved & most recent searches, workspaces, bookmarks and citation export functionality.

We hope that the increased ease of access and searching will make these useful historical series a more attractive research option for students and faculty alike.

[FIND Cambridge Histories Online on our "Databases by Subject" lists for Social Sciences, Literature, Arts and Humanities, and the Sciences].

RefWorks

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Sellers) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

RefWorks is a database provided by the Mildred F. Sawyer Library which allows the user to collect and organize references and access them from any Internet-connected computer. References or citations may be organized into folders according to topics, and they may be utilized to create a bibliography using MLA, APA, or other style format. RefWorks offers FAQs, Tutorial Basics, and a Quick Start Guide, in order to assist the new user in the most efficient use of its content.

Setting Up a RefWorks Account:

You must be on campus to sign up for a RefWorks account. Go to "Databases by Subject" from the Mildred F. Sawyer Library home page, and choose any of the first five broad subjects. RefWorks is listed under each subject. Click on "Sign up for an Individual Account." Follow the instructions for creating an individual account. You may choose your own username and password. After you have followed the sign-up procedure, you will receive a confirmation email which will include the Suffolk University Subscriber Group Code. You may need to use this code to access your RefWorks account from off campus.

Exporting Database Search Citations Directly into RefWorks:

After conducting a search and selecting citations, some databases allow the user to directly export these results into RefWorks. For example, if you are using the Academic OneFile database, you can export selected references (citations) directly into your RefWorks account, after saving them to a folder. Go to "Tools" and select "citation tools," choose the format (APA, MLA, etc.), and directly import the citation into your RefWorks account.

Many databases, such as Business Source Complete, JSTOR, Project Muse, PsycINFO, CQ Researcher, LexisNexis Academic, and others, allow the direct export of citations into RefWorks. Most require that selected citations be saved to the database folder first. For further information concerning direct export databases, see RefWorks Direct Export Partners.

Some Databases Require an Import Filter:

For those databases which are not direct export partners, RefWorks offers import filters for importing database search results into RefWorks. For the most comprehensive listing and instructions for use of imports, sign on to your account, select the Help tab, and choose "Getting References into Your Account." Instructions are detailed and quite helpful. In many cases, after completing a search, save the results as a text file. Choose the appropriate filter for the database that was used, and import the file.

Write-N-Cite:

Write-N-Cite is a utility that formats in-text citations and bibliographies. The Write-N-Cite plug-in inserts tags for your citation into your document as you type. Once you have saved and named the document, you need only choose your ciation style and click Create. The formating is completed quickly. To use Write-N-Cite you must first download the Write-N-Cite utility from the Tools pull-down menu. This plug-in is compatable with both Windows and Macintosh applications.

RefWorks is an extremely useful database for student and faculty research. Take advantage of the tutorials and guides mentioned earlier, and expect a bit of a learning curve when first using RefWorks. Check out our new RefWorks Resource Guide.

[FIND RefWorks in our "Databases by Subject" List within any of the first five categories].

Database Alert: IE 7 Causes Scary Warnings and Blocked Connections

noreply@blogger.com (Kathi Maio) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:29:00 +0000

Library database access is a fairly sophisticated process involving several systems and applications working in harmony together. Unfortunately, some harmony is hard to achieve--especially with the constant changes with both databases and browsers. We have discovered some issues with database access related to Internet Explorer 7, the latest upgrade to the most popular web browser.

The problem appears related to IE7 balking when a library user tries to access a database through the proxy server--and all of our database run through the proxy. (The proxy server is the library tool that allows you to be authenticated as a Suffolk user and then allows you to be referred into the database, off- or on-campus.)

Since the "security certificate" of the database belongs to the database company, it doesn't include the parts of the URL (or web address/link) that sends the connection through the proxy. Therefore, IE7 throws up a "Danger, Will Robinson!" message that can either frighten the library user, or in some cases, actually interfere with your access to the database.

Right now, we know that this happens when JSTOR users try to access their MyJSTOR accounts. (In this case, you just get a scary warning.) It also happens in Country Commerce, where the warning screen actually interferes with your successful login to the database.

Here is the problem and how to solve it:

If I try to access Country Commerce using the standard installation version of Internet Explorer 7, I first get this scary screen, when it tries to connect:

IE7 thinks it is doing you a favor by telling you not to attempt to connect to the next page. If you click the Continue to this website (not recommended) option, in Country Commerce, the referral will fail and you will not get into the database. Instead, you'll reach the site, but it will demand that you "login." As in this screenshot:

Since we do not use database manual logins, you would not be able to access the database.

What you need to do, to not face this issue, is to tell IE7 that it doesn't need to worry about website security certificates and whether they seem to match.

To adjust this setting. Look at the top menu settings on your Internet Explorer 7 browser. Choose the Tools option

Then click on the bottom Internet Options

Click on the far right Advanced tab. And then scroll to the bottom

UNclick (remove the check mark) in the box that reads "Warn about certificate address mismatch."

Then click the Apply button at the bottom, and then the OK button at the bottom.

See, too, the starred note at this option. It indicates that this change will not go into effect until you restart (close and re-open) your IE7 browser.

This adjustment should allow you to turn off the scary warnings in some databases and avoid the interference that occurs in others.

We are in contact with our database vendors about this issue, but this is a work-around that will alleviate the problem, for now.