English 110 -- Researching yourself

Find books:

McIntyre Online Catalog: search the catalog for books, government documents, videos/DVDs/CDs

• Some useful subject headings for searching in the library catalog are:
  • cities and towns -- ratings
  • [name of country, state or city] -- guidebooks
  • [name of country, state or city] -- social life and customs
  • [name of country, state or city] -- description and travel
• Sometimes it is useful to think about your specific topic in a broader context. For example, if you are writing an article about a midwestern city, consider searching for an encyclopedia on the midwest or cities, etc., that might include your city or information relevant to your locale.
• How to locate books in McIntyre Library: interpret the information in the catalog and understand the call numbers used to arrange books and media on the shelves.

Find articles:

• Find Articles -- databases by discipline
• Newspaper databases: Search for news about your topic from thousands of regional, national and international newspapers, wire services, news releases, broadcast transcripts, and more.
• Periodical list: find out what journals/magazines/newspapers McIntyre Library has (online or in print)

Citing Sources

• Formatting Citations: (MLA & APA examples)
• Documenting Sources from dianahacker.com (MLA) (APA)
• NoodleTools: generate citations online (APA and MLA)

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the failure--intentional or unintentional--to give someone else credit for his/her words, ideas or creative work. It can range from improperly documenting a source in a paper to downloading an entire paper from the Web and turning it in as your own work. Find out more:

• In Your Own Words (UW Eau Claire, McIntyre Library)
• Web Competency and Information Literacy (San Mateo Community College)
• Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing (Miguel Roig, St. John's Univ.)

Ancestry (Library Edition) -- database of historical public records, including census data, immigration records and more.

City Directories: look up addresses or phone numbers and find the people associated with them. These directories also give you information such as age bracket of resident, home ownership status, years at residence.

• Chippewa Valley Wisconsin : Polk city directory including Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire Counties
  Ref F589.E2 E2
  (older editions available in Special Collections)
• Cole Cross Reference Directory (Eau Claire, LaCrosse)
  Ref F589.E2 C62

American Factfinder: U.S. Census data, including detailed population and demographic data for regions, states, cities, neighborhoods and more

American Decades: this 10-volume set devotes a volume to each decade of the 20th century, providing an overview of the major events, trends, popular culture and developments of the time. This may be useful in providing context for a person about whom you are writing.
Reference E169.12 .A419 1994

County and City Data Book: compilation of some Census data
Ref Desk C 3.134/2: C 83/2/

Lifestyle Market Analyst: provides information on the interests, popular hobbies and activities by geographic and demographic areas. (Eau Claire data can be found under LaCrosse as they are part of the same designated market area (DMA))
Reference Desk HF5415.33.U6 L54

Newspaper databases (especially LexisNexis and ProQuest)
Searching regional and local newspapers can provide a wealth of information about a location.

Leader-Telegram: search the archives of the Leader-Telegram for local information. Note: our library subscription to this archive enables only one person at a time to access the archives, so if it's busy, try again later.

Sperlings BestPlaces: compare cities on a number of criteria, such as cost of living, crime, education.

• Scholarly vs. popular journals: How to tell the difference
• Consider the Source: determine the quality/credibility of your information sources

• Taking a stand: resources for researching controversial issues and writing persuasive papers
• Library User's Manual