Off The Shelf

Last week I blogged about a new guide for CQ Researcher recently available.  This week I wanted to announce the Credo Reference User Guide is also now available.  To access the guide just go to the to the Library Homepage and following this path:

1. Click Articles, Books and More (your one-stop-shop for all of the Capella subscribed databases)
2. Scroll down the alphabetical list of databases until you see Credo Reference.  Underneath the database link is the link to the User Guide.  Click to open!

Earlier this year Robin blogged about how Credo Reference (along with Gale Virtual Reference Library) are helpful in gathering background information.  Credo includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies, quotations, and bilingual dictionaries.  Check out her blog post for more information!

-Sommer

There’s a new guide available for learning more about and using CQ Researcher database. You can find it by going to the Library Homepage and following this path:

1. Click Articles, Books and More (your one-stop-shop for all of the Capella subscribed databases)
2. Scroll down the alphabetical list of databases until you see CQ Researcher.  Underneath the database link is the link to the User Guide.  Click to open!

CQ Researcher publishes 44 unbiased, heavily researched reports each year on timely and often controversial issues relating to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Reports are written by “seasoned” journalists and include a link to the author’s brief biography.

Note: CQ Researcher is not a peer reviewed journal.

CQ Researcher is a great source for undergraduates, but can also be useful for assignments not requiring peer reviewed articles or for finding background information on a topic that is considered controversial.

Check it out today!

-Sommer

An anecdotal list in no particular order.

1. You have been searching for 20 minutes to 1 hour with no success (don’t wait hours or days to get help).

2. You want to learn how to use RefWorks to store and organize your Library Research.

3.  You are starting your Dissertataion Literature Review and want to discuss some strategies.

4. You are working on your Comprehensive Exam and need help finding information on a specific topic.

5.  You are new to Capella and would like an overview of  the Library. Click here for an online Tour of the Library.

6.  You want to know what the weather is like in Minneapolis – First Hand!

7.  You opened Lexis Nexis or any database and it frightens you.

8.  You need to know “what the heck” a peer-reviewed article is and WHY faculty are so obsessed with them.  Click here for information on “Peer-Reviewed Articles and How to Find Them”.

9.  You want help evaluating a source that you found outside the Library. Click here for a guide on Evaluating Sources.

10.  You are about to fling your computer at the wall and quit Capella because you can’t find information on your topic.

Calling a Capella Librarian: Click Here to hear what a typical call sounds like.

Robin

Did you know that 14% of Capella learners are part of the military? Whether active duty, veterans, reservists, or Department of Defense/Uniformed Services personnel, the military makes up a large percentage of the learners we serve.

Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you’re a family member or friend. Maybe you’re simply interested in researching about this select group of individuals and the myriad of resources available to them and others connected to or affected by military life.

Here are a few guides and resources compiled by librarians at other institutions you may find informative and useful. In particular, each guide includes links to some wonderful web resources that provide services and information to military personnel.

• http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/milsci (by Kathleen Hanna at IUPUI)

• http://people.sfcollege.edu/diana.matthews/subjguide/veterans.htm (by Diana Matthews at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL)

• http://nnlm.gov/training/veteranshealth/webresources.pdf (compiled by Terri Ottosen at the U of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library)

• http://www.wo.ala.org/veteransinfo/index.php?title=Main_Page (American Library Association’s – Veterans Information @ Your Library site)

• http://www.loc.gov/vets/ (Library of Congress Veterans History Project)

Beyond these resources, Capella also has an Armed Forces Department that supports all military and veteran learners. Visit their site on iGuide to find contact information for the Armed Forces and Veteran Support staff, as well as information about VA Resources, Tuition Assistance, Military Scholarships, and Career Resources just to name a few things.

To navigate to their website go to iGuide – click Learner Services – click Armed Forces Support — click Armed Forces Support Home.

–Jennie

Were you aware that the Library has two specialized databases that contain subject specific encyclopedias?  You can find the databases Gale Virtual Reference and CREDO reference listed under the  Articles, Books and More link on the Library’s home page. So why would you want to use subject specific encyclopedias when all you hear is that you need peer-reviewed resources for your coursework and papers?

Well here are a couple of reasons:

If you are having trouble understanding concepts  in a textbook, or in an article,  you may want to look them up in these encyclopedias to get a brief overview of the topic. The articles in these subject specific encyclopedias are very often written by experts in the field and may help you to further understand the concept/topic.

If you are starting a search in the Library databases and not getting results, or even before you start searching you may want to review your topic in one of these encyclopedias.  You can often get ideas for alternative search terms or ways to describe your topic by reading these brief articles.

So the next time you are struggling to understand a concept or find articles on a topic check out one of these databases of specialized encyclopedias to see if they can help move you forward with your research!

Robin

Erin’s blog post What makes that analysis so meta? earlier this month sparked an interest to provide some further information and examples of this quantitative method of research.

In our library database Gale Virtual Reference Library a search of Meta-analysis finds several encyclopedia entries that explain in detail more about this technique. Click on the article title link to access these entries in Gale..

• Huffcutt, Allen. (2007). Meta-Analysis. In Steven Rogelberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 2. (480-483). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library.
• Last, John M. (2002). Meta-Analysis. In Lester Breslow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Public Health, Vol. 3. (764-765). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library.

And here are some article examples using the meta-analysis research method roughly categorized by school:

Psychology

• Malouff, J., Thorsteinsson, E., Schutte, N., & Rooke, S. (2009, July). Effects of Vicarious Punishment: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of General Psychology, 136(3), 271-286. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Education

• Williams, S. (2006, September). The Effectiveness of Distance Education in Allied Health Science Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Outcomes. American Journal of Distance Education, 20(3), 127-141. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1207/s15389286ajde2003_2

Human Services/Public Service Leadership

• Chappell, C. (2004, June). Post-Secondary Correctional Education and Recidivism: A Meta-Analysis of Research Conducted 1990-1999. Journal of Correctional Education, 55(2), 148-169. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
• Leschied, A., Chiodo, D., Nowicki, E., & Rodger, S. (2008, July). Childhood Predictors of Adult Criminality: A Meta-Analysis Drawn from the Prospective Longitudinal Literature. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 50(4), 435-467. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Business

• Forza, C., & Nuzzo, F. (1998, March). Meta-analysis applied to operations management: summarizing the results of empirical research. International Journal of Production Research, 36(3), 837-861. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1080/002075498193714

Technology

• Hannay, J., Dybå, T., Arisholm, E., & Sjøberg, D. (2009, July). The effectiveness of pair programming: A meta-analysis. Information & Software Technology, 51(7), 1110-1122. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2009.02.001

Some easy reading for you during quarter break. I’m sure if you brought one of these articles to your 4th of July bash of choice you’d be the hit of the party!

-Sommer

For those of you who will soon be wrapping up at the Jacksonville colloquium (or have attended any other colloquia), here are some of the guides and tutorials the librarians talked about at the library sessions.

Nearly every guide mentioned at the library’s colloquia sessions are included in a special section of our Guides & Tutorials page. To get to that section, just follow these steps.

1) From the Library Homepage click Guides & Tutorials.

2) There are several bulleted links at the top of the page that link to different sections. Click Resources for Doctoral Learners to jump to the section that includes the guides you heard about at Colloquia.

3) From here you can select a guide that piqued your interest at the colloquium!

Got questions? Ask a Librarian!

-Sommer

The Chronicle of Higher Education provides the latest news in Higher Education. Capella learners, faculty and staff all have access to this resource.  Here are some instructions to setting up an email alert for the highlights of the daily issue and how to access the full text of articles that interest you.

To set up an email alert (this alerts you to the contents of the most current issue): 

Click the Journal and Book Locator link on the Library Web site through iGuide and type the Chronicle of Higher Education in the search box. Several access options come up, make sure you click on the Publishers Site link for the most current issue. 

To sign up for the daily e-mail of highlights from the Chronicle, scroll down on the page and click the link for Chronicle e-mail alerts (see below).  After you sign up you will get the daily email.

Once you have the email and you want to see the full text of an article (or anytime you have a citation for the Chronicle and want to see the article), go again to the Journal and Book Locator on the Library’s Web site, search for the Chronicle and click the Publisher’s Site link. The picture below highlights the links to the current and back issues.

 If you have any questions Ask-a-Librarian!

Robin

While looking for quantitative studies, you may have come across the meta-analysis.  At first glance it may remind you of a literature review article, since it looks at so many different studies in a single area.  But it’s actually a bit more precise than that.

A meta-analysis lets the researcher compile the results from multiple quantitative research studies on a specific topic.  The compiled studies will have a few differences from each other, are are typically done by a number of different researchers.

Many research studies are small, and may give conflicting results, so the meta-analysis provides an opportunity to find more significant results that give a clearer picture of what’s really going on.

Curious to see what one looks like?  Why not try the following from the Capella Library:

A Meta-Analysis of the Five Factor Model of Personality and Academic Performance by Arthur Poropat.

You can see the literature review, the methods, and the results of the study.  And perhaps it may give you insight into your own academic achievement . . .

- Erin

As with every new quarter, the library’s been getting a lot of questions about accessing textbooks and course readings. Exactly one year ago today we posted to the blog a FAQ about these common questions.

The answers are still the same, so if you have a question about what to do about your required readings, take a quick look at our post:

Course Readings & Textbooks

- Erin