Information Science 210
Of course please stop by the reference desk on the third floor if you are working in the library and have questions. Hours are posted on the library's home page.
Some Advice Concerning the Information Problems -- As Professor Roberts has probably already stressed you need to read the questions carefully and determine who your audience is. For example, in the question concerning home schooling you would not want to present information that asserts home schooling is superior to traditional schooling. You do after all work for the department of public instruction and if the tax break goes through you could see a decline in enrollment, and ultimately job security. Of course you would want to know what those arguments are in case you have to counter them, but you would most certainly want to find information that says home schooling is inferior when compared to public instruction.
In the case concerning avian flu and poultry imports you would not need to be as careful about packaging the information since the information need of your boss does not require that you persuade, but rather educate.
A Note About the Suggested Resources and Search Strategies -- The resources below and the search strategies that are suggested are not meant to be exact blueprints of the research process, but rather they serve as starting points. Additional databases may be useful depending on your topic. To see a list of databases by subject click HERE . Also, the kewords I suggest are by no means the only ones, and you may come up with better ones as you learn more about your topic. Be creative and think of all the different possible keywords to express your information need.
Case 1: AVIAN FLU
You work for a national grocery wholesaler. Your boss is getting worried about avian flu and your supply of poultry. Most of your suppliers are domestic; however, you have had international suppliers. He asks you to research the situation, summarize the relevant information and report to the executive leadership team.
Cofrin Library Catalog “avian flu” or “bird flu”
CQ Researcher – Researcher -- enter bird flu
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- (avian or bird flu) and poultry and international
OmniFILE FT Mega (Wilson)
Proquest Newspapers -- Select advanced search. Enter avian flu in one box and poultry in the one below. Select the down arrow to the right to switch from "citation and abstract" to "Document title."
Case 2: E. COLI
You work for a national fast-food chain. Your manager is concerned about the prospect of an E. coli outbreak, given others that have occurred in the industry. She asks that you research the situation, summarize the relevant information and report to the executive leadership team.
Cofrin Library Catalog -- "escherichia coli"
CQ Researcher -- Food Safety
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- e coli and food safety
Proquest Newspapers -- e coli and fast food industry
Case 3: HOME SCHOOLING
You work for the department of public instruction for a state. The buzz is that state legislators want to introduce legislation to provide funding for home schooling (in the form of some tax credit). A legislator, who hasn’t yet decided how he stands on the issue, wants to know the value of home schooling for educating the state’s children. What recommendations would you make?
Cofrin Library Catalog -- “home schooling”
CQ Researcher – Researcher -- enter home schooling
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- Select Choose Databases and put a check in the box next to ERIC -- Return to search screen -- select Advanced Search -- Home school* in title, achievement in all fields.
OmniFILE FT Mega (Wilson)
Proquest Newspapers -- Select Advanced Search -- Enter home schooling in the first box, and grades in the box below. Search for the first term in the titles of all articles, and the second term in the abstracts.
Case 4: GAMING
You live in Cedar Dam, Wisconsin, population 25,000. A Wisconsin Native American tribe has petitioned your city government for permission to build a casino, including bingo, slots, hotel, poker, blackjack, etc. The city counsel wants you to research the issue of gaming in communities and report back to the counsel.
Cofrin Library Catalog -- gambling and wisconsin
CQ Researcher -- enter gaming
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- Select Choose Databases and put a check in the box next to Business Source Elite. Return to search screen.
OmniFILE FT Mega (Wilson)
Proquest Newspapers -- Select Advanced Search -- Enter gaming in the first box and economic benefits in the box below. Search for both in the abstracts.
Case 5: FOOD PYRAMID
Your client is the FDA, which is being pressured by some medical and nutrition groups to revise the food pyramid. What change would you recommend to the FDA?
Cofrin Library Catalog -- nutrition and diet
HealthSource -- food pyramid and nutrition*
Medline -- food pyramid and nutrition*
Proquest Newspapers -- select the orange TOPICS tab towards the top of the screen, enter "nutrition" and view the documents of interest
Case 6: LEGAL DRINKING AGE
Your client is the Wisconsin Tavern League. They would like to see the legal drinking age lowered to 19 and will be lobbying State Congress for a change. Research this issue and make a recommendation to the Wisconsin Tavern League.
Cofrin Library Catalog -- "drinking age" and legislation
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- drinking age and United States
OmniFILE FT Mega (Wilson) -- drinking age and law
Proquest Newspapers -- drinking age and Wisconsin
Case 7: SCHOOL VIOLENCE
Your client is the Green Bay Board of Education. They are concerned with increasing incidents of school violence. They have asked you to research the issue of violence in schools and make a recommendation to them at the next School Board meeting.
Cofrin Library Catalog -- "school violence" ; new search "bullying in schools"
CQ Researcher -- Bullying
ERIC -- school violence and prevention
Education Full Text -- school violence and prevention
check the peer review limit option
Proquest Newspapers -- select the orange TOPICS tab towards the top of the screen, enter "school violence" view the documents of interest
Case 8: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
Your client is a small, private liberal arts college. They recently received a very large donation of money. The donor intended for the money to be spent updating computer technology in the classroom and dorms. You have, however, other uses for the money. What is the value of technology in improving students’ thinking skills? You need to report to the executive leadership team on this issue.
Cofrin Libray Catalog -- education and technology and learning
Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost-- Select Choose Databases and put a check in the box next to ERIC -- Return to search screen -- enter (technology or computers or internet) and student learning and achievement
OmniFILE FT Mega (Wilson)
Proquest Newspapers -- Select Advanced Search -- Enter technology in the first search box and student learning in the one below. Search for both in abstracts.