Researching Topics in Digital Literacy

J10:07 Digital Literacy / Tracy

Winter Term 2010

Erskine College / McCain Library

Prepared by John Kennerly
kennerly@erskine.edu

Web version of this guide (with resource links) available at: http://www.erskine.edu/library/libinstruct.htm

Finding Articles
Academic OneFile (DISCUS) ERIC
Academic Search Premier JSTOR
Educator’s Reference Complete (DISCUS) Teacher Reference Center
To access these databases or learn more about them, see the full version of this guide online at
http://www.erskine.edu/library/libinstruct.htm.

Finding Books and Journals

Finding Books:

McCain Library Catalog – http://www.erskine.edu/library/catalog

>> Search the collections at Erskine’s McCain Library. (See also “PASCAL Delivers” below.)
WorldCat – http://www.worldcat.org (free version)
>> Search for books available in libraries worldwide.

Finding Journals:

Journal Finder – http://atoz.ebsco.com/search.asp?Id=erskcol

>> Search or browse (by title) a list of all print and electronic journals, magazines, and newspapers
provided by McCain Library.

Borrowing from Other Libraries

PASCAL Delivers:

PASCAL Delivers is a rapid book-delivery service that allows students and faculty at South Carolina's
colleges and universities to place an online request for books from any academic library in the state.
Requested books are delivered to McCain Library for pick-up, typically within 3-4 days. The online
requesting system is seamlessly tied into the McCain Library Catalog. Search our catalog first for a book.
If we do not own it, you then have the option of clicking through to the statewide PASCAL system which
lets you know if a copy of the book is available at another library in SC. If so, you can make an online
request for the book and simply wait for it to arrive at Erskine.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL):

For books not available for use through PASCAL Delivers, you may place an interlibrary loan (ILL)
request to get the material from another library outside of SC. You will also need to use ILL to request
copies of journal articles that McCain Library does not own. Although some lending libraries respond in a

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week or less, it is good to allow at least 2 weeks for the materials to arrive for your use. ILL forms are
available both in the library and online at http://www.erskine.edu/library/ill2.htm. If you need assistance,
contact Sara Morrison (morrison@erskine.edu or 379-8747).

Citing Your Sources

It is important to give proper credit to others when you incorporate their works into your own—whether
they be from a journal article (print or online), book, website, video, or any other source.

For this class, you will be working with the APA style to cite your sources. The newly-released 6th edition
of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2009) offers guidance
on and examples of how to cite sources. A copy of this latest edition of the APA style manual is available
in the library’s Reference Collection (call number: REF BF 76.7 .P83 2010).

A few online resources that may prove helpful with the APA style (formatting and examples) are:

APA Style (American Psychological Association)

http://www.apastyle.org
[Companion website to the 6th edition of the APA style manual. Covers some basics on the APA
style and includes some brief video tutorials.]

APA Formatting and Style Guide (Online Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
[Provides general guidelines on the proper use of APA Style as well as examples of how to cite
print, electronic, and other non-print sources.]

APA Citation Style (University of Houston Libraries)

http://info.lib.uh.edu/research/help/apaonline.html

APA Style Guide (Sacramento State University Library)

http://library.csus.edu/guides/rogenmoserd/general/apa.html
[Two other guides similar to the Purdue OWL guide to APA style.]

In addition, some databases now provide formatted citations for included items (i.e. journal articles) that
may be cut and pasted into a bibliography. Be careful, though, to make sure that you are using a citation
that is properly formatted to the APA style.

Reference Assistance
If—after your best efforts—you have trouble finding useful materials, we encourage you to talk to a
librarian. The librarians can help you understand the research process and assist you in using the library's
resources. Bottom line? If you have trouble locating useful sources, see a librarian (or send us an email at
library@erskine.edu).

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