Category: research help

Try Our New Ask Us Service.

Kimberly

askus

One of our tasks this summer was to build a database of frequently asked questions and answers. The result is a new service that we are calling Ask Us.

Knowing that others have asked the same question is a comfort, but more than that, seeing questions you might not have intended to ask but wanted to know can help you to learn new things.

Here are a few examples:

Access is available in a number of ways:

If you have a question that is not answered, you can submit your question and your email address to get an answer. If the question is asked a few times, we’ll add it to the knowledge base. Of course, you can still visit our reference librarians in person at the library and we encourage you to do so, but try this service out. Give it a spin and see what questions others are asking and what the answers are.

Popular Drop-in Workshop This Week

Kimberly

Have a paper or project due soon, and need information to complete it?  Due to the overwhelming popularity last week, we are offering this opportunity again.ResearchHelpDrop in to:

“I just need three sources by tomorrow” – a research workshop.

Bring whatever you are working on and get immediate expert assistance in finding the information you need, whether it be articles, statistics, company information, or books. You will walk away with the source or two (or three) that you need!

You have two opportunities to attend this week:

  • Monday, April 6th – 2pm-3pm
  • Wednesday, April 8th – 1pm-2pm

(No RSVP necessary; come in anytime during the hour)

These sessions will take place in the Research Instruction Center (Room 11) located on the library’s lower level. (Coffee, Tea & Snacks are available).

Learn to Use RefWorks in 20 Minutes

Kimberly


Want to learn how to use Refworks? These video clips are available to help.

RefWorks is a tool that creates bibliographies and formats research papers in the citation style of your choice (e.g. APA, MLA). Learn to export citations, create bibliographies, and save and organize sources for all your research papers and projects – all in one place.

If you decide you’d like to use Refworks, just visit RefWorks and look for the link to “Sign up for a New Account”. It is important to use your Bentley University e-mail address when creating this account. This works best when you are on campus. Contact the Reference Desk if you need help creating an account from Off Campus.

How Do I Find Books & Articles While Encore Is Down?

Lisa

We are sorry to report that we are still experiencing intermittent problems with Encore (aka the search box on our home page).  As you know, Encore search is used to find books, DVDs and articles from some of the library’s databases.  But did you know that when Encore is down you can easily find these things using other search tools and databases?

How do I find a book, DVD, streaming film, audiobook or eBook?

  • Use the library’s “Classic Catalog”.  There is a link to the Classic Catalog underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.

How do I find articles or other research materials on a topic?

There are two ways to access the library’s databases when you want to search for articles on a topic:

  • When you know exactly which database you want to search (e.g. ABI Inform, Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Mintel, etc.), select that database from the Databases A-Z page. There is a link to Databases A-Z  underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.
  • If you want to choose from a list of databases in a topical/subject area (e.g. management, psychology, companies and industries, etc.), start at the Databases by Subject page. There is a link to Databases By Subject underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.

How do I find an article when I know the title of the article and the name of the journal that the article appears in? (i.e. you have a citation)

If you know the title of article and the name of the journal, you can track down the article using the “Journal Finder”:

  • Go to the library’s home page and click on the Journal Finder tab above the search box.
  • Enter the title of the journal in the Journal Finder search box. The Journal Finder will tell you if the full-text is available, the database it can be found in, and the dates available.
  • If the journal appears in one of the library’s databases, click the link to go to that database. When you have landed in the database, you will usually have two options for finding the article:
    • Use the database’s search box to find the article.  Use the title of the article or the author’s name as search terms/phrase.
    • Use the database’s browse-by-date options to locate the article.

If you need help with anything listed above, just ask!  To get help from a reference librarian please visit the Reference Desk, call 781.891.2300, email refdesk@bentley.edu, use our chat/IM widget, or text 781.990.2273.  You can find the Reference Desk hours on the Ask a Librarian page.

Ask a Librarian! Visit, call, email, text or chat.

Lisa

9-4-2013 10-45-52 AM

Reference librarians are available 7 days a week to answer your questions and provide research assistance. It’s easy to connect with a librarian in person, on the phone, via email and by IM/chat!

Full details, including our hours, contact information and the “Ask Us” chat widget are available on the Ask a Librarian page.

Research Guides to the Rescue

Lisa

What do you do when you don’t have time to ask a librarian for help? Where can you turn for a list of the best databases or books to use for your class assignment? Where do you get help when the Reference Desk is closed? Give our online library research guides a try!

Library research guides are available for a number of popular research topics and course assignments (like GB214 and GB320). The guides are designed by Bentley Reference Librarians to help you locate the best resources for your research. Research guides can answer questions like:

“How do I get information about a company?”

“Where do I find financial ratios for an industry?”

“Which databases should I use to get articles for my Business Ethics paper?”

“How do I cite sources in APA Style?”

“I’m taking GB214. What are the best databases for my assignment?”

The entire collection of library research guides is available at http://libguides.bentley.edu/, or just look for the link on our homepage.

Library Research Guides
Look for the Research Guides link on our homepage.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for a library research guide please comment on this post. Don’t forget, you can Ask a Librarian for help 7 days a week! Visit us in-person at the library, send us an email (redesk@bentley.edu), use our chat widget, or give us a call at 781.891.2300.

I Just Need 3 Sources Workshop: March 4 & March 6

Kimberly

ResearchHelpHave a paper or project due soon, and need information to complete it?

Drop in to:

“I Just Need 3 Sources By Tomorrow!”
Drop-In Research Help

Bring whatever you are working on to a reference librarian and get immediate expert assistance in finding the information you need, whether it be articles, statistics, company information, or books. You will walk away with the source or two (or three) that you need!

Three sessions:

  • Monday, March 4, 2:30 to 3:30 (during activity period)
  • Wednesday, March 6, 1:00 to 2:00 (during activity period)
  • Wednesday, March 6, 5:00 to 6:00

(No RSVP necessary; come in anytime during the hour)

These sessions will take place in the Research Instruction Center (Room 11) located on the library’s lower level.

Citation Frustration? These Sources Will Help.

Lisa

Citing sources is important and necessary. It can also be confusing and frustrating. Every student is familiar with the nerve-wracking task of triple-checking their work to make sure the parentheses are in the proper place, the words are appropriately capitalized and italicized, and the punctuation is exactly right.

We (students, professor and librarians alike) are left to wonder why the people who create the rules don’t agree on a standard format.  Case in point, the three major citation styles even differ on what to call the list of citations at the end of a paper. In APA style it’s called a “Reference List”, MLA style refers to it as “Works Cited” and the Chicago Manual of Style uses the term “Bibliography”.  Fortunately, there are many excellent resources that provide citation examples and guidance:

Guide to Citing Sources libguides.bentley.edu/citingsources

While this guide points you to many sources, here are my personal Top 3 Picks:

  1. Research and Documentation Online – the companion web site to the popular handbook, A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker. This site provides examples of APA (Social Sciences), MLA (Humanities), Chicago (History) and CSE (Science)  in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, informational notes, and Works Cited/Reference List pages. You may also view sample research papers.
  2. The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) – provides numerous examples for the general format of APA and MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and Works Cited/Reference List pages.
  3. And last but not least, our very own Bentley Library Guide to Citing Online Business Sources in APA Style. This guide provides a list of APA style citation examples for our business databases (e.g. Mintel, IBISWorld, ProQuest).

Ask a Librarian library.bentley.edu/research/askalibrarian.asp

Visit the reference desk or contact a reference librarian via email, phone or IM/chat.  Librarians can be especially helpful in cases where the style manual doesn’t have an exact example of how to cite an unusual source, like a Trading Room resource or a library database.

RefWorks ezp.bentley.edu/login?url=http://refworks.com/refworks

RefWorks is a citation management tool that the Bentley Library subscribes to. It’s a little like EasyBib, but different, and every Bentley student gets their own personal account. RefWorks helps you create bibliographies and format research papers in the citation style of your choice. RefWorks also allows you to easily organize and keep track of your references in folders in your RefWorks account.  Our citing sources guide has more information on RefWorks.  We advise you to create your account while you are on-campus.  If you need to create an account while off-campus, you will need to contact the Reference Desk for a registration code.

We hope you find these resources helpful. Please let us know if you have any questions!