How to do a Report

Step 1 - Bring Your Assignment to the Library

  • Don't rely on your memory.
     
  • Be sure names and other terms are spelled correctly.

    Nothing is more frustrating than to search for information and miss vital points because a name, country, or other word is misspelled. If your teacher does not provide a handout, copy information from the chalkboard.

    Ask the teacher to spell names or other words that are unfamiliar to you.
     
  • When you are doing research on a person, get as much general information as possible about that person before you come to the library.

    Is the person alive? If not, when did s/he live?

    What is the person’s full name? Information on former California governor Pat Brown may be listed under Brown, Edmund G., Brown, Edmund G. “Pat,” or Brown, Pat.

    Does the person belong to a specific ethnic group? The library has materials on notable African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics, among other groups.

    What did the person do that makes him or her important? Is s/he an author, actor, scientist, or musician?
     
  • Bring pencils or pens, paper, and 3 x 5 index cards. Don't expect the library to provide these materials.

Step 2 - Look Up Your Topic in the Encyclopedia

  • Learn general information, such as correct spelling and dates

    The encyclopedia can help you identify people an events. Use the index volume to find encyclopedia articles.

    Remember, in indexes and encyclopedias (as well as library catalogs) people are listed by their last name. Thus, if you were looking for Abraham Lincoln, you would look under Lincoln, Abraham.

    In some encyclopedias and indexes, people's names may not be where you think. If you can't find anything on Leonardo da Vinci under L, look under D and V. Ask the librarian for help if you need it.
     
  • Skim the article to learn other words to define your topic.

    • In an encyclopedia article on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., you may find reference to him as a Baptist clergyman, a great African American, or a civil rights leader.

    Step 3 - Write Down a List of Words That Name and Describe Your Topic

    • Example: An article on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., might describe him as a civil rights leader, a Baptist minister, and a famous African American.
       
    • Use this list of terms to look up information in the library's computer catalog, periodical indexes, and the Internet.
       
    • Ask the librarian to help you locate terms in the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

    Step 4 - Do a Computer Catalog and Periodical Index Search Using Your List of Words

    • Ask the librarian to help you do a search on your own.
       
    • Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings to find search terms.
       
    • Remember that computers won't automatically catch incorrect spelling or typographical errors -- enter search terms carefully.
       
    • The library has several electronic and hardcopy indexes to magazines and newspapers.

      Use your list of words to search indexes.

      Check the library's list of magazine and newspaper subscriptions (available at the reference desk) to see which periodicals the library subscribes to.

      Some electronic indexes include the full text of articles; you may either print out the article at the library (cost: 10 cents a page) or e-mail it to your home or school address.
       
    • Magazine and newspaper articles are NOT indexed in our computer catalog.

    Step 5 - Write Down the Call Numbers and Titles of Books and Citations in Periodicals

    • The Call Number Is the Book's Address in the Library

      The library classifies subject (nonfiction) materials using the Library of Congress classification system. Adult and children's materials may have the same call number; check the location in the online catalog.

      An outline of the Library of Congress classification system is available.

      In the Main Library Adult Subject circulating books whose call numbers begin with A-G are shelved on the second floor; books whose call numbers begin with H-Z and Oversized books are on the third floor. Reference books are on the second floor. All books designated as Juvenile are in theChildren/Youth Services Library on the first floor.

      For example, if you are doing a report on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., you may want tot look at the book Great African Americans in Civil Rights. Its call number is E757.R43 1996.

      Go to that number on the library shelves and try to find your book.

      If the location shows Depository, ask the reference librarian to have the book retrieved. During the week, before 5 p.m. books will be available at the Return Desk on the first floor within 10-15 minutes. At night and on weekends, depository call slips are retrieved from the reference, information, andChildren/Youth Services desks at various intervals.

      If the computer reports the book as available and it is not on the shelf, try the following:
       
    • Is the location where you are looking correct? (For example, are you looking in the Reference section for a book that can be checked out? Are you checking the Adult section for a book that's in theChildren/Youth Services collection?

      Check the sorting shelves, located near the drinking fountains on the second and third floors. Books which have been returned from circulation or have been in use in the room are shelved here temporarily until the Stack Maintenance Aides can replace them on their shelves.

      Books may be on trucks in the sorting shelf area waiting to be shelved.

      Books that have been returned recently may still be in the Circulation Division.
      The book may be in use in the room, in a study room or carrel, or on another floor.

      Books may have been stolen.

      Ask the librarian for assistance if you can't find the book. (We can search only by book title.)
       
    • Write the Citation to Magazine and Newspaper Articles

      A citation to a magazine or newspaper article includes the author's name, title of the article, name of the magazine or newspaper, the date the article appeared, and page number (and section and column number, in the case of a newspaper).

      Look in the list of magazines to which the library subscribes (available at the reference desk). This list provides, in alphabetical order, the name of the magazine or newspaper, its location in the library, and how long and in what format we keep back issues. In most cases, the latest issue will be on the sloping shelves on the second floor of the library; back issues for many magazines are in orange and blue boxes on the shelves on the west side of the building.
       
    • Can I borrow magazines?

      In most cases, yes. The exceptions are:

      The most recent issue of a magazine.       These are kept in plastic binders and are shelved on the sloping shelves west of the elevator.

      Magazines designated reference. These include consumer reporting magazines and some in the Business Reference section.

      Newsletters and loose-leaf services. Examples are the Harvard Wellness Letter and the investor-oriented publications such as Morningstar.
      Newspapers.

      Bar codes for borrowing magazines are available at the Serials Division Desk, booth 5. Magazines circulate for three weeks.
       
    • What if the location is Serials, Depository, or Microfilm?

      Ask at the Serials Division. There is a buzzer on the counter at booth 5; press it, and someone will help you. Microfilm and microfiche readers and reader-printers are available.

    Step 6 - Take Notes as You Read and Gather Information from the Encyclopedia and Other Sources

    • Notes are brief summaries of what you have read.

      Be sure to write down the author, title, publisher, date, and page numbers of the book or magazine you are reading. If you are reading a book, writing down the call number is helpful in case you need to refer to the item again.

    Step 7 - Based on Your Notes, Create a Single Question That Could Be Answered from the Information You Found

    • Formulating a Question

      Example: After reading and taking notes on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s accomplishment, you might form a question like: "What were King's greatest accomplishments?
      If you have difficulty creating a question discuss your findings with your teacher or classmates.

    Step 8 - Answer the Question You Created in Step 7

    • This answer is called a thesis.
       
    • A thesis statement answers the main question of a paper.
       
    • The thesis statement for the paper on Dr. King might be: Dr. King used nonviolent marches, sit-ins, and other peaceful forms of demonstration to attain many of the civil rights movement's goals in the American South.
       
    • Cite examples from your reading and research.

    Step 9 - Make a List of All the Resources Used for Your Report

    • Creating a Bibliography

      A bibliography is a list of the authors, titles, and magazines used to get information for the report.

      There are a number of style books which provide examples of how bibliographies should be prepared. One that many students find useful is:

      LB2360.T8 1996
      Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. ref. by John Grossman and Alice Bennett. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996

      Ask the librarian for assistance.

    Step 10 - Hand in Your Paper with Your Name on It

    • You Are Done!
       
    • Ask a friend or parent to review your paper for typographical or spelling errors.