TRW Library Orientation
All TRW students visit the Library with their classes. If you miss the orientation, or need a refresher, start here:
| 1. Getting Help 2. About TRW 3. Search Skills 4. Finding Articles |
5. Finding Books 6. More about Books 7. Web Sources 8. Citing |
Video: Why do we seek information?
Getting Help
- Ask the Reference Librarians and stop by the Reference Desk or call us at 651-690-6652 (St. Paul campus) or 651-690-7898 (Mpls. campus).
- Ask a question online by clicking on Ask Us or via instant messaging
- Use the Library’s website: library.stkate.edu
- Contact an individual librarian to ask questions or set up an appointment
- NEW! Try the Assignment Calculator to help plan your research and writing schedule.
About the Reflective Woman and the Library
Aesthetic Assignment
- The Library has created an online resource for this assignment using resources found in the university's archives: The TRW Aesthetic Experience
The Structured Controversy Assignment
- The Librarians are here to help you through the research process. They have created online guides on more than one hundred topics that are commonly used for this assignment.
- See the Structured Controversy Research Guides for a starting place for your research
- If you don't see your exact topic, there might be one that is similar. Otherwise, please contact a librarian and we would be happy to create a new one for you or offer you suggestions to begin research.
Search Skills
- Choosing a topic that works for your assignment
- Do you know how to choose search terms?
- Do you know how to refine your search using AND, OR and NOT?
- Do you know the difference between a magazine and a scholarly source?
Finding Articles
You can look for articles on your topic by searching our databases. These are authoritative sources for locating information on your topic and are paid for by the Library. Many databases contain a mix of newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals
Use the Articles in Databases link on the Library's Home page. Good databases for the Structured controversy assignment include:
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) or Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac/Gale): For general topics from arts and sciences to news and current events
- ProQuest Newspapers: For articles from newspapers, including the Star Tribune
- CQ Global Researcher: For detailed analysis on current affairs
- The Structured Controversy guides to find other suggested databases for your topic.
| Note: To access the databases from off-campus you will need to either login through KateWay or use your St. Kate's network login. [more information abour off-campus access.] |
Finding the text of articles
- Look for a link to the full article. If there is none, click the link Find other sources for full-text, found in every Library database.
- Print journals are located in the Library in alphabetical order. They cannot be checked out. (Make copies for 10¢ a page)
- Check Journals A to Z listing to find out if we own certain journals.
- If you can't find the text of the article you need, use InterLibrary Loan to obtain the article. InterLibrary Loan lets you request a book or an article from another library.
Finding Books
CLICnet is our online library catalog. It searches the libraries of the seven ACTC colleges, including St. Kate's. You can search CLICnet from any computer.
- Enter the terms that apply to your topic
- Click on the title of a book to find out more. Be sure to write down the call number.
Where are the books?
- Books that are at St. Kate's St. Paul library will say: SCU Circ. Collection. Books that are in the Minneapolis campus library will say: SCU-MPLS Books.
- Write down the call number for your book (ex: RM7365.3 A84 1996)
- In St. Paul, call numbers A-N are upstairs and P-Z are downstairs.
- See the Virtual Tour of the St. Paul library or Minneapolis library to find out where everything is.
- Books can be checked out for 6 weeks and usually renewed twice.
- Media (including DVDs, videos and music) can also be found on CLICnet. Contact Media Services for information on how to obtain a video, DVD, or other media (they cannot usually be request on the CLICnet system).
What if I can't find it?
- Many items not available at St. Kate's can be requested and sent here by clicking the Request It link .
- You will need to enter your 14-digit barcode, found on your ID card. Use InterLibrary Loan to obtain books NOT on CLICnet.
More about Books
Reference books are also a good place to find information. These are located in the main reference room at the St. Paul Library for use only in the Library.
Selected reference books useful for TRW:
Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics West's Encyclopedia of American Law Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women American Attitudes |
(In CLICnet the location will be SCU Reference and indicate Library Use Only.)
HINT!! The TRW Structured Controversy Research Guides suggest good reference books to use for specific topics.
Finding Web Sources
- The Internet is a great place to find information. You just need to carefully evaluate the information you find there.
- The TRW Structured Controversy Pathfinders also suggest good Web sites to use for your research.
About Most people use Google to search the Internet although there are many other search engines. You might also want to try Google Scholar which searches journals and other scholarly sources. See the Guide to Scholarly Journals (pdf) for more information. Google Scholar does not provide the full-text, although it may link you as long as you are on campus. You can use Journals A to Z to look up journal titles and find the full-text at our library. |
Evaluating Web Sources
- Be sure to evaluate the information you find on the Internet. Keep in mind that anyone can publish on the Web and not all the information is reliable.
- Learn more about Evaluating Information on the Internet
Citing your sources
- Avoid plagiarism and always cite your sources!
- The Library provides help and guides to many citation styles including APA, MLA, AMA, and others. You can download PDF printable versions of all of our citing guides.
- Librarians can also help you with citing, so come see us.