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Norma Marion Alloway Library

RES 490 K - Research & Academic Writing: Lesson Four

This is the site for a one-credit course in the Worldview Studies (Korean) program at Associated Canadian Theological Schools.

Searching for books

In this lesson, we will look at using OneSearch to find books in various formats.  Here is a link to a larger guide to OneSearch: https://libguides.twu.ca/LibraryOneSearch

1. Basic Search

If you want to search just for books in OneSearch, the best way to start is to choose the Books tab:

You can choose to search by keyword, which will give you more books or by title, which will give you only the books with your search words in the title.  You can also choose to search by author.

 

Your results will be both paper and e-books.  If you want to choose just one format, click on a box in the left column:

 

2. Using Subject Headings

Subject headings are descriptive tags that help you narrow results down to books that are actually on the subject you are looking for.  You will find them in the column to the left of your results.  Clicking on one or more of the boxes will reduce the number of books and make them more relevant to your search. Fewer books but better results:

 

 

3. Paper books and e-books

The library has many more e-books than books in paper format.  When you do a search, the citation for a print book will look like this (with a call number):

 

An e-book will have a link to the full text.  You will usually need to log in to view it:

 

4. Creating Citations

You can create citations in a format like Turabian.  Notice, however, that those citations will often need correction.  They are not perfect.

To create a citation, click on the title in any list of results, and look for the Cite link on the right.

 

This is what a citation choice will look like, though you will need to correct it:

 

Assignment Questions for Lesson Four

Please answer the following questions:

a. What tab do you use in OneSearch if you only want to search for books?

b. How do you limit to only print books or only e-books?

c. If you use Subject Headings, will you get more results or fewer results?

d. If you use Subject Headings, will your results be more relevant or less relevant?

e. If a book is in paper format, what number will tell you where to find it?

f. How can you create a proper citation to a book you have found in your results?