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CH 4201 - Senior Seminar (Stephens)

Finding Research

Finding Topics

Potential Library Databases

Interlibrary Loan

If a book or article you want is not available, use Interlibrary Loan (ILL). The Library can order books and articles from other libraries. This process takes few days but is completely free for DelVal students, faculty, and staff.

Before you submit an ILL, check Google Scholar or Summon to see if we have immediate access or if it is freely available online.

Identifying Peer-Reviewed Literature

Review Article characteristics

A review article is written about other articles, and does not report original research of its own.

Review articles suggest new research directions, strengthen support for existing theories, and/or identify patterns among existing research studies.  

For student researchers, review articles provide a great overview of the existing literature on a topic.

Research Article Characteristics

A research paper reports the methods and results of an original study performed by the authors. 

The kind of study may vary (it could have been an experiment, survey, interview, etc.), but in all cases, raw data have been collected and analyzed by the authors, and conclusions drawn from the results of that analysis.

Checklist for Peer-Reviewed Research Article

  Did the author(s) of the article do the actual research?
  Can you find a statement about when the article was accepted for publication?
  Is there a sizable list of references?
  Do the authors assume you are familiar with their topic?
  Is it challenging to read?

If you have answered "yes" to these five questions you have probably located a scientific article.

Writing a Scientific Presentation

Helpful Books

Formatting your Bibliography

In-Text Citations

Select one of the three methods below to cite in-text references:

Superscript numbers

At the end of the cited information:
Fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.¹

Within the cited information:
Rakita¹ states that fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.

Italic numbers

At the end of the cited information:
Fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (1).

Within the cited information:
Rakita (1) states that fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.

Author name and year of publication

At the end of the cited information:
Fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (Rakita, 2004).

Within the cited information:
Rakita states that fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (2004). 

For two authors use "and": Rakita and Smith. For more than two authors use "et al.": Rakita et al.

Books

Single author

Last name, Initial. Title, edition if available; Publisher's name: Publisher's location, year. 

Example:

Chang, R. General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts, 3rd ed.; McGraw-Hill: Boston, 2003.

Edited book

Last name, Initial. Chapter Title. In Book Title; Editor, Ed.; Publisher's name: Publisher's location, year; volume if available; pages.

Example:

Gbalint-Kurti, G. G. Wavepacket Theory of Photodissociation and Reactive Scattering. In Advances in Chemical Physics; Rice, S. A., Ed.; Wiley: New York, 2004; Vol. 128; p 257.

Book in a series

Last name, Initial. Chapter Title. In Book Title; Editor, Ed.; Publisher's name: Publisher's location, year; volume; pages.

Example:

Gbalint-Kurti, G. G. Wavepacket Theory of Photodissociation and Reactive Scattering. In Advances in Chemical Physics; Rice, S. A., Ed.; Wiley: New York, 2004; Vol. 128; p 257.

Article in a reference book

Article Title. Book Title, edition if available; Publisher's name: Publisher's location, year; volume; pages.

Example:

Powder Metallurgy. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1982; Vol. 19, pp 28-62.

Websites

Webpage Title. URL (accessed date).

Example:

National Library of Medicine. Environmental Health and Toxicology: Specialized Information Services. http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro.html (accessed Aug 23, 2004).

Setting up RefWorks

RefWorks

RefWorks is a new way to collect, manage, and organize research.  You can read, annotate, organize, and cite your research as well as collaborate by sharing collections.

From simple bibliographies to papers formatted with in-text citations or footnotes, RefWorks handles it all. ​To learn more about RefWorks, use our RefWorks research guide.

To create a RefWorks account:

  1. Go to the link below and click Create account
  2. Fill in your information, making sure to use your DelVal email address.  
  3. Go to your inbox and click the email link to complete the activation process. 

Already have an account? Just go to the link below and click "Log In"

Online Tutorials

Getting Help