Contact Corliss
- Corliss Lee
- Office Hours: By Appointment
- Contact Info:
510-768-7899
Read an introduction to the campus libraries for undergraduates.
Set up your computer for off campus access to library databases.
Need a map of the campus libraries?
Each library has its own hours. Click on the calendar for each library to view a month at a time.
The UCB Library sponsors the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. Win $1000 (upper division students) or $750 (lower division students) for your research paper!
Developing appropriate keywords/search terms is an essential part of research. First, break your topic into components. Develop a list of synonyms and alternative terminology for each component. Think about broader and narrower concepts and word variants. What words can you exclude?
Topic: Image of African American Women in Advertising
image(s) or stereotyp(es)(ing) or depict(ion) or portray(al)...
african american(s) or black(s) or minorit(y)(ies)
women or gender
advertis(e)(ing) or media
Remember to be creative with your terminology! More examples:
people of color and environmental activism*
environmental justice
environmental justice and hazardous waste*
environmental equity
environmental discrimination
environmental racism
environmental injustice
Example:
Topic: Image of African American women in advertising
potentially relevant disciplines:
African American Studies
Gender and Women's Studies
Ethnic Studies
Media Studies
Psychology
Sociology
Business
etc.
Search an article database to find citations (title, author, title of journal, date, page numbers) for articles on a particular topic. The Library gives you access to over 200 article databases covering different disciplines.
1. Think about which academic disciplines might write about your topic. Examples: literature, film, anthropology, history...
2. Find the appropriate article database by subject (academic discipline or department). Look for "Recommended" databases.
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject
Sample searches in CSA Illumina Social Science databases:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Sociology > Sociology Abstracts: click on the CSA Illumina Social Sciences link to search multiple social science databases
1. Example of a search using multiple terms, phrase searching, alternative terms, truncation,etc
african american* or black* (keywords)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (keywords)
keywords = searches most important parts of the record
* = truncation symbol or wildcard; child* = child, childs, children, childish, childhood
2. use an official subject term ("descriptor")
african american* or black* (descriptor)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (keywords)
3. use unique terms, use official subject terms ("descriptors"); broaden your search by taking out a term
prison* or jail* or incarcerat* (keywords)
condom* (keywords)
sex education (keywords)
prison* or jail* or incarcerat* (descriptor)
condom* (keywords)
4. look through your search results for additional useful terms
cannabis or marijuana (keywords)
decriminalization (keywords)
note other potential search terms such as: policy legalization marijuana laws etc.
5. to find more results, especially when the topic is too new for academic journal articles: broaden your terms
yankee stadium (keywords)
broaden your terms:
stadium* or arena* (keywords)
impact (keywords)
communit* (keywords)
another example:
title ix (keywords)
higher education (keywords)
berkeley (keywords)
title ix (keywords)
california (keywords)
Sample searches in Business Source Complete:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Business > Business Source Complete
power bar or cliff bar (citation and document text )
marketing (citation and document text)
energy bar food (subject term )
marketing (citation and document text)
Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use 
to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database is a bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:
For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand!
Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up. Refworks Help is pretty good.
How to link from the Refworks record to a pdf on your hard drive
Exporting from OskiCat to Refworks
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central. The Library's Guide to EndNote. And more Tips from EndNote.
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
Google Scholar is an easy way to do interdisciplinary research, and with some settings changes can become even more useful. You may need a Google account to use some of these features.
Open Scholar. Click on scholar preferences [upper right corner]. Under Library Links, enter the word Berkeley. Choose UC Berkeley eLinks and Open WorldCat - Library Search and Save your preferences. UC e-links will now appear in Google Scholar search results.
Do your search in Google Scholar. Look in the green toolbar for the envelope icon, and click it. New items will be sent to your email account as they are found by Google.
Do a Google Scholar search. Click on the "Cited by" link under a citation and select the "Search within articles citing..." checkbox.
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Other ways to get help: in person, by e-mail, using specialized chat services
And of course: e-mail Corliss or email Theresa (Bancroft Library)
Research Advisory Service for Cal Undergraduates
Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics (examples of research topics).
Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)
This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.
Please take a few minutes to give me some feedback about the library workshop and this course page! Anonymously, of course.
