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Welcome to Jannes Library!

4538 Warwick Blvd. KCMO 64111 / 816.802.3390 / library@kcai.edu

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR 1:1 RESEARCH DISCOVERY WITH A LIBRARIAN!

Guide to Beginning Research

 

BEGIN THE PROCESS: read and make sure you understand the instructor's assignment. The assignment will help guide your research. 

 

STATE YOUR TOPIC: What is the topic that you’ve been assigned or have chosen? In a blank document-state your topic as best you can; try to be specific. You can always change it or refine it later!

 

DEVELOP SEARCH TERMS: What do you already know about your topic? Write down the key terms in your topic statement, then brainstorm other related terms and add them to make a list. Helpful key words might come from your lecture notes, the syllabus, textbook, or assigned readings, if any. 

 

Brainstorm by asking questions such as when did this event happen or when did this person live? or Who was involved? or What kind of work is this? Make note of any themes in your topic.  Determine the most relevant terms, or key words, in your topic.
               Example: you are writing about Scylla and Charybdis in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. 
               Who: Homer, Greek Poet; sea monsters; Scylla, Charybdis
               Where: Ancient Greece; When: Ancient Greece; 8th century B.C.E.
               What: ancient Greek poetry; Greek mythology; sea monsters; gods and goddesses; Greek gods

 

UTILIZING SEARCH TERMS:  A good place to start is the Jannes Library EDS - Research Discovery Catalog to find out what resources readily available in the Jannes collection and linked databases can be of use.  In our example, do a keyword search: “Scylla and Charybdis”.
  • Using quotation marks makes this a search for that exact phrase, in that order
  • Review your result set: you might get irrelevant books returned. If you don’t get any results at all, check your spelling or try different terms.  When stuck, ask library staff for help!
  • Within your result set- identify those you want to use for your assignment.

 

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GATHERING SOURCES: Use Jannes Library’s EDS - Research Discovery catalog and other available databases. Databases integrated within the EDS are online collections of serial publications: newspapers, popular magazines, discipline-specific magazines, and scholarly journals in every area of academic study, published over many years, as well as the JStor Collection, ebsco articles and ebooks, and more! The listing of other databases available to KCAI patrons is located under "Online Resources" in the left hand side navigation menu. 

 

ENGAGING WITH SOURCES: Research includes thinking about a subject in a critical way (analyzing it) and contributing your thoughts to the conversation;  this is something you will continue to do throughout life, both in your studio work and in your own personal lived experience.Active reading is so, so, so beneficial. Make notes all along as you are searching and reading in order to develop what you have to say. When you make notes, be sure to record citations for your sources (books, articles, and websites) as you go. Even if you don't use the source in the end- at least you won't have to backtrack later on! See the following tabs for more on citing sources.

 

DEVELOP YOUR OUTLINE: Integrate your research with the development of your outline.  Use the prompts for the assignment as well as the information gathered from your research to build your outline step-by-step.

 

CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE AND CITING SOURCES: A style manual is a book of standard rules for writing, formatting, and designing documents.  It specifies how to format margins, quotations, page numbers, citations, and much more, that are part of your paper. 
KCAI uses the Chicago Manual of Style.  When you use a book, an article, or a website as a source of facts, analysis, or argument in your paper, you must cite the source.  This allows the reader of your paper to consult that source should they want to dig deeper; it is also the method for acknowledging the exact source of a quotation, a paraphrased idea, or a general argument. 
 
This is how you credit others for their intellectual work; be consistent in citing sources.   A quick guide to Chicago is here. 

 

IMPORTANT: Keep track of your citations as you go.  You can do this in your outline, your notes, your paper or anywhere - just do it; it will save you time in the long run.
 
The databases within the EDS have a handy feature, the citation generator. When reading an article within a database, click the “Cite” button, then select ‘Chicago’ from a listing of styles. The result will be a correctly formatted citation that you can copy and paste into your paper or your notes.

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Many of the instructors at KCAI use the Chicago Manual of Style as the style guide for formatting papers and creating footnotes / bibliographies.

Jannes Library has several copies in print. You can also use this Quick Guide online, or stop by the Jannes Library circulation desk to check out a copy that is on Reserve.

Here are some examples of citations in Chicago Manual of Style:

Book:  Rushdie, Salman. The Ground beneath Her Feet. New York: Henry Holt, 1999.

Articles:  Buszek, Maria Elena.  "'Labor Is My Medium': Some Pespective(s) on Contemporary Craft." Archives of American Art Journal 50, no. 3/4 (2011): 66-75. http://0-www.jstor.org.kc-towers.searchmobius.org/stable/23355888.

Lees-Maffei, Grace. "Introduction: Professionalization as a Focus in Interior Design History." Journal of Design History 21, no. 1 (2008): 1-18. http://0-www.jstor.org.kc-towers.searchmobius.org/stable/25228563.

eBook:  Keil, Charlie, and Kristen Whissel. 2016. Editing and Special/Visual Effects. Behind the Silver Screen. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. https://0-search-ebscohost-com.kc-towers.searchmobius.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1338390&site=ehost-live.

Image: Stefan Sagmeister. 2008. Self-Confidence Produces Fine Results. Sculpture and Installations. https://0-library-artstor-org.kc-towers.searchmobius.org/asset/LARRY_QUALLS_10313738080.

Film:   Jove. Masters of Russian Animation. DVD. Chatsworth, CA: Image Entertainment, 1997. 

In-person Interview:    Hunt, Horace [pseud.]. 1976. Interview by Ronald Schatz. Tape recording. May 16.  Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.

 

For quick help using Jannes Library resources: library chat to the left or email us at library@kcai.edu or call us at (816)802-3390. Utilize the link at the top of this page to sign up for a virtual or sit-down 1:1 research assistance appointment with a librarian. 
 

How we can help:

  • Research instruction - Finding the best search terms; developing a search strategy
  • Tips when using Jannes Library’s catalogs. The EDS, Local Locate catalog, and the OpenRS (Mobius Consortium) catalog.
  • Knowing which database(s) are available and how to search efficiently
  • Getting resources from other libraries; finding elusive sources
  • Tips for keeping track of citations in Chicago Style Manual format

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EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES: Popular, Scholarly, & Trade Journals

Determining the difference among periodicals is much more difficult when the article is electronic and you cannot "browse" through the journal. If you are looking for a scholarly article, find the abstract (summary at the beginning of the article), authority (description of author and affiliation), and citations (in-text, works cited, bibliography, references).

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  POPULAR, NEWS,  OPINION TRADE SCHOLARLY
AUTHOR

Journalists, freelance writers, commentators, sometimes anonymous  

 Practitioners or specialists in field or industry or journalists with subject expertise Researchers, scientists, scholars credentials listed
AUDIENCE General public    Specific industry, trade, organization, or profession; trade jargon often used Other scholars, professionals, or students familiar with the field
PURPOSE Inform, entertain To describe issues, problems, or trends in the field; product information, forecasts, statistics. Report and share original research, experiments, theories; contribute to the body of knowledge about a particular subject
ARE SOURCES CITED? Sources may be cited or identified, but usually not or obscure Practices vary; some cite sources and some do not Authors cite their sources with in-text citations, in footnotes or bibliographies, often extensive
PEER REVIEWED? No. Editors look for grammar, errors, plagiarism No. Similar to popular magazines. Yes. Extensive peer-review process.
ABSTRACT? No No, but there might be a summary    Yes. Summarizing paragraph before the article with the authors goals, objectives, results, and analysis.
PUBLISHER Commercial publisher    Commercial and trade publishers, professional associations Professional organizations, universities, research institutes, scholarly presses
APPEARENCE IN PRINT Colorful, glossy cover, many ads for consumer products, illustrations, photos Usually glossy; charts, tables, illustrations; ads related to profession or industry; each issues starts with a page 1 Usually plain cover, no color; graphs, charts, tables and photographs relating to research; few ads; somber, serious
TERMINOLOGY Not technical, written for general audience, basic education Uses jargon of the field Uses technical vocabulary of the discipline; assumes college-educated reader with some knowledge of the subject
EXAMPLES Newsweek; Rolling Stone, National Geographic Advertising Age, Modern Machine Shop, Rapaport Diamond Report, Selvedge Leonardo Music Journal, Journal of Modern Craft, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism