UC Davis Information & Educational Technology

Bits & Bytes

The Library Web Site: Your Gateway to Knowledge

Published in the Aggie on November 24, 2004

It's Wednesday night and you have a research paper due Friday morning. You find yourself frantically searching the Internet for some quality information, but all you're finding are dietary supplements and miracle weight loss Web sites. Don't lose hope, hit your head on your desk, throw your laptop out the window in frustration, or copy a webpage from Google and toss it into Word. The library website offers a vast supply of research resources to ensure you won't be faced with a torturous all-nighter this week. Plus, with such a variety of journals and subject guides, you'll have the opportunity to find a topic that really interests you.

Here is a quick rundown of the services available. You'll find all of these in the “Research Tools” section of the main page.

Melvyl Catalog and Harvest Catalog
These are two online catalogs. Harvest allows you to search the UC Davis libraries, and Melvyl will allow you to search all UC libraries. Use keywords to find a book that's relevant to your topic, or check whether a specific book is on the shelves. Among the resources available are journals, movies, maps, music scores and recordings, computer files, dissertations, government documents, books, and more. Wouldn't it be great if you could search Melvyl, Harvest, and other article databases all at the same time? Try using Harvest Portal. It does just this.

Subject Guides
These handy-dandy guides assist you in finding research material directly relevant to your academic subject area. Pick a field of study and you will be provided with the best article databases for that academic subject area. Not sure what you want to write about yet? Try browsing through the various subject areas for inspiration.

Electronic Journals
Search for electronically accessible full-text journal articles from the latest and most up-to-date online journals. Some of the available titles include “Science,” “Nature,” and “The Journal of Biological Chemistry.” You'll also find such classics as the “Journal of Happiness Studies,” and hundreds more. No matter what you're looking for, there's bound to be a journal that's perfect for you.

ACCESSING THE LIBRARY WEBSITE: There are several ways to access library resources, depending on whether you are on campus or off. If you are currently using a computer on campus or are in the dorms, follow these simple instructions:

  1. Log in to MyUCDavis (http://my.ucdavis.edu).
  2. Click the “UCD Resources” tab.
  3. Click “Library.”

These journals are licensed to UC Davis for students, staff and faculty only. To prevent unauthorized use, you will be required to verify your identity by configuring your Web browser for proxy service if you are using a computer off-campus that doesn't connect to the Internet through the UC Davis modem pool. Follow these steps:

  1. Visit http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/services/connect/ and click on “set up your computer.” You will only need to do this once.
  2. Once you have properly configured your browser, go to http://lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/services/connect/remote.php, click the blue “Authenticate Now!” button, and follow the onscreen instructions.

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: Now that you know how to find the information you need to finish that pesky project, remember that it's important to use these resources responsibly.

Make sure you know what it means to plagiarize. You wouldn't want to do so accidentally, would you? You “plagiarize” when you represent another person's work or ideas as your own, and teachers can type suspect sentences into Google to locate the source of your stolen verbiage. To avoid accidental plagiarism, keep in mind the following:

  1. Properly cite your sources.
  2. Use your own words and ideas.
  3. Give credit for paraphrased material.
  4. Ignorance isn't bliss and that excuse won't work. So stay informed by visiting the Student Computing Guide Web site at http://scg.ucdavis.edu/coursework.cfm and the Student Judicial Affairs Publications page at http://sja.ucdavis.edu/pubs.htm.

Take responsibility for your own work. It's dreadfully obvious to professors when you plagiarize. Why take the risk when you have so many research resources right at your fingertips? Drop by the library website and see for yourself the vast array of information available for your projects and papers. Teachers will be impressed by the time you took to research and cite resources, and you'll be able to focus in on the topics you enjoy most.

This column is provided to you by the student writers of Information and Educational Technology. For questions and comments, please contact ietpubsjr@ucdavis.edu.

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