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High School Visits to University of Rochester: During Your Visit

Computer Login

To access library resources on public computers: Login with provided User Name and Password. This access allows printing and saving with USB flash drives. On your laptop, login to the guest wireless network.  

Welcome & Wayfinding

Please visit this guide at https://libguides.lib.rochester.edu/HSvisits

You will be looking at a variety of resources on the library website. The boxes below will direct you to the resources recommended for the different topic areas for your class.

We will begin together in DiscoverUR.

To determine which floor of the library has a particular call number range, use the Call Number Directory below.

Some of you might need the Carlson Library floor plans, linked below.

If you have any questions on how to find or access anything, please do not hesitate to ask! 

Best of luck to all of you on your projects!

Searching

For IB Extended Essay, you can search from off-campus, although you won't get full text. But, you can see abstracts of articles to make a list of sources you'd like to download before you get to campus! 

Search Faster

  • Search phrases using quotation marks
    • example:  "to be or not to be"
  • Combine words with AND, OR, and NOT in capital letters
    • example:  microcircuits OR nanocircuits
  • Substitute * for several possible letters
    • example:  child*     ...will find child, childhood, children, etc.
  • Complex searches may combine elements--in which case, use parentheses around OR terms
    • example:  homeless AND (healthcare OR "health care") AND (adolescents OR teen*)

 

If you are interested in books, you may use DiscoverUR to obtain the title and full call number(s). With that information, you may then proceed to finding the book(s) on their shelves using the Rush Rhees Call Number Locations. 

If your topic is more closely aligned with science or engineering, there is a chance you will need to visit the Carlson Library, though you will likely have better luck using the databases for your research.

Recommended Resources & Article Databases

Recommended for Any Topic

Recommended for Psychology & Human Rights

Recommended for Science, Health, & Technology

Recommended for Literature, Film & Art

Printing & Saving Articles

Options:

  1. Download the article and email it to yourself using your gmail
  2. Send yourself the email using the email feature in the database (within some article databases)
  3. Download the article and save to a usb drive

 

Circulation & Checkout

If you find a book that you would like to check out of the library, you may not do so today unless you have made previous arrangements. You may however, return on another date. 

Ages 18 or over: Borrowing privileges are granted to individuals with RRLC Access Pass.  Please inquire at your school library for details.

Ages younger than 18: You will have to return with a parent or guardian to check the book out. Your parent will need to sign up for a RRLC Access Pass.  

 

Handouts and other useful stuff

Topics May Evolve

Please keep in mind that your first idea will very likely NOT be your final topic or research question. As you review what scholars are already saying about your topic, it is likely to evolve. You may discover that scholars have already answered your research question, or haven't even begun to discuss it. For the purposes of your current assignment, you may have to adapt what you think you want to say. 

Database Tips

Did you get too many results?  If so, try some of these ideas to narrow down your results:

  • Narrow by dates (only newer, older, or a specific range of dates) 
  • Narrow by choosing subject(s)
  • Narrow by type of source (peer-reviewed journals, magazines, etc. based on the assignment’s guidelines) 
  • Add another of the search terms you listed above, connecting the two with the “AND” provided in the database’s Advanced Search 
  •  Using the database’s Advanced Search option, change “AND” to “NOT” to exclude terms you don’t want (ex. “Pride and Prejudice” NOT film) 
  • Put any multi-word phrases into “quotation marks” to prevent other words from coming between them 
  • Try searching within a specific publication  
  • Try using a specialized limiter for the database(s) you’re searching (for example, PsycINFO offers a Methodology limiter; Education Source has one for Lesson Plans; and Business Source Complete lets you search for Company Reports, Case Studies, or Product Reviews) 

Did you get too few results?  If so, try some of these ideas to expand your results:

  • Using the database’s Advanced Search, enter 2 search terms that are synonyms, connecting them with the word “or” (ex. film OR movie) 
  • Enter your main topic in a Subject Search. Look at the subdivisions or subjects given to you to get new ideas for better search terms (find out what the database is calling it) 
  • If you are in an EBSCO owned database, click where it says “Choose Database” at the top and add more databases to your search 
  • If you are in a ProQuest owned database, click where it says “Change databases” at the top and add another database to your search 
  • Find an author or authors who support your thesis and search for their other works 
  • If you find an article that does fit your topic, search for full text of some of the articles it cites 
  • Find more background information on your topic and brainstorm some new search terms 
  • Try using truncation to find multiple forms of the same word (ex. Evaluat* will bring you results for evaluate, evaluates, evaluated, evaluation, evaluations, etc.)