June 2005 — Exclusive
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Electronic Full-Text Journal Articles: Convenience or Compromise
As with any new invention, however, the repercussions of adoption are not always foreseen. Educators cannot automatically assume that their students understand the pros and cons of this popular method of delivering library materials. The following suggestions are offered to guide students to a more sophisticated use of electronic full-text articles:
- The single most persistent myth to be debunked is that articles from journals can be accessed for free on the Internet with any browser. This simply is not true. Publishers' promotional sites may offer tables of contents, article abstracts, sample issues, or archival materials, but not a complete duplication of the periodical. Journals still require paid subscriptions and do not pop up with a browser search. Effective utilization of electronic resources requires that students understand the difference between a periodical article supplied by a Web-based subscription database and a document created for, or reproduced on, a Web page. Without mastering this basic but crucial distinction, students will confuse the authority and reliability of the documents they cite.
- Students do not inherently know how to identify and locate appropriate library materials or how to evaluate them once they are found. Requiring the use of specific magazines or journals helps beginning researchers limit their retrieval to suitable sources. Recommending a specific database in which to search also helps students focus their results to materials fitting their level or the discipline. Helping students distinguish between refereed, scholarly articles from respected journals and articles from general interest magazines, newsletters, or Web sites will enhance the quality of students' research today and enrich their professional lives in the future.
- Teachers should break down large projects into smaller assignments, each requiring step-by-step documentation, to guide students through the research process. Instructors might ask students to compare the features of several databases and justify why they chose one over another. Students who are required to submit copies of their search strategy and/or journal articles along with their outlines will provide teachers with an insight into the sources used. Assigning grades based on the quality of the resources will result in better projects and more sophisticated bibliographic skills.
- The educational community should be aware of the shift in authority in information delivery. Database vendors no longer simply offer products for sale; they now make library collection decisions that used to be the sole province of librarians and bibliographers. Their formatting decisions can manipulate the written word. They can water down retrieval with sources of questionable authority. In the name of convenience and speed, they can compromise academic integrity. To compensate, teachers, students, and librarians should recognize the problems inherent with these popular delivery systems and encourage their informed use.
About the Author… copy text (above) for proper citation
Kathleen Joswick is a reference librarian and professor at Western Illinois University's Leslie F. Malpass Library (www.wiu.edu/library/info/info_web.sphp?id=233). She has a Master's in Library and Information Science from Northern Illinois University and a Master's in English from the State University College of New York at Buffalo. E-mail:
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