home

Welcome to the Sterling High School/Jr. High Library page!

SHS Library Website || media type="custom" key="28692974" Search our online library catalog || Download the Destiny Quest app and sync it to our library: ** usd376.follettdestiny.com **. Your username and password is the same as for FollettShelf ebooks. The attached document gives detailed instructions for syncing the Destiny Quest app with our library. ||

 RESEARCH PAPER = **State Library Databases** @http://www.kslib.info/students = This gives you access to the state-sponsored databases without having to put in a password (when searching from within Kansas).


 * Explora High School (Ebscohost) is the best for general searches. Need help using Explora? Watch a brief video explaining "What is Explora?" and how it can be useful to students, or watch an online tutorial on how to use Explora.**

You will also find literary criticism in Explora High School. || Probably the best thing about these databases is that at the end of the article, there is a properly formatted MLA citation you can cut and paste directly into your works cited. Woo hoo! **I like to download articles and save them to my Google Docs account so all my research material is in one spot that I can access from any computer with the Internet.**
 * [[image:sterlinghslibrary/LiteraryRefCtr.png link="@http://tinyurl.com/LitRefCtr1"]] || LITERARY CRITICISM Sophomores: For literary criticism, use the Literary Reference Center database.

How are resources I find on an online periodical database like Explora / Ebscohost different from sources I find for free on the Internet? Read the pdf below to find out.

=Google Scholar @http://scholar.google.com/ = This will allow you to use Google to do a web search for scholarly articles and journal publications, so you know that what turns up is reliable information. You can also choose the dates of the resources so you can get up-to-date information. For my search on Facebook and teens, I chose articles from 2005 and later. One negative: not everything you find through Google Scholar is available full-text -- some journals charge a fee to access the article. However, there are some great resources available. Another negative is that you have to create your own MLA or APA citation, but there are lots of online citation makers that can help (see below).

=Other Tips... = Don't forget to look at any resources cited in the articles you find. One link led me to a web page that gave updated statistics on news use across social media platforms. The stats are from May 26, 2016. @http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/

= MLA / APA WORKS CITED / BIBLIOGRAPHY HELP  =

=** Easybib ** @http://easybib.com/ - MLA= This is a great, free citation maker with some helpful shortcuts. For a web site, simply click the "Website" tab and enter the URL (I like to cut and paste it to avoid typing mistakes). It creates a pretty complete citation that you can fill in with details if needed. You can cut and paste the completed citation into your works cited. It includes templates for a variety of sources, including databases, digital images, interviews, etc.

= BibMe @http://www.bibme.org/ - MLA or APA=

= Citation Machine @http://www.citationmachine.net - MLA or APA=

= BibMe @http://www.bibme.org/ - MLA or APA=

= MLA Guides = > @http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ > @http://media.easybib.com/guides/easybib-mla7-web.pdf > @http://media.easybib.com/guides/easybib-mla7-parenthetical-guide.pdf
 * **MLA Formatting and Style Guide – Purdue OWL **
 * **Citing Online Sources -- from EasyBib.com **
 * **Parenthetical Guide – from EasyBib.com **

=A note about APA Citations = =(taken directly from @http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-book)=

All about Citations:
"Citations are included in research projects anytime you use another individual’s work in your own assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased information, images, or any other piece of information from another’s work, you need to show where you found it by including a citation. This APA format guide explains how to make citations in APA style.

"There are two types of APA citations. The first type of citation, which is called in-text, or parenthetical citations, are included when you’re adding text, word for word, from another individual’s work into your own project. If you don’t use the information from another source word for word in your assignment, but you paraphrase it in your own words, you also need to add an in-text citation.

"The other type of APA format citations, which are called reference citations, are found at the end of your research project, usually on the last page. Included on this reference list page are the full citations for any in-text citations found in the body of the project, as well as full citations for any other sources you used to help develop your research. These citations are listed in alphabetical order, one after the other.

"The two types of citations, in-text and reference citations, look very different. In-text citations include three items: the last name(s) of the author, the year the source was published, and the page or location of the information. Reference citations include more information such as the name of the author(s), the year the source was published, the title of the source, and the URL or page range."

(taken directly from @http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-book)

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What is Explora? (online periodical database for research) ** media type="vimeo" key="191195612" height="360" width="640" **@https://vimeo.com/191195612**  **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">How does Explora work? (brief video tutorial) ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">media type="custom" key="28854466" **Brief video tutorial on using Explora research database.** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">updated 8/30/2017 <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">