SCCS Library Media Center Southern Cal Community School 709 W. Main St * Lake City, IA 51449

Pathfinder

When beginning a search for information you should have a plan. A Pathfinder can be that plan. A Pathfinder is a form that will help you in your research. Following the path to various types of sources will insure that you check all of the important places. Depending on your research or information needs you may or may not need to locate all of the sources listed below.

• After deciding on your theses statement or topic fill out a Pre-Search Planner to help you identify main ideas, key words, or concepts.
• Determine which sources will be the most likely to supply current, accurate, and verifiable information.
• Locate those sources, check the table of contents, indexes, etc.
• List the title and other information that might be needed for a bibliography in the space below the correct category.
• Do not become source dependent, you should vary the types of sources you use.

Remember CD-ROM's are just another type of medium, the title of the CD should help you identify in which category it belongs.

Also remember that you will need to identify online sources as to their type. You can not just say "I got it off the Internet." That is like saying "I got it at the library." You can always ask a librarian if you are not sure.

Name ______________

Thesis statement or research topic:
How does life style effect the risk of getting lung cancer?

General Encyclopedias:
"Cancer." New Standard Encyclopedia, Volume 4, c94-c97. Chicago: Ferguson Publishing Co., 2000.

Special Subject Encyclopedias:
"Cancer." International Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. pg56-57. New Yoork, NY.: Oxford University Press Inc. 1998.

Special Reference Sources:
Wynder, Ernest L. M.D.,and Mushinski, Margaret M.A. "The Uses of Epidemiology". The Book of Health. New York, NY.: Franklin Watts, 1981.

General Dictionaries/Special Subject Dictionaries/Thesauruses:

Almanacs/Atlases:
"Emissions of Principal Air Pollutants in the U.S. 1987-1996." The World Almanac and Book of Facts-1999. Mahwah, NJ: Primedia, 1998.

Periodicals:
"Your health: living with a smoker brings risk of lung cancer." Woman's Day. 20-06-00:p32.

Non-Fiction Titles:
Bernnowitz, Steven I. Cancer. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Vertical Files or Pamphlets:

On-Line Databases:
Bonn, Dorothy. "Asbestos--the legacy lives on" The Lancet. 17-04-99. General Reference Center. (online) InfoTrac Web. www. (15-10-00).

Internet Web Sites:
"Environmental Tobacco Smoke." Available: www.medc.com/lung/smoking/environmental.html. (10-15-00).

Personal Interviews:
Skinner, Don, MD. Personal interview. 10/13/00.

 

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