Library Research Notebook: The Meme and

the Human: Digital Literacies (Spring 2022)

Here’s a synopsis of what this notebook covers and gives you experience with:

● How to reflect on your research passions / what interests you? / you care about what?
● How to generate keywords and why they are crucial
● Keyword tips & tricks / Know Boolean operators!
● How to narrow your research topic
● How to find background information
● How to navigate UC Library Search
● How to find relevant books
● How to do a virtual shelf search or “virtual browse”
● How to find articles
● What’s a peer reviewed article?
● How to explore database searching
● How to located several relevant academic journal articles
● How to get help from a librarian (several ways)
● How to find a research guide for your topic

SECTION 1

Read the entire Library Research Notebook, follow the instructions, and answer the *prompts.
You are free to pursue here your self-chosen research topic for either Project 2 (script &
presentation w slidedeck) or Project 3 (final multimodal expository research essay).

*I am researching the mental game for athletes and the role of psychology in sports.

*Because I want to find out what the psychological factors of sports are, the important role they
play, and hope they can affect physical performance.

*List any important people, places, time periods, concepts, movements, etc. related to your topic.
What key words are beginning to emerge? 

People:
● Simone Biles (Olympic Gymnast)
● Yogi Berra (Baseball Player)
● Vishwanathan Anand (Chess Player)
Concepts:
● There has been a strong link between mental readiness and positive sport performance
● The mental aspect of sports is as important and if not more important than the physical
aspects.

*Explain how doing this research will inspire you and be relevant to your time at Cal and to your
quality of life now and in the future, how it will contribute to the Common Good, and/or how
your research in R4B can benefit you in your future career. In other words, are you passionate
about this topic? Is it relevant to you? If so, why? If not, what meaningful, relevant-to-you
research topic might you pick that you can invest yourself in wholeheartedly and benefit from
both now and later? 

I am passionate about this research because I feel that I can relate to it as I play a collegiate sport
and have previously had negative performances due to mental setbacks I was having in my sport.
My parents took me to see a sports psychologist and my physical performance had many positive
improvements after so I feel that I will benefit from the research I am doing regarding this topic
as I have experienced this firsthand.
SECTION 2
Generate Keywords

We've just done some background research that helped us generate keywords. It's good to have a
long list of search terms that you can use when looking for books and articles about your topic.
This is because everyone thinks differently, and resource discovery tools think differently than
people - you may use the word "red" to describe Elmo, but your professor may call Elmo
"crimson," and the database may call Elmo "scarlet." To mediate the effects of this, it is useful to
think about synonyms and alternate phrases ahead of time.

Keyword 1 – 2 – 3

*Condense your research question or thesis statement into a brief statement of 6-8 words:

The role of psychology in sports.

*Identify some core concepts in your statement and any related concepts that come to mind
(topics, issues, ideas, people, places, time periods, films, tv shows, news, media, things, objects,
etc.): 

● mental health
● sports performance
● sports psychology
● Simone Biles
● 2020 Olympics
● Yogi Berra
● mental game
○ motivation
○ anxiety
○ mental imagery
○ setting goals
 Keyword Tips and Tricks

Search like a pro using these smooth operators

Research Hacks Using Simple Words and Punctuation as "Commands"

SECTION 3
Finding Background Information

Before taking a deep dive into scholarly research, you should first find out some background
information about your topic. That's a best practice, a necessity. Here's how:
* Consult encyclopedias, introductory guides, and other reference tools that can provide you with
a high level overview of your topic.
* Look for key information (names, dates, movements, important works, etc.), themes, and
keywords that will help you search for books and articles.
* Look at encyclopedia entries that will often include bibliographies to give you a head start on
important scholarship.

Start Here: https://search-credoreference-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/

Search your broad topic, concept, time period, movement, author, etc. Scan a relevant,
substantive entry, and jot down important keywords, facts, dates, and scholarly book references.

Keeping good notes, either in a research notebook, whether analog: such as spiralbound paper or
digital, such as PowerNotes (https://powernotes.com/) or Zotero or others
(https://www.relevance.com/six-tools-to-run-and-organize-your-content-research/) is essential.
Many options have free basic services that can help you beast R4B.

Using Credo Reference, insert your proposed research topic, and read a few of the amazing
sources that come up. Pick one that is especially useful. (Also note that you can elect to "Save"
the ones you find useful and want to come back to.)

*What is one thing you learned about your topic from this entry you selected? 
There is research that suggests that psychological techniques such as self-talk, anxiety
management, and goal setting are found to be a positive contributor in sport performance.

*What terms from the entry could you use as keywords when you search other databases? 
● Anxiety
● Goal
● Sport psychology
● Goal setting
● Neuroticism

*Look at the bibliography in the source you just chose. Write down the title of one book that
might further propel your project. *Seriously. Write title and author down in your notebook -
you're going to want to remember this. If you don't see a bibliography for your entry, try clicking
on another source. 
The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science by W. Edward
Craighead , Charles B. Nemeroff

SECTION 4
Look at you go!

Remember that excellent research happens because you care about your topic, are excited to find
out more, work on it weekly several hours, are unafraid to hit a dead end, back up, and try
another path, and keep going.
 SECTION 5
Find a Book

Let's take the keywords we've generated and put them to use! UC Library Search launched in
July 2021, and it replaces Oskicat and Melvyl as the Berkeley library catalog for books. UC
Library Search is the University of California’s new unified discovery and borrowing system that
streamlines your search for UC Library collections.

UC LIBRARY SEARCH INCLUDES:

● Scholarly and peer-reviewed journals and articles

● Books and eBooks
● Course Reserves
● Special formats (media, maps, newspapers, dissertations, etc.)
● Government documents and datasets
 ● Primary resources, archives, and special collections

UC Library Search does not include everything UC Berkeley offers (ex: UC Berkeley Law
Library collections at https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/). For a full list of what is not included, see our
FAQ here: https://ucberkeley.libanswers.com/faq/349506. More information can be found in our
UC Library Search User Guide here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/uclibrarysearch/.

Why find a book?

● Books are good places to start because they provide breadth and depth on your topic.
● By contrast, journal articles may often be too narrow at the early stages of the research
process.
● You can use one relevant book to find other relevant books.
● A good book's footnotes and Bibliography (Works Cited) are like source treasure chests!

Start here: https://search.library.berkeley.edu/discovery/search?vid=01UCS_BER:UCB

A Book Is as Cool as a Light Saber. Word.

*Find a Book. Remember how I asked you to find a book in the encyclopedia bibliography
before? Well we're coming back to that now! Try to find that book in UC Library Search! If you
can't find it, try to find another book on your topic using the search terms you generated. Write
the call number of the book you found below: 
On UC Library Search, the book was only available online at:
https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/lib/berkeley-ebooks/detail.action?pq-ori
gsite=primo&docID=708525
Find Books Nearby on the Shelf

The call number of a book is like an address. It tells you the location of the book. Books at the
library are arranged on the shelf by topic. This means you can find several books about your
topic near each other. Even when you're online, you can find out what's nearby on the shelf by
clicking on a book's call number. From above, let's pick call # PN1995.9.S695 S76 2005 for Star
Wars and Philosophy by Decker and Eberl.

Click on the call number and locate two more books on your topic. Do a "Virtual Browse" and/or
an In-Person One, if safe and if permitted on campus.

Here you are doing a "Virtual Browse," a function located at the bottom of the webpage after you
click on your chosen call number. Write the titles, locations, and call numbers below of the 2
other books you found from Virtual Browsing.
Encyclopedia of Psychology by Alan E. Kazdin; Doe Library BF31 .E54 2000

The Humanistic and mental health aspects of sports, exercise, and recreation by Timothy T.
Craig; Bioscience, Natural Resources & Public Health Library GV706.4 .H851

[Owing to earthquake construction and omicron, sadly not possible Sp22 but read anyway
please, for future use] Note: If possible, try this technique in person at Moffitt or another library
on campus. Go to that stack of your chosen call number, and look around that book on those
shelves nearby. Also remember sometimes books are misshelved by students, faculty (!), and
others there, so look in places all around, and be adventurous. Serendipity is also a part of
well-organized, conscientious research efforts.

*Below you see the section "Virtual Browse" and the selections I found from putting in call #
PN1995.9.S695 S76 2005 for Star Wars and Philosophy by Decker and Eberl. Do your own
Virtual Browse using your research topic / selected book, and then after virtual browsing, write
below the titles, locations, and call #s of the 2 other books you found from Virtual Browsing:

Now you've got 3 books you can use in your research!

Way to go! We're in this together!

 SECTION 6
Find Articles

● Peer-review is a process by which experts in a field fact-check an article before it is

published
● This process is time consuming and expensive, which is why it's difficult for scholars to
get published
● Peer-reviewed articles often address more focused topics.
● Often to choose a peer-reviewed article, you must click "Peer Reviewed" under "Limit
To" on the "Refine Results" (see below).

What are peer-reviewed articles and why are citations important? (Video by Marisa
Méndez-Brady)
Find Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Berkeley subscribes to many databases that contain peer-reviewed articles. These databases are
subject specific, so the best way to choose a useful database for your research is to select the
subject that is most related to your research topic from the dropdown menu "All Subjects," and
choose a database that is recommended by a librarian in your subject area.

Start here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/az.php

Some good interdisciplinary database options are:

● JSTOR https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.berkeley.edu/
● Project MUSE https://muse-jhu-edu.libproxy.berkeley.edu/
● ProQuest Databases https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/advanced

Click on "All Subjects" to choose databases that help your research

*What database did you choose? Under "Film Studies," I chose "Film and Television Literature
Index with Full Text." Give yours here:
ProQuest Databases

*Search the database using the keywords you generated earlier, and find a relevant article. Copy
paste a citation for an article on your topic: 
Niewiaroski, D. (1987, Apr 09). Diver sees tough side to sport; yaggi focuses on mental aspects:
[FINAL edition]. The Washington Post (Pre-1997 Fulltext) Retrieved from
https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/diver-sees-tough-side-sport-yaggi-focuses-on/docview/30
6885926/se-2?accountid=14496
*Download the article if full text is available. I chose "Return of the Jedi: Epic Graffiti" by Todd
H. Sammons, as my peer-reviewed article. 
*Find an Article from the Bibliography. Open the article you just found. (If it isn't available
through Berkeley, browse your results again for a full text article on your topic.) Scroll through
your article until you reach the bibliography. Browse the bibliography for another article on your
topic. Write down the title and author below. Also remember to search footnotes for new
sources! Give yours here:
In mind games, always play to win; Whether an Olympian or a beginner, athletes at any level can
benefit from mental techniques to improve focus.: [HOME EDITION] by Marianne
Szegedy-Maszak
*New Keywords? Scan the titles, abstracts, and subjects of your search results. Have you come
across any new keywords as you've searched? Write them down here: 
● Mental techniques
● Defensive and offensive mental skills
● Performance setbacks

SECTION 7
Way to go!
 &
Ask a librarian for help!

You now have 3 books and at least 2 articles to add to your bibliography! Woot!

I know you're excited, but stop here for a minute...

Pro tip: If Berkeley does not have access to the article that you want, you can request it from ILL
and it will be delivered to your email in a few days! ILL? That's InterLibrary Loan, and yes, in
the parlance for today, ILL is "sick"! You need to plan ahead to use it, as sometimes it can take a
few days or longer to get the ILL you request, but it's an awesome way to expand your research
parameters!

Request It
● This link connects you to borrow from other libraries. If our library is able to request or
purchase the article, they'll send a scan to your inbox in a few days!
https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/using-the-libraries/interlibrary-loan-borrowing

Get Help
● Always a good option if you're feeling confused. Simply go here for many ways to Ask a
Librarian: https://search.library.berkeley.edu/discovery/search?vid=01UCS_BER:UCB

Librarians love it when you ask them for help. You can make a research appointment or have an
online chat. Do it! Just click on one of the links below, found here:
https://search.library.berkeley.edu/discovery/search?vid=01UCS_BER:UCB

I'm always THRILLED when great research happens!

 SECTION 8
Explore More

Research Guides & More!

Find the Research Guide for Your Topic

The Library has specialized research guides for every discipline. If you are doing an
interdisciplinary topic, there may be several guides relevant to you.

*Browse all research guides at https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/ Click on a subject related to your

topic and select a guide link that you might use. 

*Find a Database or Digital Collection Useful for You. Look through the Research Guide you
choose above. Write down the name of a database or digital collection that might be useful to
you as you continue to research. Give that here:
Under “Psychology,” I chose “Mental Health Accessibility and Psychology in Practice.”

What other sources might be helpful to answer your research question?

Don't be afraid to explore! A research project, remember, is the tip of the iceberg. The "iceberg"
is all the research you did, and it all counts and you learn from it; however, only the "tip" of the
iceberg makes it into the project. That's true for everyone, at all levels of research experience.

Getting Research Help. Here are additional ways to get help:

● Learn more about UC Library Search: https://news.lib.berkeley.edu/uc-library-search
 ● Stay up to date with Library Services and Resources During COVID-19:
https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/help/research-help/remote-resources
● 24/7 Chat/IM: tinyurl.com/3km75szf
● Research help appointments (via Zoom): https://berkeley.libcal.com/appointments
● Email subject librarians to get help in a specific subject:
https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/help/subject-specialists

*Write down ways that you have sought help already and/or ways that you will seek help,
including the possibilities listed right above and asterisked:  
I will seek help through the 24/7 librarian chat.

*Write down other sources that may help you. These could include newspapers, other databases,
other books, other peer-reviewed articles, images, recordings such as at the Library of Congress,
podcasts, original photos, etc. Give these here:
Richardson, A. (1967). Mental Practice: A review and discussion: Part I. The Research
Quarterly, 38, 95–107.

*What's something you want the librarian to cover during your library workshop? 
Things to aid in finding relevant sources for your research.

Feedback for Our Amazing Librarians

*I am a first year.

*What is one thing that worked well about this notebook? 

It made it a lot easier for me to find credible relevant sources for my Project 2.

*How long did this take you to complete? 

This took me about 3 hours total to complete.

*What is one way this notebook could be improved? 

I can’t think of anything to improve this

Sources: This Library Research Notebook was adapted by Dr. Carmen Acevedo Butcher from a
workshop and google form by UC Berkeley Librarian Kristina Bush and from an adaptation of
that work by UC Berkeley Librarian Kiyoko Shiosaki.