USMAPS Recon Mission

USMAPS Recon Mission Target: USMA Library

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Introduction

Attn: USMAPS cadet candidates!

While it may be hard to physically access the library at this time, you still have access to our online resources. Today's task:complete an electronic recon mission of these online resources to find sources for your English essay and prepare you for becoming a USMA cadet. Your missions are to:

• Explore the USMA Library website
• Find resources using SCOUT (the library finding tool)
• Find peer reviewed journal articles using SCOUT
• Describe the steps of peer review
• Use Boolean Operators and keywords to find a peer-reviewed article for your Englsh essay

• Complete an AAR of USMAPS Recon Mission

Mission 0

USMA Library Website

Find and bookmark or favorite the USMA Library website: https://library.westpoint.edu

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 3

Mission 1

Mission 2

Final Test

Mission 4

Mission 5

Mission 1

USMA Library Chat

Now that you have bookmarked or favorited the USMA Library website, use the chat feature to ask for the Library Recon Mission codeword. To use chat, click on the red speech bubble icon on the right side of the website to chat.

Chat

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Mission 1

Codes

USMA Library Chat

Instructions for chat

• Click on the red chat icon
• Click Yes, I am ready
• Enter your name and email address when prompted
• Select Current Cadet/Cadet Candidate for your affiliation
• Choose Library Recon Mission from the dropdown menu.

• Answer the Chatbot's questions to receive the codeword

Mission 1

Getting Help

Chat is only one of several ways you can get help from a librarian while you are a cadet candidate!From the library homepage, click How Do I... and look for the Get Help box in the left hand column. What are two ways besides chat that you can get help from the library electronically?

Mission 1

Finding Sources

Return to the How Do I... page and click on the Find Sources link.This page gives a good overview of how to find many of the sources that the USMA Library provides. It has links to our physical books, eBooks, databases, newspapers, items in our Special Collections and Archives, streaming video and more. Explore the links on the Find Sources page to find the answer to the following question.

Mission 1

Video Streaming Service

Video files

Return to the How Do I... page and click on the Find Sources link.One of our most popular streaming services is Feature Films for Education. This collection contains hundreds of streaming titles and new content is added regularly. Find the link to streaming video services and click on the Feature Films for Education database. Click on Advanced Search and under Choose Filters, select Adventure and then search.

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 1

Mission 3

Mission 2

Mission 4

Final Test

Mission 5

Mission 2

SCOUT Search Bars

The home page of USMA Library website has two search bars and they search very different things. Searching in the wrong search bar will provide you with confusing results. Hover over the numbers to read about each search bar.

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Mission 2

SCOUT Search Bars

Answer the questions in numerical order

2. Which search bar should you use when you are looking for an article?

1. Which search bar should you use to find out how to reserve a study room?

3. Which search bar should you use to find out about the research process?

4. Which search bar should you use to find a book you need for research?

Continue

Back

Mission 2

Find Sources Using SCOUT

SCOUT is the Library’s discovery tool that allows you to search multiple sources at the same time. SCOUT displays books, eBooks, newspapers, journal articles, and more in a single search. You can always access SCOUT from the banner at the top of our website. Go to our website and in the SCOUT search bar, type Great Chain West Point. (PRO TIP! Typing the words exactly as directed will give you the most accurate results.) How many results were returned?

Search Results

300-450

100 - 150

201-250

151-200

Mission 2

Using Filters or Limiters To Find Online Sources

As a cadet candidate, you have access to the USMA Library's online sources. However, when searching in SCOUT, your results may include books, DVDs, or other physical items. To limit your search to resources that are available online, use the limiters (also called filters) on the left hand side of the screen. Three of the most useful limiters will be Available online, Peer-reviewed Journals, and Resource Type. Click continue to read more

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Mission 2

Using Filters or Limiters To Find Online Sources

Return to your search on Great Chain West Point. Click on the Available Online limiter and apply that filter.

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Mission 2

Learning More About Using Scout

The library has a set of tutorials designed to help you learn how to use SCOUT and take advantage of its capability. From the library home page, click on How do I... and then Find Sources. Click on the first link on that page which is View tutorials on how to search library resources.

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 1

Mission 3

Mission 2

Mission 4

Final Test

Mission 5

Mission 3

Finding Articles in SCOUT

The following activity will show you how to find articles and use limiters in SCOUT. You can follow these same steps when looking articles for your upcoming assignment.

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Mission 3

Finding Articles in SCOUT

Let's say you have a paper due on the military leadership style of General George S. Patton. Your instructor told you that you need scholarly articles (peer-reviewed articles) for this assignment.

• Search SCOUT using the term General George S. Patton. (PRO TIP! Typing the words exactly as directed will give you the most accurate results.)
• From the Resource type limiter, choose articles.
• Under the Availability limiter choose Available Online and Peer-Reviewed Journals.
• Under the Publication/Creation Date limiter type in a range of 2000 to 2010 and click Refine. (If you do not click Refine, the limiter will not work!)

Click on the title of the first article in the search results.

Patton's Third Army at War

General George S. Patton, Jr. and the Conquest of Fear

The Image of a General: The Wartime Relationship between General George S. Patton Jr. and the American Media

Mission 3

What is in a SCOUT Record?

You found the article "General General George S. Patton, Jr. and the Conquest of Fear." Click on the title of the article to look at the SCOUT record

Every SCOUT record contains a LOT of information. All the information will help you with your research. Here are some of the things you may find:

• The name of the author
• The title of the work
• A description of the item
• Whether or not it is available online
• Subject headings for further research
• A citation generator
• A call number of the item is on the shelves
• The name of the database if the item can be found in if it is online

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Mission 3

Pro Tip for Researchers

There are multiple ways to save an article, but one of the best ways is to use a permalink. A permalink is a persistent link to a resource found in SCOUT. Think of it as an article's permanent address in which you can reliably access it regardless of your location or platform. Copying the permalink (not the URL at the top of the website!) ensures that you will find your way back to a resource once you find it. Click on the icon that will copy the permalink.

Mission 3

Citations

A citation is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, and also includes information about the author, publisher, and the title of the work. Look again at the Send To options. Click on the citation icon to move on in your mission.

Mission 3

Article Descriptions

Go down to the description of the article about Patton. These descriptions (or abstracts) are a great way to get an overview of the article, without having to read the whole thing.

Abstracts

Mission 3

More about Citations

Look again at the SCOUT record for "General General George S. Patton, Jr. and the Conquest of Fear" and look at the Send To options. Click on the citation icon and select the Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition) citation style. Look at the citation provided by SCOUT and answer the following question.

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 1

Mission 3

Mission 2

Mission 4

Final Test

Mission 5

Mission 4

Peer-Reviewed Articles

During your time at West Point, you will be asked to find peer-reviewed articles for your papers and assignments. Peer review is a process in academic publishing used to maintain the quality and reliability of scholarly work. When an article is peer reviewed, it means that experts in the same field have carefully examined the research before it's published.

Peer Reviews

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Mission 4

Watch this 2 minute video

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Creative Commons License (Reuse) from McMaster Libraries

Mission 4

Mission 4

Peer-Reviewed Articles

The previous video described the process of peer review. On the following slide, click through the interactive graphic to continue your mission.

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Click here to begin the peer review process

The Peer Review Process

Editor requests revisions

Author Submission

Author Resubmission

editor Decision point

Submission is accepted for publication

editor Decision point

Reviwers evaluate and make recommendations

Submission Rejected

Submission Rejected

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Mission 4

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 1

Mission 3

Mission 2

Mission 4

Final Test

Mission 5

Mission 4

Boolean Operators

When searching for articles in SCOUT or in library databases or even in Google or Google Scholar, Boolean Operators can be used to expand or narrow your search.

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Mission 5

Boolean Operators

Watch this 1 minute video

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Mission 5

Boolean Operators

Mission 5

Putting it together: Using Boolean Operators with Keywords

Mission 5

You research really takes off when you use Boolean Operators with Keywords to search about your topic. To find good keywords for your research topic, start by identifying the main concepts you want to explore. Then brainstorm related terms, including synonyms, broader terms, and more specific phrases that describe your subject. For example, in your English course, you are looking into what makes a responsible American citizen. So, try combining terms in different ways, like "civic responsibility AND American values" or "engaged citizenship AND democracy." Or, if there is a person you are interested in researching, try their name with a character trait or famous action, such as “Martin Luther King AND Protest".

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Using Boolean Operators and Keywords

Mission 5

• Go to SCOUT
• Enter the exact following search string: citizen AND educating AND democracy (Remember! Spelling counts and so does using ALL CAPS when using Boolean Operators)

• Click the Peer-reviewed Journals filter

Abstracts

Mission 5

Remember, an abstract is a brief summary at the beginning of a article that tells you the main points. Reading the abstract first saves you time because it helps you quickly decide if the article contains the information you need for your research, without having to read the entire paper.

Mission 5

Brainstorming your own keywords

Mission 5

Search SCOUT and share your results

Missions

Accomplish each mission to complete your USMA Library Recon

Mission 1

Mission 3

Mission 2

Mission 4

AAR

Mission 5

AAR

AAR

AAR

AAR

Completed

Congratulations, you have successfully completed the USMAPS Library Recon Mission!

Start over?

Not quite candidate! Check your information and try again.

back

Submission Accepted

Even after a submssion is accepted, there is more to be done! Articles must still be copyedited and formatted before publication.

Author Submission

An author prepares and submits a manuscript to a journal where it will be looked at by an editor. While manuscripts used to be sent through the mail, today potential articles are submitted electronically.

Correct!

The citation generator will provide you with a citation. Please keep in mind that different professors require different types of citations so always check your assignment and verify that your citation is correct before turning in your assignment.

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Editor Requests Revisions

The editor may choose to ask the author to revise their submission and resubmit it after changes are made. These changes may be major or minor. Click the continue button on the bottom left of your screen to continue your recon mission.

Correct!

The permalink feature is one of the many options you can find on a SCOUT record. Another feature is the citation generator.

Continue

Editor Decision Point

After the editor receives the recommendations from the reviewers, he can make one of two decisions:

• Reject the submission and relay this decision to the author
• Ask the author to make revisions and submit the article again
• Accept the article for publication

There may be mutltiple rounds of peer review before a submission is accepted for publication.

Correct!

The search on Great Chain West Point returns between 300 - 450 results.

Continue

Editor Decision Point

When an editor receives a submission, he can make one of two decisions:

• Reject the submission and relay this decision to the author
• Send the article to a group of reviewers for their recommendation

Correct!

General George S. Patton, Jr. and the Conquest of Fear is the article you should have found.

Continue

Click on the shapes to move through the peer review process

Reviewers Evaluate and Make Recommendations

A reviewer or group of reviewers ealuate the submission. These individuals would be experts in the same field of study as the author which is why it is called "'peer" review. Sometimes the reviewers are called referees and the article a "refereed article" instead of a "peer-reviewd" article. The reviewers will look at:

• Whether the research methods are sound and the findings reliable
• If the submission is novel or important in its field of stuidy
• Whether there are bias or ethical issues that need to be resolved
• The quality of the writing and presentation of the submission

The reviewers then send recommendations to the editor. Those recommendations could be to publish the article with major or minor revisions, or to reject the article.