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Computer Science Research Guide

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Ellen Cline
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Contact:
Belk Library 117
3362786586

Citation Resources

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Finding Sources

colorful image of library shelves with the word "journals" in the middleAlso known as "Scholarly Articles," "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:

  • written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic
  • usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
  • intended for an academic audience

Know your types of articles:

  • "peer-reviewed" means the article is approved by other experts before publication or presentation
  • a "review" article summarizes the field's current understanding of a topic (great for background information!)
  • a "preprint" is an early version of an article, usually prior to peer review
Pros Cons
  • information is based on research and expertise
  • information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
  • the peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
  • each article adds to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas
  • information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
  • often filled with field-specific jargon

Find Computer Science Articles:

colorful image of open books with the word "Books" in the middleBooks written by experts are a good source of information for many topics. Books in the sciences and engineering often contain:

  • exercises and examples
  • problem sets
  • other practical tools

Use these tools to help learn as you read.

Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!

 

Pros Cons
  • easier to read than journal articles, and (usually) written for a wider audience
  • often undergo a peer-review process
  • contain less recent information, due to the long publication process
  • can be lengthy

Find Computer Science Books:

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You may find that a number of computer science books are located in:

Datasets are collections of data, numeric or textual, arranged in tables.

Pros Cons
  • exact and specific
  • can contain incredible detail or level of granularity not found elsewhere
  • can be messy or contain bias
  • sometimes difficult to locate the exact type of data needed
  • might be restricted access

Find & Use Data: