Re: [LM_NET] Proquest Citation Inaccuracies

[Thomas Kaun <tomkaun@GMAIL.COM>]

Hi, Tere.
I understand your frustration. Which is why we have to teach kids proper
citation formats and let them know that no automated system, however good,
will take the place of carefully checking the result. The information which
these automated systems use is that provided by the text provided. They
cannot take into account quirks and unusual placement of various components
of the item record.
I think some of us believe that some person has gone through and
individually made the citations in the proper format for MLA, APA, Turabian,
etc. when, in fact, they just use the individual data pieces to make them
work as a proper citation. Most databases have disclaimers which
specifically state that the citation need to be checked against specific
rules. This is an example from EBSCO:
*"NOTE:* Review the instructions at EBSCO Support Site and make any
necessary corrections before using. Pay special attention to personal names,
capitalization, and dates. *Always consult your library resources for the
exact formatting and punctuation guidelines*." (Emphasis added)
Especially bad are the automatic citation makers which purport to create
citations for web pages since there are no rules about where author, title,
etc. are found on a web page. The automatically created citation is only a
rough template for the eventual correct citation.
Our kids need to know about these issues and need to be lead through their
frustration over these very useful tools which database vendors and others
provide them. There is no easy fix to the citation problem. (Debbie Abilock
of NoodleTools may dispute this!). ;<)
Tom

Thomas T. Kaun, Teacher Librarian
Bessie Chin Library @ Redwood High School
Larkspur, CA 94939
tomkaun@gmail.com | Library Web site: http://rhslibrary.org
President: Calif. School Library Assoc. - NS

Information doesn’t deserve to be free. It is an abstract tool; a useful
fantasy, a nothing. It is nonexistent until and unless a person experiences
it in a useful way. --Jaron Lanier


On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 9:34 AM, Tere Hager
<thager@brentwoodchristian.org>wrote:

>
>
>  Today while working with 8th grade English classes, we discovered that
> Proquest e-library and Proquest Gold databases have things cited
> incorrectly. It appears that they are copying  the author's name exactly
> how
> it is listed at the top of the article instead of putting it in correct MLA
> format. Event though it SAYS it is in MLA format. Some are listed first
> name
> then last name. Two authors are listed with both last names' first. The
> mistakes are all over the board. It is incredibly frustrating. Has anyone
> else experienced this?
>
>
>
> Tere Hager
>
> Secondary Librarian
>
> Brentwood Christian School
>
> 11908 N. Lamar Blvd.
>
> Austin, Tx 78753
>
> 512-835-5983 X 128
>
> thager@brentwoodchristian.org
>
>
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