MFT 6100 Social Ecology of Family

For this class, you will complete a review of literature project on a family topic*. 

For these papers, you will need to use:

• at least 10 references to academic journal articles (at least 6 from MFT journals)

• APA style for formatting and citations

Learn how to locate these resources in the library or the library's web site by using this guide. 

*Please review the assignment specifications on your course syllabus.

Image credit: Chihuly Bridge of Glass by Kristen Hoffman,CC BY 4.0

By the end of using this subject guide, students should be able to:

• identify peer-reviewed articles on your paper topic
• use the catalog to identify a book on your paper topic
• create a properly formatted APA paper including cover page, abstract, in-text citations, and references

Set up your Ebsco account to save articles in folders across all Ebsco databases (e.g. Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete).

1. Open an Ebsco database, such as Academic Search Complete or APA PsycInfo (list of all SPU databases)
2. Choose Sign In at the top of the screen. 
3. Click on Create a new Account to set up your personalized Ebsco account (not your SPU username and password).
4. Fill out the short form to create a new account. 
5. Remember to always sign in when adding articles to folders or they will not be saved! 

It can be extremely useful or necessary to listen to text-based readings rather than only to visually read them:

• Use your commuting, walking, or cleaning time to listen to your course texts!
• Listen while you visually read along with a text to try to increase comprehension and memory.
• Use as a writing strategy: listen to your own writing as a way to notice areas to improve.
• Use a a motivation strategy; if you don't feel motivated to do anything, at least listening to readings will allow you to make some progress and may re-engage you in your work.

SPU has a tool called SensusAccess, which can convert text-based files to audio (plus other ways to change file types).

1. Start at SPU’s SensusAccess Conversion Tool.
2. (Step 1 of process) Upload a PDF document (or text or URL) you’d like converted to a streaming audio file. (If you have a print book, scan to PDF the section you need. If you are starting with a text file in another format, go straight to Step 6.)
3. (Step 2) Select Accessibility conversion. This will send you a Word document, which will put header and footer info into correct places (it won't read you all those headers and footers) and which you can then edit otherwise as needed (don't need to listen to the 25 references at the end of the chapter? Delete them!).
4. (Step 4) Email the file to yourself at your SPU email address, which takes only a few minutes to process.
5. Re-start at SensusAccess Conversion Tool, and (Step 1) upload the Word document you’d been emailed. 
6. (Step 2) Select MP3 audio as the target format.
7. (Step 3) Select language of document and audio speed (choose default to start, then consider another speed later if necessary).
8. (Step 4) Email the streaming file to yourself. It may take longer to process, depending on the length of audio, but is usually ready with 5 min - 1 hour.

The streaming audio file will be a link in the email and is available for one week. If you need it longer, re-convert the Word file to mp3.

Happy listening!

audiobook by Clea Doltz is licensed CC BY 3.0.