80 likes | 216 Vues
This comprehensive guide presents essential strategies to enhance your research skills. Learn the importance of research, how to access article databases from off-campus, and effective methods for finding background information, books, and relevant articles. We will explore recommended databases like CQ Researcher, JSTOR, ProQuest, and more based on your topic needs. Use targeted search strategies, including Boolean operators, to refine your results. Equip yourself to navigate complex research environments confidently, supporting your analysis with credible sources.
E N D
Research for English 201 Ielleen Miller, Reference/Instruction Librarian imiller@ewu.edu Website: http://research.ewu.edu
Agenda • Why do research? • Accessing article databases from off-campus • Finding overviews/background info & books • Finding relevant articles to support analysis of topic • Article database recommendations • Database search strategy
Background, Overviews & Books • CQ Researcher = 10-20 page overviews of public policy issues • Online & print scholarly encyclopedias • Sage Reference Online • Gale Virtual Reference Library • Why find books? • EWU-Only Catalog • EWU WorldCat Catalog
Choosing Article Databases • Scholarly or non-scholarly? • Academic Search Complete & ProQuest – mixture of popular magazine articles, professional/trade articles, & scholarly journal articles from all disciplines; ProQuest also has lots of newspaper articles • Limit to particular type of article • Sense of what’s out there • Sense of which disciplines care about your issue • More news articles? LexisNexis Academic or ProQuest Newspapers
More scholarly articles? • Sage Journals Online & JSTOR – full text scholarly articles • Web of Science (& Social Science) – unique database that can rank by # of times article is cited by others • Social aspects? • SocINDEXwith Full Text for sociology • PsycINFOfor psychology • Political aspects? Worldwide Political Science Abstracts • Economic aspects? • Business Source Complete • EconLit • Religious aspects? Don’t have one just for religion; try JSTOR & ProQuest • Military aspects? Military & Government Collection • Other useful ones for 201 topics: Health Source: Nursing/Academic; Education Research Complete; and Communication & Mass Media Complete
Search Strategy for Article Databases • Freewritekeywords – what terms could someone use to describe topic? • What do you already know about your issue? Write down a few sentences, then note the nouns and other concrete terms • When reading a relevant source, note the vocabulary – background info very helpful here! • Typing in terms: • Exact phrases “in quotes” • Look for any version of a word with * = child* • AND between terms to require all • (x OR y) for synonyms • Note limiters (usually on left side of screen) • Note subjects/descriptorsof relevant records for ways to narrow results, or alternate wording • Full text of the article? • Sometimes right there with description • Other times use yellow Check for Full Text button to see if it’s online elsewhere, in print, or use Interlibrary Loan