Finding Research Literature: What, Where and How? Marilyn Coen CURTIN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology CRICOS Provider code 00301J

Outline • • • • • • •

Library databases – what, where, how? Journal articles Creating a search strategy Try a search Managing your information Libguides and other resources Help

Reference Sources

Theses Journal articles • What is a scholarly journal? o Published regularly o Contains a number of articles by different authors o Some are “peer-reviewed”

Why use scholarly journal articles? • • • •

Currency Recent research in specific areas Authority Specialised and relevant information

Peer Reviewed/ Scholarly: How do you know? •Abstract and bibliography •Credentials of author •Language - specialized •Publisher •Lack of advertisements

Identifiers of a Scholarly journal article

Journal example

Where to find journal articles? • Library catalogue »allows article level searching

• Library databases »Databases A-Z list & LibGuides

What is a database? • An online resource containing – » » » » » »

Reference works Academic journals Trade magazines Books Newspaper articles Standards, theses, videos, images, industry reports conference proceedings, law reports…

• May be multi-disciplinary or subject specific • May be full text, citation only or combination

Which database for me? • Refer to subject Libguides • Read the information on the databases A – Z page • Choose from the list of popular databases on the databases A – Z page

Searching Searching Databases databases Considerations: • Think about your topic • Establish terminology and keywords -use a Thesaurus! • Construct a search strategy using keywords and Boolean Operators (OR, AND, NOT) • Watch spelling variations (eg colo?r, organi?e) • Use truncation

Creating a search strategy Sample topic: Discuss the role of climate change in natural disasters

Creating a search strategy Step 1: Identify keywords/concepts Step 2: Find alternative terms Step 3: Combine terms using Boolean Operators (OR, AND) Step 4: Other search tips

Creating Creatingaasearch searchstrategy strategy Step 1: Identify keywords • climate change • natural disasters

Creating Creatingaasearch searchstrategy strategy Step 2: Find alternative terms climate change = global warming natural disasters = fires, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes

Creating Creatingaasearch searchstrategy strategy Step 3: Combine terms using Boolean Operators (AND, OR) climate change OR global warming AND natural disasters OR fires OR floods OR tsunamis OR earthquakes

Creating Creatingaasearch searchstrategy strategy Step 4: Other search tips o Truncations (*)- caters for singular and plural

forms of a word, for words that begin with the same stem/root. Eg work* finds works, worked, working, worker etc o Wildcards (?) – caters for spelling variations. Eg organi?ation finds organisation, organization

o Phrase searching (“ ” ) – searches a word as a phrase. Eg “heart attack”

Creating a search strategy Step 4 and final strategy: “climate change” OR “global warming” AND “natural disasters” OR fires OR flood* OR tsunami* OR earthquake*

Searching a Database Database search Search ProQuest - demonstration Refine search results using filters – o peer-reviewed or scholarly journals o ‘subject’ – select from drop down list o limit by location o limit by date

Evaluating resources Refine and evaluate resources Evaluating information/resources: Using Ulrichsweb Web of Science/Scopus

Searching Manage yourDatabases information Keep up-to-date: • Alerts • Save searches • eShelf • EndNote

Manage your information

EndNote & EndNote Online • A bibliographical software • Allows you to store and manage all your references in one place • Stores bibliographic records of books, chapters, journal articles, websites, reports etc • Automatically generates citations in specific styles (eg APA 6, Chicago 16, Vancouver) • To find out more  EndNote LibGuide, attend an EndNote workshop

Libguides resources Libguidesand and other other resources • Humanities specific Libguide – » Leads to subject guides » Specific information in your field

• Research support Libguide – » Help with your literature review

• How to find… Libguide – » Useful for finding alternative information resources

Can’t find your resources? • Inter-library Loans • Document Delivery • Reciprocal borrowing

Additional guides to your literature review • Useful websites for information on writing literature reviews: Curtin University’s Learning Support Centre –

http://life.curtin.edu.au/learning_support/learning_centre.htm

Other University websites:

http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=648279 Use tabs across the top to find relevant information eg searching the literature, critical reading etc https://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/literature-review This includes examples of literature reviews – see links to the right of the page http://www.rmit.edu.au/library/literaturereview Again gives some useful hints on writing a successful literature review.

Further help…. • Library skills workshops – bookable from the Library home page – free workshops on how to use the library catalogue, search databases, use EndNote etc http://library.curtin.edu.au/

• Faculty Librarian – Marilyn Coen 9266 4279 [email protected] • Humanities team – 9266 7209 [email protected] Thankyou and good luck!