LibRes2006rev

Library Research  - Your Strategy: 

Library Research - Your Strategy Psychology Library Presentation Chaikin/Popescu ‘06

Steps of library research : 

Steps of library research Choosing and developing your topic Finding background information Finding books Finding periodical articles (magazine, newspaper, and journal articles) Using the WWW to find Internet resources Evaluating the sources that you find Citing your sources

Choosing and developing a topic: 

Choosing and developing a topic Discuss your topic ideas with your course instructor. Look over the index and the article titles in a specialized encyclopedia or handbook that covers the subject area or discipline of your topic. State your topic idea. Identify the main concepts or keywords in your topic. Ask a librarian for help with identifying your main terms and keywords for researching your topic!

Finding background information: 

Finding background information Dictionaries Encyclopedias Handbooks Bibliographies Use Princeton’s Main Catalog to find these

Finding books: 

Finding books Search the Princeton Main Catalog Search WorldCat Use Borrow Direct or Interlibrary Loan services if book is not available at Princeton

“Borrow Direct” : 

“Borrow Direct” Borrow Direct is a rapid book borrowing and delivery service offered by Princeton University Library and six partner libraries-- Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, and Yale. For patron id: enter the number on the back of your Princeton ID card All Princeton students, faculty, and staff may request books through Borrow Direct. Material is usually available for pickup within 4 business days. Items are loaned for 30 days with no renewals.

Finding periodical articles: 

Finding periodical articles Journal articles, magazine, & newspaper articles To find periodical articles, use specialized periodical databases, i.e. PsycINFO, MEDLINE, or generalized databases like Proquest, EBSCO Academic Search Premier or Wilson’s Omni File. The Princeton Main Catalog does not include information about specific articles within periodicals, but it will tell you what periodical titles are available at Princeton, either in hard copy or electronically. Remember that if you find an article in a database, this does not necessarily mean that Princeton owns the title, you must check the Main Catalog. If not available at Princeton, request through Interlibrary Loan.

“Find it@PUL” : 

“Find it@PUL” This service allows you to link from a useful record in a database to the full text article (if available) or to other options for obtaining that article. Here are some of the options available through Find it@PUL: Link directly to the full-text of an article Link to the Princeton University Library Main Catalog to see if PU owns the item cited Request the item from Interlibrary Loan if Princeton does not own the item Send Questions and Comments about Find it@PUL Get more information on the Find it@PUL service

Once you click on “Find it @ PUL” you will see the following:: 

Once you click on “Find it @ PUL” you will see the following:

E-Journal Finder  connect through the E-Journals page first : 

E-Journal Finder connect through the E-Journals page first The E-Journal Finder identifies full-text journals available through many of our database vendors (RLG, Proquest, etc.). It is not a complete list of journals available at Princeton. Search the Main Catalog by journal title if you do not find the journal you need.

E-Journal Finder: 

E-Journal Finder The E-Journal Finder identifies full-text journals available through many of our database vendors (RLG, Proquest, etc.). It is not a complete list of journals available at Princeton. Search the Main Catalog by journal title if you do not find the journal you need. Search Tips: Enter the title of the journal, then click on the Find it@PUL button. Omit initial articles Change "&" to "and" Journals with initials and subtitles:    First search initials without the subtitle    (i.e. ELH for English Literary History)    If there is no result, add the subtitle; omit the colon    (i.e. TC a Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism) Multi-choice menu results    Return to the search form and add a date when a    multi-choice menu displays. Search the title again.

RefWorks: 

RefWorks What is RefWorks and why would I want to use it? RefWorks is a bibliographic citation manager, that is, software that keeps track of the sources you are using for your research and your own notes about them. See - http://libweb.princeton.edu/help/en-rw.php

EndNote : 

EndNote EndNote (like RefWorks) is also a bibliographic citation manager. EndNote is available for purchase at an educational rate from the Princeton Software Repository (and also on most computer clusters). For information on how to search this software, link to to: http://libweb.princeton.edu/help/en-rw.php

Searching Journal Article Databases: 

Searching Journal Article Databases Using PsycINFO as an example Keep in mind that there are many databases which Princeton offers. You can locate them by searching the databases page. On the main library web page, see – “Articles and Databases” at – http://libweb.princeton.edu/catalogs/articles.php

Four Steps to Beginning Your Research in a Database:: 

Four Steps to Beginning Your Research in a Database: Compose your question How television violence can effect children Identify key concepts television violence children Look up terms in database thesaurus (a controlled vocabulary) television in de; violence in de; children in de Combine concepts using Boolean Logic AND OR NOT

Boolean Logic: 

Boolean Logic

Controlled Vocabulary  (subject terms used in a database): 

Controlled Vocabulary (subject terms used in a database) Examples: PsycINFO – APA’s Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms MEDLINE – NLM’s Medical Subject Headings-Annotated Alphabetic List Main Catalog – Library of Congress Subject Headings These show you the subject terms you can and cannot use.

Sample entry from:The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms 9th ed. 2001: 

Sample entry from: The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms 9th ed. 2001 Neurosis 1967 PN 4727 SC 33860 SN Psychoanalytic term referring to mental conditions characterized primarily by anxiety, fears, obsessive thoughts, compulsions, dissociation, and depression. Neuroses have no organic origins and are believed to be a product of unconscious processes resulting from internal conflicts. Compare PSYCHOSIS. UF Psychoneurosis B Mental Disorders 1967 N Childhood Neurosis 1973 Experimental Neurosis 1973 R Anxiety 1967 Borderline States 1978 Dissociation 2001 Fear 1967 Major Depression 1988 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 1985 ____________________________________________________________ *Please Note – PsycINFO calls their subjects “de” for descriptors. MEDLINE calls their subjects “MeSH” for Medical Subject Headings Other databases may use “su” for subjects.

Slide20: 

Opiates and learning (free text) verses Opiates in de and learning in de (words as descriptors) Opiates in ti and learning in ti (words in title) The first will give you the greatest number of “hits”, but the second will yield better results: the third even better, more accurate “hits” Hint: the best way to search is to begin by using your terms as “descriptors” (or subjects). If the number is too large, look for terms in the “title”; if number is too small use “free text” searching. “Free Text” Searching versus “Field Tag” Searching

Truncation (sometimes known as “Wildcards”) For singular, plural, or word-roots ? * !: 

Truncation (sometimes known as “Wildcards”) For singular, plural, or word-roots ? * ! child? adolescen? children adolescent childhood adolescence childlike adolescently Be very careful of small word roots when looking for plurals… cat* rat* catastrophe rational cataract ratify category ratio Rather use: (cat or cats) (rat or rats) Some databases use “internal truncation” Example - wom!n for woman or women lab!r for labor or labour

Proximity (Adjacency) Operators: 

Proximity (Adjacency) Operators Examples are - NEAR WITH ADJ “NEAR” means “next to” (by a certain number) and in the same sentence: abnormal near1 behavior abnormal near2 behavior abnormal near3 behavior etc…… “WITH” means in the same “field” abnormal with behavior means you will find both terms in either the title field, the abstract field, or in the descriptor field. “ADJ” means terms must be next to each other, in that order. Example - “genetic adj screening” *Note - Putting words in quotes will look for terms as a phrase. Example – “fear of flying”

Setting “LIMITS”Remember to check each database for their “limits”: 

Setting “LIMITS” Remember to check each database for their “limits” EXAMPLES – Limit your search by: Year Document Type (journal article, government document, book chapter etc…) Language Place of Publication Age Group (child, adolescent, adult, elderly)

Index Searching: 

Index Searching Use INDEX when possible (especially for authors): You might find: Smith, J Smith, JJ Smith, Jonathan Smith, Jonathan J. Smith, Jonathan James Smyth, Jonathan (all of the above are the same person)

Helpful Hints : 

Helpful Hints Read the “Help” screens in the database you are searching to learn about the particulars of that database. Learn which symbols are used for truncation; which “limits” are available, in what form the authors names are used in the database you are searching in, for example, Smith, JJ or Smith, John Joseph. “Guided Searches” are usually the most helpful and intuitive. Remember to search “databases” to find journal articles and the Main Catalog to find books and journal titles (not articles). It is important to remember that when you find articles in databases, it does not necessarily mean Princeton owns the material. You need to check the title in Main Catalog to see if it is on campus. WHEN IN DOUBT – SEEK HELP FROM THE LIBRARY STAFF!

Important Psychology Databases : 

Important Psychology Databases PsycINFO – back to 1885 for journal articles, government documents, dissertations and book chapters (books and book chapters are only available from 1987+). PsycARTICLES - a database of 42 journal titles published by the APA, available to you full-text online, most from 1988+. These can also be accessed directly through a PsycINFO search. PsycBOOKS – Full text in PDF of scholarly titles published by APA Books. PsycCRITIQUES -a new searchable database of book reviews in psychology. The database will replace APA's respected print journal Contemporary Psychology PsycEXTRA – a database covering the “gray literature”, plus full-text for much of the content. It offers a wide variety of credible information in psychology, behavioral sciences, and health. It covers technical reports, government reports, conference papers, newsletters, fact sheets, directories plus much more. MEDLINE (or PubMed) - from the National Library of Medicine, 1966+. THE database for the field of medicine. Helpful for psychiatry, neuroscience and medically related information pertaining to the field of psychology.

Other helpful databases:: 

Other helpful databases: Web of Science – finds cited references for published articles. Lexis-Nexis - full-text access to many national newspapers and popular magazines (no pictures or graphs). Proquest / EbscoAcademic / OmniFile(Wislon) - These three generalized databases provide access to many full-text articles in psychology as well as other subject disciplines. The following databases are more specialized : MMY (Mental Measurements Yearbook) tests and instruments PEP (Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing) for psychoanalysis. MIT’s CogNet for cognitive psychology

Evaluating the sources that you find: 

Evaluating the sources that you find Initial appraisal: Author (reputable?), Year of publication (current?), Edition (current?), Publisher (reputable?), Title of journal (well-known?) Content analysis Intended audience Objectivity Coverage Writing style Reviews

Distinguishing Scholarly From Non-Scholarly Periodicals : 

Distinguishing Scholarly From Non-Scholarly Periodicals Is what you are looking at: Scholarly General Interest/Substantive News Popular Sensational Look for reputable publisher, ads, audience, quality of articles, etc….

Popular versus Scholarly Articles: 

Popular versus Scholarly Articles

In SummaryHow to look for:: 

In Summary How to look for: Journals – look in Main Catalog to see if the title is on campus either in hard copy or as an e-journal (if not then request the article needed through Interlibrary Loan) Books – look in Main Catalog to see if the book is on campus (if not, first try to request through “Borrow Direct” then Interlibrary Loan) Journal Articles – search in subject databases, Examples – PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Proquest, etc. If the article you need has a “Find it @ PUL” button, you may get to it full-text online or see if Princeton owns in hard-copy). Dissertations – look in Main Catalog to see if a dissertation has been cataloged and is in our collection. If not here, you may request through Interlibrary Loan. Government Documents - search the Main Catalog first then the GPO Access database. Newspaper and Popular Magazine Articles – look in Lexis-Nexis, Dow-Jones, etc.

Things you can do yourself: From the top bar on the Main Catalog Web Page (Princeton only): 

Things you can do yourself: From the top bar on the Main Catalog Web Page (Princeton only) “Recall” a book from another patron (try “Borrow Direct” first, you may get the book faster) Request a book through “Borrow Direct” (arrives in 3-4 days) Request a book from the Annexes or Recap facility Place an “Interlibrary Loan” request for journal articles if Princeton does not own the title in hard copy or electronically. For books, use this after you try “Borrow Direct” first. Trace a book not on shelf (thru the Main Catalog) Check your account (thru Main Catalog)

Using the WWW to find Internet resources: 

Using the WWW to find Internet resources Search engine or subject directory Use multiple search words Use phrase searching: “compulsive shopping” Combine search words effectively (+, -, AND, OR, AND NOT) Limit search to title field title:"American Dietetic Association" Use Advanced Search

Evaluating web sites: 

Evaluating web sites Accuracy Authority Objectivity Currency (Timeliness) Coverage

Is this what I need?: 

Is this what I need? Accuracy Why was the Web site produced? Can you contact the author? Is there an editor or someone who checks the information? Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors?

Anybody can publish on  the Web: 

Anybody can publish on the Web Authority Who published the document? Is this person also the "Webmaster”? Does the publisher list his or her qualifications? Is this person qualified to write this document? Check the domain of the document. What institution publishes this document?

When in doubt, doubt: 

When in doubt, doubt Objectivity What goals/objectives does this page meet? How detailed is the information? What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author? If the topic is controversial, is the presentation balanced (both pro and con viewpoints provided)? Use link: search to find who links to a specific page

Remember the details: 

Remember the details Currency When was it produced? When was it last updated? How up-to-date are the links (if any)?

Not everything is on the Web: 

Not everything is on the Web Coverage How in-depth is the material? What does this page offer that is not found elsewhere? Are the links evaluated and do they complement the documents' theme? Is the page completed or still under construction?

Keep in mind…: 

Keep in mind… The Web is only one source of information It can be very useful for researching certain topics It can be almost useless for other topics Library resources are from reputable publishers

Citing your sources: 

Citing your sources Why? Give proper credit to the authors of the materials used Allows those who are reading your work to duplicate your research and locate the sources that you have listed as references Always ask your course instructor whether or not a particular documentation style is required for your research papers, APA, Chicago Style etc….

Psychology Library Staff: 

Psychology Library Staff Mary Chaikin, Librarian X 8-6084 mchaikin@princeton.edu Linda Chamberlin, Special Collections Asst. X 8-3239 chamberl@princeton.edu Mei-Ying Wang, Special Collections Asst. X 8-3239 mwang@princeton.edu Ted Nghiem, Library Office Assistant X 8-3239 tnghiem@princeton.edu Psychology Library Homepage - http://psychlib.princeton.edu