Finding Studies
From Bentley Library Research Help
[edit] 1 Use This Guide to Find Studies
This is a guide for Professor Atlas' Expos 201 class. It discusses how to locate studies in Library databases and on professional or government websites using keywords or a reference from a newspaper, magazine, or specialized encyclopedia article. Remember you are looking for empirical studies which include an abstract, methodology, results, conclusion, and references.
[edit] 1.1 Before You Start Researching
- Sign up for Interlibrary Loan here or from Library homepage
- Sign up for RefWorks here. Also on Databases A-Z Listing
- Scholarly & Peer Reviewed Sources: What Are They? (from ProQuest Information & Learning)
- Look at Best Searching Techniques handout
[edit] 1.2 From Library Databases
- Use the Find Articles By Subject icon on the Library's homepage to find databases related to your subject. You can also access general databases here. You can also access any database from the Databases A-Z icon on the Library's homepage.
[edit] 1.2.1 Some databases have limiters.
- In Proquest databases select the Topics tab from the search screen. Enter a keyword, such as 'bulimia' to access subject sub-divisions. Click Narrow by related topic and scroll down to Studies.
- In Ebsco databases look for the Document Limiter, Case Study. Many of these studies are not the type of study you need, but may refer to studies you can use in the bibliography/list of references.
- In PsycARTICLES from CSA select the Advanced search tab and look for the Methodology limiter. You would be interested in empirical study and literature review. Be sure to "and" these limiters to your search.
[edit] 1.2.2 Also use keyword searches.
- Enter your topic keywords and (study or studies).
- You may find actually studies or references to actual studies. See below for ways to use a reference to a study to find the actual study.
- Start with these databases:
- Academic Search Premier (from Ebscohost)
- LexisNexis Academic
- Expanded Academic ASAP- Infotrac
- ProQuest(Click 'Clear all databases' and scroll down to select Research Library and ProQuest Psychology Journals)
[edit] 1.3 With a Reference from a Newspaper, Magazine or Journal Article
You are researching the relationship between advertising and youth smoking. You find an article in the Washington Post, Anti-Youth-Smoking Ads May Have Opposite Effect. The article refers to what sounds like an interesting study and you would like to locate it. Sometimes the writer of the article may include a complete citation to the study, but this is rarely the case. So you need to do some digging.
- First, read the article closely to identify anything you can about the study. Look for the author or authors of the study, the name of the study, the name of an institution or organization that funded or published the study, the name of the journal where the study was published, the date of the study.
- From reading the article you find out that the study is to be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health. You know the year is 2006 from the article's date.
- Go to the Library homepage and click on the Find a Journal/Magazine icon.
- Enter American Journal of Public Health in the search box.
- The results indicate the Library has the full-text of the journal in several databases.
- Check the dates of the holdings and click on an the appropriate database.
[edit] 1.4 With a Reference from a Newspaper, Magazine or Journal Article - More Challenging
You are researching the subject of binge eating and you find an article like this one in the New York Times Survey Puts New Focus on Binge Eating as a Diagnosis.The article refers to what sounds like an interesting study and you would like to locate it.
- First, read the article closely to identify anything you can about the study. Look for the author or authors of the study, the name of the study, the name of an institution or organization that funded or published the study, the name of the journal where the study was published, the date of the study.
- You may be lucky with this article. A close reading indicates that the study was published by Harvard researchers in the Feb. 1 issue of the Journal of Biological Psychiatry. You have the name of the journal that published the study. And you can surmise the date - the article tells you it is February and you assume the year is the year the article is published -2007
- Go to the Library homepage and click on the Find a Journal/Magazine icon.
- Enter Biological Psychiatry in the search box.
- Deadend? The Bentley Library does not have full-text access to this journal. Where to go for a complete citation?
Option One
Check the Library Catalog to see if the Library subscribes to the publication in print. Go to the shelf and look in the February 1st issue for the study.
Option Two
Look for a Library database that may index the publication - in this case, perhaps MEDLINE - use all the identifying information you have:
Now you can place an Interlibrary Loan directly from the Library database.
Option Three
Go to the publication's website Biological Psychiatry. Look for an index or listing of issues with Table of Contents included. Identify the citation and place an Interlibrary Loan.
Option Four
Use Google or Google Scholar to locate the complete citation and place an Interlibrary Loan.
Option Five
Ask a Reference Librarian
[edit] 1.5 From Bibliographies in Authoritative Sources
- Look at the bibliography at the end of an article in an authoritative reference source, such as a specialized encyclopedia or handbook. Often you may find a study included as one of the sources listed. For example, this study, Minority Group Interests and Political Representation: Gay Elected Officials in the Policy Process published in the Journal of Politics, was included in the bibliography of the entry Gay and Lesbian Rights in the encycylopedia, Social Issues in America.
[edit] 1.6 Professional/Organization/Educational Sources
- If the author of a study is associated with an educational institutional, research center, or similar organization, look for the website of that organization. Sometimes studies are posted with free access on the site.
- You find an article that states a Pew Internet study reports that more people consult the internet with problems than experts or family. Find the Pew Internet site and search Reports to find the report/study Information Searches that Solve Problems.
[edit] 1.7 Government Sources
- You are searching LexisNexis looking for information on teen drug use and find a reference to an annual study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the article, Teens Use Medicines to Get High.
- Enter the name of the agency in Google to access the NIDA site. Then look for links to publications or research. Or look for a search box on the site. Locate the study/survey NIDA Survey Summary and Complete Report.
