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Conducting A Literature Search

this chapter explains the ways research in the genre of literature.

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محمد بشیر محمدی
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23 views21 pages

Conducting A Literature Search

this chapter explains the ways research in the genre of literature.

Uploaded by

محمد بشیر محمدی
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOD: Source

Question: Is child bullying linked to health risks in adulthood?

Hypothesis: Child bullying will result in long-lasting health consequences.

Method: University of Pittsburgh followed 300 men that were bullied at a young age (they had
confirmation from multiple sources) into their early 30s.

Results:
The boys who were bullied had lower incomes, more financial difficulties, and more stress. This
stress causes people to have cardiovascular problem.

Children who were bullied have more long-term physical and cardiovascular health issues.
Conducting a Literature
Search
Types of Sources
 Books by a single author  Primary Source
 Edited books  Raw, direct access to data
 Journal articles  Original source
 Peer-reviewed is preferred  Secondary Source
 Newspapers & magazines  Indirect access
 Dissertation and thesis  Not the original source
 Websites
Primary and secondary source examples

Primary and Secondary Source


Examples
Primary source Secondary source
Novel Article analyzing the novel
Painting Exhibition catalog explaining the painting
Letters and diaries written by a historical figure Biography of the historical figure
Essay by a philosopher Textbook summarizing the philosopher’s ideas
Photographs of a historical event Documentary about the historical event
Government documents about a new policy Newspaper article about the new policy
Music recordings Academic book about the musical style
Results of an opinion poll Blog post interpreting the results of the poll
Empirical study Literature review that cites the study
Citing Primary and Secondary Sources

 Primary source: (You have this source in your hands)


 Smith and Wesson (2020) conducted a study on 200 participants
and found…

 Secondary source: (You only have Smith & Wesson’s article but they are talking
about a study you want to talk about too.)
 Johnson and Johnson reported that the scale was reliable (2019, as
cited in Smith & Wesson, 2020).
Which is Primary vs. Secondary
Source?
1. A newspaper quoting a doctor about COVID experiences?
2. A newspaper reporting data from a report on Ballad Health’s
website?
3. Milligan’s dashboard COVID rates.
4. A published study by Pfizer on effects of its vaccine trial.
5. A book chapter citing the Pfizer study.
6. A dissertation study on the role of politics and masks.
7. A dissertation citing a study about the economic impact of
COVID.
Types of Journal Articles

 Review articles
 Annotated bibliographies
 Empirical (research) articles
 Theoretical
Additional Sources

 Unpublished manuscripts
 Conferences
How do you know if a source is any
good?
 Is it peer-reviewed or from a referred journal?
 Has it been cited by lots of others doing research on the
same topic?
 Is it a primary source (or citing a primary source)?
 Is it relatively recent (or a landmark study)?
 Is it from a reputable journal?
 Is it relevant to some part of your research?
 Is it a sound (valid) study?
SOD Critical Thinking

 How might your personal beliefs about a topic influence which


sources you focus on or bother to read?
General Steps:
 Start broad and then narrow.
 Books on the topic > Review Articles >
Theoretical Articles > Empirical Articles
 MCSearch (One Search)
 PsycInfo and other databases
 Gather the articles/books
 Scan references for more
 Take notes on each source and organize
Modified Steps for This Class
1. Start with the empirical article that inspired you.
 Get it FULL TEXT and READ IT (all group members)!

2. Scan the intro and reference list for the next best
sources to get from that source.
3. Search the database for these articles and use the
“major concepts” associated with them to help expand
your search to find related articles.
 Search broader if only a handful of studies have done

something very relevant.


 Look for theoretical and review articles to support

the empirical.
 Visit our friendly reference librarian!
PsycINFO

 Peer-reviewed journals (1800+ titles)

 Abstracts 1887-Present (more than 1,900,000 records)

 Some full-text (within the Psychology and Behavioral


Sciences Collection)
Database Search Tips
 Use the Advanced Search (it saves your search
terms.)

 If you don’t know what terms to use, use the Index


or Thesaurus tab.

 Search each term individually and then start


combining them.

 Scan abstracts for additional terms and descriptors


to use.
Database Search Tips

 Use quotes to search exact phrases

 Truncate words that might have multiple endings and search


with *
 Child* (gets you “child” and “children”)
What if I can’t find anything?

 Check to make sure you are using the right terms.

 If your topic is uncommon then ask for every abstract with that
term anywhere.

 Use two related terms with “or”


What if I find too much? (100+
abstracts)
 Search for the term as a major descriptor only or for abstracts
with the word in the title only. “Self-esteem in DE”

 Search for abstracts with the words “review” in the title and
then combine these with your relevant terms.

 Limit the fields to “English” only.


Other ways to “Set Limits” on your
search.
 Population or age groups
 Population location
 Publication type
 Publication year

 Beware of doing this!


Other Databases/Internet Sources

 PubMed
 CINAHL
 ERIC: Educational resources
 Tennessee Electronic Library
 Google Scholar
Getting the Articles

 Check the Milligan periodicals listing (both the print and on-
line holdings). A link to this can be found at the Milligan
Library Website.

 Interlibrary Loan (DON’T WAIT)


Related Group Work
 Article Summary Assignment-
 1 unique annotated source per group member

 Annotated Bibliography Assignment


 Summary worksheet for ALL references being used in the literature review.
(divvy up & then combine)

 Literature Review
 The introduction/lit review of your paper is due.
 Uses at least 7 sources to get full credit.

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