Strategy2_DigDeeper

Strategy #2: Dig Deeper into Other Resources

The second strategy focuses on how to dig deeper into additional research databases and resources. Once you have got the bigger picture and overview of your topic and done a little visualizing of subtopics, you are ready to dig into more specific resources.

This strategy will help you narrow in:

• Using more specific key words and search terms
• Searching disciplinary databases
• This strategy aligns well to 3 ACRL fames of the Information Literacy Framework:
  Authority Is Constructed and Contextual Links to an external site., and Information Has Value Links to an external site., and Information Creation as a Process Links to an external site.. Links to an external site.

The Learning Outcome for this second researching strategy is to: Demonstrate effective information seeking skills for locating, selecting, retrieving and evaluating information by:

• Utilizing a variety of sources and tools both print and electronic
• Discerning between scholarly and non-scholarly sources; as well as primary and secondary resources
• Compiling, categorizing and managing citations during the information seeking process
• Employing ethical and legal standards when using sources and information
• Critically evaluating information sources and resources 
  
  

 Knowledge

It might be helpful to understand a little bit about how information is organized and available through the internet. Google is part of what is called the open or surface web and only 4% of all internet material that is free to all. The invisible or deep web accounts for 96% of all internet material where there is more information and higher quality material protected by passwords. 

When doing scholarly research the deep web is where many of the scholarly databases are located and cost money to use. The library/university pays for access to those proprietary databases so that you can have access to high quality materials during your time at the U of U. You can begin your research in the surface web, like Google or Google Scholar, but you should plan to focus and finish your research in the invisible web.  
Image url: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/DeepWebDiagram.png

Databases contain journals and journal contain individual articles (that are published in issues and volumes of a journal). The hierarchy looks something. Databases like Scopus, JStor and EBSCOhost, charge libraries for access to their high quality scholarly material. Google Scholar, is not a database but rather an academic search engine. Search engines link to material they do not contain material. So if you do not have a login and password (and link to the U of U) you may not be able to access some of the sources you find on Google Scholar, but you would be able to see what is available. Here is a great diagram, Links to an external site. on a CSU Chico research guide, that shows how databases connect to other databases, and then in those databases there are journals, and then each journal contains articles. The articles are the actual research studies that scholars submit to journals for publication/ Databases can also contain media items, datasets/data. 

So what you will be doing for this Strategy #2 is to dig deeper, beyond Google Scholar, to get to articles and books.

• The Library catalog, USearch is a great tool that will uncover all the resources related to your topic that the library owns (search field on the library homepage Links to an external site.).
  The library database contains a variety of resources, both scholarly and non-scholarly or what is called popular resources. Your instructor may ask you to find only scholarly resources. This video will help you differentiate between scholarly and popular resources:
  

• The databases tab (under the main catalog search field will take you to a location to select from a variety of general and disciplinary-specific databases to dig deeper.
  
  
  

  Basic Skills

1. USearch is a great place to start at the Marriott library 

1. Here is a step-by step Usearch research guide Links to an external site.
   • Use the Library Catalog to find resources owned by the library (books (both ebooks and print books), some articles; but not all, digital collections, and movies)
     
     • This is a great place to start at the Marriott Library site for finding a broad range of resources
   • Use the 'Tweak by Results' features on the right of your search list to narrow down your search, by date, by type of resource, by location (is it In the library or electronic, etc.)

• • Finding too many resources? Try using Boolean Searching to focus in
    • Here is a video about Boolean Searching
      AND OR AND NOT Searching Video Link Links to an external site.
    • Just putting immigration health into the Usearch field finds 356,319 results from the catalog)
    • Putting quotations marks around more than one word like this "immigration health" narrows it down finds only 4,435 results
    • Use AND to connect 2 keywords or phrases like "immigration health" AND "health policy" narrows down the number of sources you find to 539 results
    • But if you connect those 2 phrases with the word OR, like "immigration health" AND "health policy" it will broaden your search and you will get 406,801
    • Use NOT to eliminate words from the search, immigration health" NOT policy will bring 1843 results

2. Using a Broad Topic Database

Using a broad database that contains materials on a lot of different disciplinary topics is also a great next step after using Google Scholar. To access databases, click on Databases under the main search field on the library homepage

• Finding Broad Databases that contain resources on a variety of topics and disciplines try:
  • Academic Search Ultimate, JStor, CQ Researcher (has a lot of broad articles on social topics), or Web of Science.
  • To find these databases, click on the Alphabetical letter (ex. A for Academic Search Ultimate)
    My favorite broad database is Academic Search Ultimate
    
    

3. Using Disciplinary Databases

• To find Discipline Specific Databases use the browse databases by subject pull down list
• You will see a list of many databases under each disciplinary topic
  

4. Finding Education Specific Databases
There are 3 main databases for searching general education topics: EBSCOhost, JStor, and ProjectMuse. The most valuable resource is EBSCOhost. This is a large mega-database that contains smaller databases such as Academic Search Ultimate, APA PsychArticles, APA PsychInfo, ERIC, Education Full Text, and Professional Development Collection, as well as Medical and Legal database that might be useful depending on your topic. An advantage to using EBSCOhost is you can search all of these databases at once!

Some recomendations:

• For education specific databases: Go to “E” under Research Databases and select EBSCOhost Databases. Then check the boxes for these sub-databases and click continue so that you can search all of them at once:
  • Academic Search Ultimate
  • APA PsychARTICLES
  • APA PsychINFO
  • Education full text
  • ERIC
  • Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Professional Development Collection
  • Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
• For Special Education topics you can also include othe EBSCOhost databases in your search:
  • ScienceDirect
  • CINAHL Complete (nursing)
  • Legal Collection
  • Medline Complete
• For Diversity and Women’s Topics you can add:
  • Family and Society Studies worldwide
  • Chicano Database
  • Women’s Studies International
• EBSCOHost Databases – good selection of general databases
• Scopus or Science Direct – good science databases

Sage, JStor, Wiley or Project MUSE are additional databases with education content

 Here's are some EBSCOhost Database tutorials:

EBSCOhost Basic Search Video Links to an external site.

Advanced Search EBSCOhost video Links to an external site.

5. If you keep finding relevant articles in one database, use the Online Journals link Links to an external site. to find scholarly articles within specific journals (ex. Educational Researcher, Review of Higher Education, International Journal of Academic Development)

 Level Up to Advanced Skills

By using the Advanced Searching in the Usearch Library Database and other disciplinary databases you can narrow down your searching and be more efficient. Using the main basic search filed will search All Fields. Advanced search lets you select what fields to search; for example just the title, author, just the subject terms, or by library call number. 

• When adding keywords in the USearch catalog main filed you are searching all fields. Click on the Advanced Catalog Search link on the right side of the screen to go to the advanced search option. Then select your option from the pull down list and add your keywords.
• It has the Boolean operators (AND, NOT, and OR) built in so you do not have to type them, and you separate each different keyword into a separate field

• Databases have more complex advanced searching features. In addition to title for example you can search only abstracts.
  • You can change how you search for each search phrase
  • You do not have to use AND OR NOT - it is part of the advanced searching process
  • You separate each search phrase into a separate field
  • EBSCOhost provides additional options to EXPAND your search and provide more resources once you start typing your search term (ex. k12 or k-12 or elementary education or ...)
  • When looking for just a quantitative research article it also provides some other quantitative study tems to expand your search  
  • See screen shots below

 Additional Resources

More advanced collection Links to an external site. of EBSCOhost tutorials

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