Finding Journal Articles

Transcription

1 [Type here] Finding Journal Articles Last updated On Oct 2014 This document and other Information Services documents are held online on our website:

2 University of Brighton Information Services Contents Starting Out... 3 Using the Online Library... 4 Constructing your search strategy:... 4 Tips for Searching Databases... 5 Locating full text... 7 Selecting relevant articles... 7 Google Scholar... 7 Evaluate... 7 Useful contacts... 8 Page 2 last update Ocober 2014

3 Finding Journal Articles 1 Starting Out What question are you trying to answer? What do you already know? How extensive is the assignment? What do you want to exclude? Online Library- Access via the Studies Tab in Student Central Google Scholar- Printed Monday, 27 July 2015 Page 3

4 University of Brighton Information Services 2 Using the Online Library Use OneSearch to search multiple online resources for information about books, e-books and journal articles. Know the Journal Title? Use the Library catalogue to see if the University has access or use the Online Journal Finder to find an online journal by title. Using Subject Databases Use a subject database for a thorough literature search. These databases contain references to thousands of articles on specific topics, and will allow you to search much more widely and systematically. How do I know which one to use? To find relevant databases select Subject Guides from the Online Library and choose your subject area. You will find a list of relevant resources, advice and contact details for further help. 3 Constructing your search strategy: Analyse your topic identify key concepts Identify synonyms and similar terms Put expressions in (..) or Field searching author, title, keyword, publication type etc. Use truncation to increase recall, e.g. manag * Use AND, OR, NOT (Boolean searching) Page 4 last update Ocober 2014

5 Finding Journal Articles OR expands search results e.g. Chocolate OR Cake AND limits search results e.g. Chocolate AND Cake NOT limits search results e.g. Chocolate NOT cake 4 Tips for Searching Databases These are general search tips that can be used with the majority of databases and search engines; it is also a good idea to read the search tips or help section provided for the database you are using. Use the symbol * to truncate the stem of a word: comput* would find computers / computing / computation / computerisation ethic* would find ethic / ethical / ethics gender* would find gendered / genders / genderisation / genderise / genderless manag* would find manage/manager/management/managing Printed Monday, 27 July 2015 Page 5

6 University of Brighton Information Services Many databases use symbols, known as wild cards, to represent letters. Use these to ensure you find alternative spellings. Remember alternative spellings and try both or use wildcards as above, eg: UK English: organisation / US English: organization (Search: organi?ation) UK English: programme / US English: program (Search: program*) UK English: behaviour / US English: behavior Remember some words / phrases can be appear with or without hyphens so a search for multi-media might find different documents than a search for multimedia Identify synonyms and similar terms. Synonyms: think laterally and try different words / terms that have the same or similar meanings, eg: safe / secure / privacy / security research/ study / investigation / inquiry / examination time/ duration/cycle/season/ land scape/ countryside/ panorama/ scenery/ environment Use quotation marks around a group of words to mean a phrase, e.g.: "age discrimination" will only retrieve documents that contain that phrase. You may have the option to treat the search term(s) either as a phrase or as separate key words. Using AND, OR or NOT is known as Boolean searching and is a standard and easy way to narrow or expand a search Most databases have the facility to limit your search by date, language, format or type of publication. Use the citations that are listed at the end of a relevant article to lead you to other useful resources. When you find a useful article, look to see what key terms were used to index it; there may be some you haven't thought of. Page 6 last update Ocober 2014

7 Finding Journal Articles 5 Locating full text If there is no link to the pdf of a journal article, use the Findit@Brighton link to see if we hold the journal either online or in print. If there is no access then you may be able to obtain a copy of the article via the Interlibrary Loans Service accessible via the link in the library catalogue. 6 Selecting relevant articles Select the results by marking the ones that you are most interested in - you can save, print or this marked list or export the bibliographic details to reference management software such as Endnote. 7 Google Scholar To ensure the Findit@Brighton button appears when you use Google Scholar off campus, select Settings and in the Library Links box, type in University of Brighton and click Find Library. Check the box next to University of Brighton Find Your results will then display that link when you search using Google Scholar 8 Evaluate Accuracy: Can you check the facts? Is there additional information such as data, tables, and references? Authority: Is the author a qualified professional in the field? Are they affiliated to a university or institution? Coverage: Is the subject covered in depth? Who is the intended audience academics, students, the public? Currency: How up to date is the information? Evidence: Check the author s references. Relevance: Is it what you need? Reliability: What methodology was used? Has it been peerreviewed? Validity: Is it opinion, or arguments based on fact? Does it have a bias? Printed Monday, 27 July 2015 Page 7

8 University of Brighton Information Services 9 Useful contacts Aldrich Library: Falmer Library: Hastings Campus Library: Queenwood Library: St. Peter s House Library: AskAldrich@brighton.ac.uk AskFalmer@brighton.ac.uk AskHastings@brighton.ac.uk AskQueenwood@brighton.ac.uk AskSPH@brighton.ac.uk Page 8 last update Ocober 2014