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Searching the Literature planning a search using information resources effectively

Searching the Literature planning a search using information resources effectively. Psychology (Applied) Heather Robb Academic Liaison Librarian October 2013. Outline. planning a search where to look finding answers presentation practical workbook & online tutorials.

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Searching the Literature planning a search using information resources effectively

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  1. Searching the Literatureplanning a searchusing information resources effectively Psychology (Applied) Heather Robb Academic Liaison Librarian October 2013

  2. Outline • planning a search • where to look • finding answers • presentation • practical • workbook & online tutorials

  3. Gathering information • 1 – definitions • 2 – search strategy • 3 – choose resources • 4 – begin searches • 5 – refine searches • 6 – note the sources of information used

  4. What am I looking for? Planning is the key: • look carefully at your topic • break it down into concepts or themes e.g.“how can we assess the perception of another person’s gaze”?

  5. How to put concepts together • AND • both words must be present in the record for it to be retrieved • OR • either word or both must be present in the record for it to be retrieved

  6. Boolean operators AND OR looking OR gaze perception AND gaze

  7. Boolean operators • use the Boolean operators to help you express your search logically e.g. AND AND

  8. Synonyms and spellings • think about other terms which mean the same i.e. synonyms, or related terms • remember alternative spellings e.g. US vs British AND AND OR OR

  9. Widening a search Other options with keyword searching: • use truncation to pick up plurals or other word endings • e.g. assess* = assessment, assessing • use wildcards to pick up spelling variants • e.g. behavio?r = behavior, behaviour • use adjaceny for words appearing in the same sentence • e.g. nature SAME nuture = nature nurture, nature versus nurture, nurture as opposed to nature,...

  10. Widening a search AND AND OR OR

  11. Limiting a search • Can you make your search more specific? • For example: • English language • type of publication (review articles?) • type of population (human? animal?) • date of publication (last 5 years?)

  12. Have a go... • in pairs plan this search using the simple grid structure • break the question down into key terms/concepts • think of synonyms, alternative spelling and plurals • decide which Boolean operators are required • What part do genes play in human intelligence?

  13. AND AND humans intellig* gene OR OR OR homo sapiens intellect* genes OR OR IQ genetic* OR genom*

  14. Selecting your resource(s) • what kind of information do you want? • how much information do you want? • which “finding aids” cover this type of information? e.g. • Library Catalogue for books • databases such as PsycInfo or Web of Knowledge for journal articles • Nexis UK or Factivafor newspaper articles

  15. Psychology Subject Page

  16. Practical • Connect to the internet • From the Current Student’s Gateway click: Library | Subject information | Psychology | Information skills | Psychology (Applied) - Literature Searching

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