Reviewing existing literature & searching for information EER500

Literature search involves identifying keyword to help define the boundaries of area of research - electronic databases can be searched for previously published work (journal references). Effective searching helps to ensure adequate coverage of recent academic articles.

• Scopus - abstract & citation datbase of research literature and web sources
• Sage, Cambridge Uni Press - Academic publishers offer full-text versions on own websites
• Ingenta - full text of journal articles from various  publishers
• Proquest, Lexis Nexis (newspaper archives) - search several papers at once

Keywords & defining search parameters

• When several articles have lists of keywords, try some of those relevant listed keywords when searching for further articles.
• Use synonyms
• Use boolean operators - AND, OR, NO

 

Database tutorial - Step 1 & 2 -Topic analysis & determining search words

• helps clarify the topic which can be broken down into keywords
• involves identifying instruction words (task words) - describe, define, analyse
• involves identifying key concepts (content/subject) - what needs to be researched
• identifying qualifying words (limits imposed on subject) - specific periods, geographical locations, organisations

1. Remove instruction and qualifying words - it leaves key concepts/s
2. Use keywords by identifying words that describe each key concept of the topic. What words best when searching the database, catalogues, websites
3. Use synonyms - use a thesaurus
4. Use narrower, more specific terms rather than broad, general terms that can yield larger lists of results.
5. Determine relevance of information - covers required areas, at right level, suits purpose
6. If search is unsuccessful, reconsider keywords, synonyms and vocab used. Use different database.