Your previous library research sessions have reviewed library resources and services, basic search strategies for locating books, articles and dissertations, and how to set up and use Zotero.  This session builds on that foundation.  Topics covered include advanced searching strategies with the goal of reviewing a body of literature, citation mining (using what you have to find more), and staying organized.

If you would like to review previous topics, you may visit the tabs to the left.  Here are just a few examples:

• Overview for how to access your library account (to see what you have checked out, renew items, etc.)
• Books for how to borrow items from other libraries
• Articles and Databases for how to search for scholarly resources

Don't hesitate to contact us with questions.

Remember library research is iterative and can be non-linear. 

• Define your search topic and outline the concepts, keywords, or synonyms. Consider using a:
  • Concept Map
  • Research Strategy Worksheet
• Determine the type of information needed.  Current?  Scholarly?  Seminal/Classic?  Qualitative?  Quantitative?  "Literature Review?"  You can specify. 
• Select a database.  Who is interested in your topic?  What disciplines?  Think about searching in those discipline-specific databases.
• Construct an Advanced Search using concepts/keywords/synonyms and the type of information you want. 
  • See the examples on the Lit Reviews and Search Strategies tab
• Tweak and repeat as needed.

These search features vary between products.  Explore:

• Thesaurus - See how terms are defined within a database
  
• Field Searching - You can specify in which fields your terms are searched.  What happens when you limit search terms to the TI (title) field?  AB (abstract) field?  SU (subject) field? 
  • What are the field definitions?  They differ.  See the database help screens for details.
• Limiters - Review the options.
• Staying organized:
  • Think about using a source matrix or research log.
  • Use Zotero to capture pdfs, citations, etc. 
     

Examining what you've found:

• Is the title scholarly?
  • Within the database search, choose the limiter for Scholarly/Peer-reviewed  or
  • When looking at a citation within a database, click the journal title until you reach the Publication Details.  Look for the "Peer reviewed" field  or
  • Look up the journal title in the Serials Directory.  Look in the "Refereed" field.  Refereed = Peer Reviewed
• Review the item's bibliography for additional leads. 
  • That moves back in time to related works.  Search by book or journal title.
    • Search the online catalog by book title
    • Search the online catalog by journal title
  • Use the Cited By feature in Google Scholar to see where else the article you have has been cited.  This moves forward in time. 
• What other disciplines are interested in your topic?  Consult the library databases page.  You may need to tweak your search terms;  a word can have a different meaning in another discipline.