Hello, I'm Matthew Collins, Reference Librarian at Gleeson Library and liaison to Communication Studies, Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, History, and the Fromm Institute.
Please contact me whenever you need assistance: collinsm@usfca.edu, 415-422-6923, or schedule an appointment.
You can also get assistance from a librarian via our Ask a Librarian services.
Introduction
"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose" -Zora Neale Hurston
As you begin your research, make a plan. Consider how you will organize what you find. Think about who is interested in your topic, or more specifically, who has information on your topic. How do those people or institutions describe, categorize, and organize their information? How will you determine what is the most appropriate information for your research purposes?
To help you answer these questions, in this short guide we will discuss:
- Reference managers as great tools for organizing the resources you find.
- How to find different databases for your research. (Always use a variety of databases.)
- Searching within databases. (Brainstorm keywords before you get started!)
- How to review records to determine if the article will be helpful.
Reference Managers
Before starting to look for resources, plan for how you will organize what you find. Reference Managers, also known as citation managers, are tools that allow you to collect, and organize into folders: articles, books, and webpages. They help you create and format bibliographies using your preferred citation style.
The Library supports two reference managers: Ref Works and Zotero. There are others that are available to researchers.
There is more information about reference managers on our citation tools page, including videos on how to set up your account.
Discovering Databases
Always use a variety of databases for your research. Look at a several databases focused on your subject areas and look at multi-subject databases. Remember you want the best resources for your project. Different subject specific databases access different sets of journals. Multi-subject databases allow you to cast a broader net, and find great articles in journals you might not expect to cover your topic.
Example: If I were researching effective communication related to COVID on social media platforms. I would look at a few Communication Studies databases, a couple of Health databases, and perhaps some Media Studies databases. I would also look at Multi-subject collections like Fusion And Google Scholar.
To explore databases focused on a particular subject area: from the Gleeson Library Home page, under the "Search" tab explore Research Guides by subject.
You can find Fusion in our databases list or the big search box on the Gleeson Library homepage. Find Google Scholar on, well...Google.
Using Databases
Before diving in take some time to brainstorm different words for each of the concepts in your topic. No one search string, or set of keywords, will locate all the articles you need. Try one search string, then mix it up and try others. Keep your keyword list handy. You are likely to add words as you review records and read articles.
Always use the advanced search features when searching in databases. ost databases use Boolean Operators to order how to search your keywords. The most common boolean operators are:
- AND both keywords must be in the results.
- OR either, all or any keywords can be in the results.
- NOT excludes results with this keyword. - use this very sparingly as it often unintentionally eliminates articles that may be helpful
- " " Quotation marks retrieves exact phrases. use when there are two or more words that have to be in that order to make sense. For example, keyword "social media" will return results with that exact phrase. Keyword social media will bring back results with the term media and the term social.
This is a tutorial for Fusion. It uses boolean operators and the concepts will work in almost all databases.
Not all records in our databases have direct links to the full text. When this happens use the full text finder.
If we do not have access to an article you can request it through Inter Library Loan.
Using Google Scholar
Google Scholar is not a database but rather a discovery service. So it looks at a lot of databases all at once. The biggest challenge with discovery services is narrowing down to the resources that will be most helpful to you. Therefore, again always use the advanced search tools.
- "With all of the words" functions like the boolean operator AND both keywords must be in the results.
- "With the exact phrase" funtions like quotation marks. finding the words in that specific order.
- "With at least one of the words" functions like the boolean operator OR either, all or any keywords can be in the results.
You can also limit to a specific journal using the "Return articles published in" feature. Put the title of the journal in quotation marks for example "Augmentative & Alternative Communication". Or you can put in a keyword like Communication which will bring back articles in journals that have the word communication in the title.
*A database is a structured set of data within a specific scope. Example: It might be a set of ten specific Communication Studies journals from 1968 to 2023. A discovery service looks at a many databases to provide answers to your query. The Library's Fusion is a discovery service that looks at the databases in the Gleeson Library.
You will need to review many articles to find the few that are the best most appropriate articles. Don't Panic. It does not mean you need to read hundreds of articles. First, you are scanning the titles for possible articles. Next, use the information in the record.
Look at the subject terms. If there are author supplied keywords, consider them as well. Do they seem in line with what you are researching? (Hint: this can be another way to gather good keywords for your next search). Read the abstract when it is available. Read the introduction and conclusion of an article first. These are all ways to discover if the article will be useful in your project.
Types of scholarly articles.
• Empirical research articles report the findings of original research based on an experiment or study (qualitative or quantitative). Key elements in empirical articles include a methodology section that tells how the experiment was conducted, followed by results, discussion, and a conclusion. These are considered primary sources.
• Review articles synthesize or summarize the conclusions from many research articles. They are intended to convey the current thought on a particular subject. Notably they do not have a methodology section. Their bibliographies can be great resources to find additional articles on your topic. These are considered secondary sources.
• Theoretical articles pull from existing research to form a new theory or explore theories in new ways. They are intended to contribute to the theoretical foundations of a field of study.
• Opinion articles give the authors view on a particular hypothesis or theory. They will discuss the strengths and weaknesses based on evidence from other research articles. Opinion articles are not original research but are part of the scholarly discourse that furthers our understanding of a particular field.
Additional Information
Remember:
Contact me whenever you need assistance.
- collinsm@usfca.edu
- 415-422-6923
- schedule an appointment
- Ask a Librarian