Resources for Eng Lang Research 2009

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    Notes on slide 1

    Most of us are familiar with books and journal articles, but there are other sources. Many books, journal articles and newspapers can be accessed electronically.

    Due to the publishing process, there’s sometimes a time lag and hence the information can be less current. Usually not an issue for the humanities but the hard sciences like medicine, biochemistry. However, with digital publishing (compared to offset printing), the turnaround time for books is much shorter now. Common to see references that are published in the same year as the book.

    Key concepts are main ideas. Research is iterative, e.g. after searching for sources, you may need to redefine your research topic and change the key concepts.

    Some databases use NOT, some use AND NOT to mean the same thing. NOT/AND NOT is tricky to use as you may unwittingly exclude articles that are relevant to your research. For example, an article may contain only a passing mention of term B. Use with caution, only if you’re sure of what you’re doing.

    Truncation at the end of a stem/alternative spellings (American and British)/singular or plural forms of a word. Some databases use * and others use ? --> Check the FAQ/help/guides.

    If the catalogue or database does not use these exact phrases, you may not find anything! A lot of trial and error involved when looking for synonyms. Keep refining your search and trying different methods.

    concurrent licenses

    The databases each have their own strengths and limitations. It’s best to use a few instead of just one!

    Favorites, Groups & Events

    Resources for Eng Lang Research 2009 - Presentation Transcript

    1. EL3208: Library Resources for Research Ruby Seng Resource Librarian (ELL) [email_address]
    2. Outline
      • Information Sources & The Research Process
      • Advanced Searching Techniques
      • Search Statements
      • LINC+ vs. LINC, Google Scholar
      • Databases
      • Troubleshooting & Evaluating Information Sources
      • Miscellaneous
      • Information Sources &
      • The Research Process
    4. Information Sources
      • Books
      • Conference papers
      • Internet sources
      • Journal articles
      • Newspapers
      • Theses & dissertations
    5. Books vs. Journals Books Journal Articles & Conference Papers
      • overview of topic / introductory reading
      • focused arguments about one or few topics
      • book chapters: range of topics & viewpoints by different authors
        • often single viewpoint by one or co-authors
        • editorial process
        • peer-review
        • less current?
        • more current?
    6. The Research Process
      • Identify key concepts in the research topic
      • List keywords , synonyms , related words & variant spellings
      • Create a search statement
      • Search for sources using LINC & databases
      • Get more sources by checking references
      It’s iterative!
      • Advanced Searching Techniques
      • AND, OR, NOT, *, ( ), “ ”
    8. Advanced Searching: AND, OR, NOT
      • AND: both terms must be present (refine)
      • OR: either terms may be present (expand)
      • NOT/AND NOT: exclude a term
      caution! A B cats AND dogs A B cats OR dogs A B cats NOT dogs
    9. Advanced Searching: *
      • Use asterisk * for:
      • variant forms of a word
      • variant spelling
      • e.g. bilingual* = bilingual, bilinguals, bilingually, bilingualism
      • e.g. colo*r = color, colour
      • Some databases use other symbols, e.g.: $, ?, !
    10. Advanced Searching: *
      • Q: When do you use *?
      • A: When you want more results!
      Q: policy, policies?
    11. Advanced Searching: ( )
      • Use parentheses ( ) for:
      • grouping similar or related words
      • e.g. (language attrition OR linguistic interference) AND adults
      •  language attrition AND adults
      •  linguistic interference AND adults
    12. Advanced Searching: “ ”
      • Use quotation marks “ ” for:
      • searching a phrase
      • e.g.: “code switching”
      Problem: Some databases search adjacent words as phrases (“ ”). Others search them as separate words (AND).
      • Search Statements
      • Synonyms & Related Keywords
      • Search Statements
    14. Synonyms & Related Keywords proficiency children cognitive development
      • toddlers
      • preschoolers
      • elementary school students
      • intellectual development
      • mental development
      • grammaticality
      • acceptability
      • competence
    15. Where to Find Synonyms
      • thesaurus:
      • print
      • online www.thesaurus.com
      • database: subject headings, key concepts, descriptors = “controlled vocabulary”
      • articles, books, etc. on the same subject
    16. Search Statement (1)
      • Singlish in the classroom
      Singlish in the classroom Singapore English, Singapore Colloquial English class, school, teach*, educat* Singlish classroom search statement: (Singlish OR Singapore English OR Singapore Colloquial English) AND class* OR school OR teach* OR educat*)
    17. Search Statement (2)
      • Cognitive development of bilingual children
      intellectual development, mental development second language cognitive development bilingual Cognitive development of bilingual children search statement: (cognitive development OR intellectual development OR mental development ) AND (bilingual or second language) AND children
      • LINC, Databases & Google Scholar
      • LINC+/LINC vs. Databases
      • LINC+ vs. LINC
      • Google Scholar
    19. LINC+/LINC vs. Databases
      • LINC+/LINC : search for resources in the library’s collection, i.e. books, journals, audio-visual materials, theses, etc.
      • databases : search for journal articles, book chapters & reviews, conference proceedings, etc
      • most databases provide citations & abstracts; some have full-text articles (or links)
    20. LINC+ vs. LINC LINC+ LINC
        • search many fields (title, author, keyword, subject)
        • good for browsing & discovery
        • search one field (title, author, keyword, subject, call no., ISBN) etc
        • good for precise search
    21. Google Scholar
      • aim: single search engine for scholarly literature
      • may include links to free PDF articles
      • good for quick research
        • However:
        • not all results come from scholarly sources
      • many link to publishers' websites which require subscriber login
        • use the proxy bookmarklet to access full-texts
        • note: only for resources subscribed by NUS Libraries
        • http://bit.ly/nuslibproxy
      • Databases
      • LLBA
      • PsycINFO
      • JSTOR
      • ERIC
      • Factiva
    23. DB#1: LLBA
      • CSA Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
      • >2,000 journals, books, dissertations, book reviews
    24. DB#1: LLBA DEMO type llba
    25. DB#1: LLBA put keywords and synonyms field: keywords advanced search
    26. click on title of article or ‘View record’ sort by relevance or date mark record to save, print or email
    27. citation check whether library subscribes to this journal volume & issue using LINC/LINC+
    28. Journal Record in LINC our subscription links to full text latest issue In Current Journals search for specific volume or year click for listing of more volumes, some of which are in Bound Journals and others in Closed Stacks
    29. DB#2: PsycINFO
      • psychology & psychological aspects of related disciplines e.g. medicine, linguistics, business, etc.
      • about 98% of the journals are peer-reviewed
    30. DB#2: PsycINFO Note: AND/OR/NOT, *, ( ), “ ” cannot be used in basic search DEMO multi-field search to make the results more relevant, select where you want the terms to appear
    31. click here to see where the search terms appear check whether the library has the book or journal. For dissertations, go directly to Proquest Dissertations & Theses.
    32. DB#3: JSTOR
      • fulltext database for humanities and social sciences
      • back issues only
      • searching and browsing functions
    33. DB#3: JSTOR various ways of limiting, e.g. by type
    34. DB#3: JSTOR click here see the first page download the PDF here
    36. DB#4: ERIC
      • educational-related literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education
      • books, conferences, government documents, theses, reports, etc.
      • free access: http://www.eduref.org/Eric/
    37. DB#4: ERIC click here
    38. DB#4: ERIC limit to journal articles
    39. sort by relevance
    40. DB#4: ERIC
    41. DB#5: Factiva
      • full text articles from nearly 8,000 sources from newspapers, newswires, magazines & trade journals
      • no graphics and photographs
      • Straits Times: from 1989 onwards
    42. DB#5: Factiva go to search builder type Straits Times & click on the button put in your keywords DEMO
    43. DB#5: Factiva sort by date or relevance citation mark to view on single page, email, print or save
    45. Other Sources
      • Other E-Resources
      • Oxford English Dictionary
      • PERIND
      • Proquest Dissertations & Theses
      • Websites
      • MICA Press Releases & Speeches
      • MOE
      • Recap,
      • Troubleshooting &
      • Evaluating Information Sources
    47. Recap
      • use synonyms and related words
      • create search statement using keywords plus AND, OR, NOT, ( ), *, “ ”
      • select fields e.g. article title, abstract
      • limit search by type (article, books, reviews), date, peer-reviewed, etc
      • sort results by relevance
      Quality (Relevance) vs. Quantity
    48. Troubleshooting Search Results
      • You may encounter:
      • too many results  use more keywords
      • too few results  add synonyms
      • too many irrelevant results  exclude keywords that are
      • too general
      • no results  use more general keywords, reduce number of keywords or redefine your research topic
      • Quite often, you’ll need to refine your keywords through trial & error .
      • If you need help, check with your professor or ask a librarian ! 
    49. Evaluating Information Sources
      • relevance: to your topic
      • authority: reputable publisher, society or organisation; author’s credentials, institutional affiliation
      • accuracy: methods of research; means to verify data; support by references
      • comprehensiveness: range of viewpoints to support arguments
      • objectivity: biasness
      • currency: up-to-date
      • scholarly: peer reviewed, cited
      • Miscellaneous
      • Plagiarism
      • Materials Not Found in the Library
      • Getting Help
    51. Plagiarism
      • To avoid plagiarism:
      • Jot down your sources
      • Put all direct quotes in quotation marks, e.g.
      • “ Both words and images can be evocative in their own ways and independent of each other” (Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006, p. 2)
      • Indicate the source even when you paraphrase, e.g.
      • Vietnam is one of the region’s fastest growing economies (Rogers, 2008).
      • Create a reference section, e.g.
      • Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2006). How picturebooks work. New York: Routledge.
    52. Materials Not Found in the Library
      • Recommend purchase of new books
      • e-forms
      • no endorsement from supervisor needed
      • approximately 1 to 3 months to process
      • Use another library that has the book/journal
      • letter from Loans & Membership office
    53. Getting Help Phone: 6516-2029/30 Email: [email_address] (ELL queries) askalib@nus.edu.sg (general queries) Walk in: information desk (CL, level 5) Guides: Library Instruction ONline (LION) Subject Guide
    54. Thank You!
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    Resources for English Language EL3208 2009

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