workshop for post-graduate PSY students at MDX

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Literature searching for
dissertation
http:// unihub.mdx.ac.uk / study / library
PSY4035 November 2016

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Literature Reviews
• Surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources
relevant
• Critical evaluation of work relevant to the topic
• Overview of significant literature
Reading for your lit review:
• Defining your research problem… finding a gap… asking
a question… continuing previous research
• Reading all the sources relevant
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What we will cover today
• Keywords and search operators (* “ ” etc)
• Advanced searches: WOS and PsycINFO
• Inferring
• Strategic searching a + b + c = (a + b) + (b + c) + (a + c)
• Alerts
• Referencing
• Where you can get help
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Example of coursework marking criteria
10% Introduction
15% Overview
30% Critical analysis
15% Discussion
10% Conclusion
10% Referencing
10% Quality etc
Maximum marks for a well
referenced and accurate
description of [subject]
using suitable references
Maximum of 10 marks for a list of
references which is both relevant,
and correctly given in APA style
Maximum of 10 marks for quality,
style of writing and presentation

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Finding resources
myUniHub > My Study > My Library
Access all sorts of
online resources
here!

7. My Library – most
of the links you
will ever need

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Finding resources
myUniHub > My Study > My Library

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Where do you start your
research…?
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50% PG students
start with Google all
or most of the time.

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Summon: cross-database searching
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11. Google Scholar – make sure you access
what you’ve paid for!
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12. Search for and select Middlesex University
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Simple searches
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Try both out for ten minutes… see which you like

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What did we think?
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vs.Summon Google
Simple search function
(Google for paid-for University resources)
Simple search function
Searches many journal databases
and subscriptions
Searches many journal websites
A lot of full-text (and easy to filter
results by full-text)
Not all full-text (but can set up to
access MDX journals through
Unihub)
Up-to-date – largest databases
updated daily/weekly
Up-to-date articles from the big
publishers – not-so-good coverage
of small journals
Easy to filter to Psychology
journals
Hard to filter (searching all
subject areas)

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What is available?

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Databases for research articles
myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Databases
Search for database by
letter, then name

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Web of Science

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Web of Science
MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > W > Web of Science
Gives you a
hyperlinked
list of articles
which cite
this article

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Citation searching
• Which articles have cited an earlier article
• Updates to the research study you’ve been looking at
• Find articles on similar/related subject
• How many times an article has been cited
• Best journals in your field

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PsycINFO – Access via Unihub > Databases

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PsycINFO – options and limits

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limits Full text

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Repeat and improve
• Repeat, improve = improved results.
• Try different things, react to your searches
• Follow citations
• Expand your keywords as you go
• Alternative or new keywords in results
— Re-run your searches
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Finding Psychological Tests:
PsycTEST database
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• Tests devised and used by
researchers, academics,
professors
• Copyright-cleared
• Find and use in your own
experiment

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My library > Databases
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PsycTESTS database
Simple subject search
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Or author/test name search
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Click here to
limit to full text
TESTS

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Not all tests in PsycINFO are full text
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Following up tests by checking sources…
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…search Summon for the article or the Library catalogue
for the journal

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Look for tests from previous studies in
journal articles
—They may be in the appendix
—You may find the authoritative test by Googling
(confirm with tutor)
—Email academics: They may send you the test,
and often lots more useful info too!
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Psychology department test library
— NOT in Sheppard Library!
— Find index of tests (word document)
— Download and complete Test Request form.
Hand or Email to Nicky Brunswick
• TG61 – n.brunswick@mdx.ac.uk (Wednesday – Friday only).
– Subject: ‘Test Library Request’
– Give name and Student ID and copy in your supervisor
— She will collect the test when possible
— You will not get the test immediately
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Planning strategically and building searches

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Quick activity: Advanced searches
… can you explain this search?
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Talk to the person next to you and see whether you
can identify the different features of this search …

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Get better results & find things faster
• Spelling US v UK:
• behavior / behaviour
• counselor / counsellor
• Truncate *:
• Offend* = offending, offender, offenders
• Counsel* = counselling, counsellor, counsellors
• Behav* = behavior, behaviour, behavioural,
behavioral
• Phrases (exact words in that order)
• “substance abuse”
• “cogntive behav* therapy”
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Initial searching … the importance of
planning
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Therapy AND offenders AND mental illness

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Original search with keywords…
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Tasks
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Therapy AND offenders AND mental illness

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I don’t want to miss things: Broadening your
search by combining keywords…
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So I might want to try a narrower search ….
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CBT AND prisoners AND mental illness

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Refining searches with
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I think I only want to
research this type of therapy
Concentrate on
this specific group
With this
broad
issue

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Other ways to narrow your topic
• People or participants:
– Racial/cultural/nationality groups
– Age
– Type of participant
• Way you measure it
• Sub-factors (E.g. Media effect on
self esteem):
– Fashion and Beauty media
– Effect on body image or self worth
– Among Women / students
– Among students in
UK/Dubai/Mauritius
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By planning before you carry out searches,
recording keywords, synonyms, narrower and
broader terms you can build your strategy
and respond to your results…
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Irrelevant articles
Not enough results
Too specific

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Task 2 – Strategic searching
• A + B + C = results
• But what if it doesn’t?
• We might then try breaking up our
search into smaller searches/topics:
• a + b
• b + c
• a + c
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Inferring – what is the nearest relevant
research to build a picture of this topic
area?
• Effectiveness of mentoring on young homeless people
— Mentoring and young people
— Mentors and homeless people
— Support for homeless people getting out of homelessness
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• Peer, media and family influences among African and Afro-
Caribbean women and the effects on self esteem and body
image
— Media influences on women and their self image
— Peer/family/cultural influences on women and their self image
— Media influences on Black/Afro Caribbean populations and their
confidence/self image
— Media influences on people’s self worth and body image
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• Impact of missing father figure on teenage girls
— Missing father figure with teenage boys
— Missing father figure - influence on adult women
— Missing father figure - influence on very young female
children
— Key stages of development for teenagers
— Parenting and its role in development
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Task 2 – Strategic searching
• Use the worksheet to choose one member of your
group’s dissertation topic.
• I want you to have a go at breaking down that topic
into the concepts/ideas
• Once you have those concepts label them a b and c
• Construct searches including a + b
b + c
and a + c
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Task 3 - Have a go!
• Use the searches from your worksheet or
your own topic if you already have one and
have a go at either Web of Science or
PsycINFO
•Ask me for help!

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Alerts – databases
You must set up an account with the database
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Alerts – databases
You must set up an account with the database
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Alerts: Zetoc
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Zetoc
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Zetoc
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Cite them right
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examples
Gives you a formatted
example to type over

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Managing your references
• 2 choices of referencing software at MDX
• Flow – simple to use, limited functionality, fine for essays
• Refworks – slightly more complex to use but more functional
• Both will allow you to import citations from databases and
both will format your reference list for you.
• Go to Psychology Library Subject Guide and find the section
on referencing
libguides.mdx.ac.uk/psy/referencing

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It’s not in the Library!
• Inter Library Loans http://bit.ly/InterLibraryLoans
• Sconul Access http://www.access.sconul.ac.uk/sconul-access
• Other libraries http://bit.ly/visitingotherlibraries

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To access the Library Subject Guide

63. My Subject – library guides

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Need help?
- Databases
- Lit searching
- Referencing
• Psychology Library Subject Guide
http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/psy
• Librarians in the StudyHub (1st floor)
Monday – Friday 9-5
• Your librarian j.iona@mdx.ac.uk