EL3208: Library Resources for Research

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EL3208Library Resources for Research
Ruby Seng Resource Librarian (ELL) rubyseng_at_nus.ed
u.sg
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Outline

• Information Sources The Research Process
• Advanced Searching Techniques
• Search Statements
• LINC vs. LINC, Google Scholar
• Databases
• Troubleshooting Evaluating Information Sources
• Miscellaneous

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• Information Sources
• The Research Process

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Information Sources

• Books
• Conference papers
• Internet sources
• Journal articles
• Newspapers
• Theses dissertations

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Books vs. Journals
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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

Its iterative!
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• Advanced Searching Techniques
• AND, OR, NOT, , ( ),

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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!
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Advanced Searching

• Use asterisk for
• variant forms of a word
• variant spelling
• e.g. bilingual bilingual, bilinguals,
  bilingually, bilingualism
• e.g. color color, colour
• Some databases use other symbols, e.g. , ?, !

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Advanced Searching

• Q When do you use ?
• A When you want more results!

Q policy, policies?
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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

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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).
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• Search Statements
• Synonyms Related Keywords
• Search Statements

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Synonyms Related Keywords

• toddlers
• preschoolers
• elementary school students

• intellectual development
• mental development

• grammaticality
• acceptability
• competence

proficiency
children
cognitive development
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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

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Search Statement (1)

• Singlish in the classroom

Singlish in the classroom
Singapore English, Singapore Colloquial English
Singlish
classroom
class, school, teach, educat
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Search Statement (2)

• Cognitive development of bilingual children

Cognitive development of bilingual children
intellectual development, mental development
cognitive development
bilingual
second language
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• LINC, Databases Google Scholar
• LINC/LINC vs. Databases
• LINC vs. LINC
• Google Scholar

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LINC/LINC vs. Databases

• LINC/LINC search for resources in the librarys
  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)

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LINC vs. LINC
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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
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• Databases
• LLBA
• PsycINFO
• JSTOR
• ERIC
• Factiva

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DB1 LLBA

• CSA Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
• gt2,000 journals, books, dissertations, book
  reviews

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DB1 LLBA
DEMO
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DB1 LLBA
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Journal Record in LINC
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DB2 PsycINFO

• psychology psychological aspects of related
  disciplines e.g. medicine, linguistics, business,
  etc.
• about 98 of the journals are peer-reviewed

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DB2 PsycINFO
DEMO
Note AND/OR/NOT, , ( ), cannot be used in
basic search
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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.
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DB3 JSTOR

• fulltext database for humanities and social
  sciences
• back issues only
• searching and browsing functions

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DB3 JSTOR
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DB3 JSTOR
click here see the first page
download the PDF here
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DB4 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/

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DB4 ERIC
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DB4 ERIC
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DB4 ERIC
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DB5 Factiva

• full text articles from nearly 8,000 sources from
  newspapers, newswires, magazines trade journals
• no graphics and photographs
• Straits Times from 1989 onwards

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DB5 Factiva
DEMO
go to search builder
put in your keywords
type Straits Times click on the button
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DB5 Factiva
sort by date or relevance
citation
mark to view on single page, email, print or save
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Other Sources

• Other E-Resources
• Oxford English Dictionary
• PERIND
• Proquest Dissertations Theses
• Websites
• MICA Press Releases Speeches
• MOE

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• Recap,
• Troubleshooting
• Evaluating Information Sources

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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
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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, youll need to refine your keywords
  through trial error.
• If you need help, check with your professor or
  ask a librarian! ?

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Evaluating Information Sources

• relevance to your topic
• authority reputable publisher, society or
  organisation authors 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

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• Miscellaneous
• Plagiarism
• Materials Not Found in the Library
• Getting Help

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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 regions fastest growing
  economies (Rogers, 2008).
• Create a reference section, e.g.
• Nikolajeva, M., Scott, C. (2006). How
  picturebooks work. New York Routledge.

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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

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Getting Help
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Thank You!