4. The Research Process List synonyms, related words & variant spellings Identify main keywords Create search statement Search for sources using LINC+/LINC & databases Topic Complete your assignment Get more sources by checking references no yes Are there enough? Evaluate quality, currency, relevance, etc.
5. Information Sources Books Journal articles Conference papers Newspapers Theses & dissertations Primary sources Internet
7. Finding Citations: Use Databases Method 1: browse databases by subject Method 2: search by name of database e.g. LLBA Note: Most databases do not have full-text articles
10. Finding Full-text: LINC Journal Search E-journal publishers/ providers our subscription latest issue In Current Journals click for complete listing of volumes in Bound Journals and Closed Stacks search for specific volume or year
12. Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT AND: both terms must be present fewer results OR: either terms may be present more results 3. NOT/AND NOT: exclude a term use with caution A B cats ANDdogs A B cats ORdogs A B cats NOTdogs
13. Quotation Marks “ ” Use quotation marks “ ” for phrase searching Example: code switching: 10,719 results “code switching”: 2572 results Note: Some databases treat adjacent words as separate words (AND), while others treat them as phrase (“ ”)
14. Asterisk * Use asterisk * for variant forms of a word & variant spelling Examples: bilingual*= bilingual, bilinguals, bilingualism colo*r = color, colour Note: Some databases use other symbols, e.g.: $, ?, !
15. Parentheses ( ) Use parentheses ( ) for grouping similar or related words Example: e.g. (language acquisition OR bilingualism) AND adults language acquisition AND adults bilingualism AND adults
17. Step 1: Identify Keywords Topic: Relationship between cognitive development and bilingualism in children #1: cognitive development #2: bilingual #3: children
25. subject headings, key concepts, descriptorsarticles, books, etc. on the same subject
26. Step 3: Create Search Statement Topic: Relationship between cognitive development and bilingualism in children Search statement: (cognitive development OR intellectual development OR mental development) AND (bilingual* OR second language) AND children
28. DB#1: LLBA CSA Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts >2,000 journals, books, dissertations, book reviews linguistics & related disciplines in the language sciences
34. citation check whether library subscribes to this journal volume & issue by using LINC/LINC+
35. DB#2: PsycINFO psychology & psychological aspects of related disciplines e.g. medicine, linguistics, business, etc. about 98% of the journals are peer-reviewed
48. DB#4: ERIC educational-related literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education books, conferences, government documents, theses, reports, etc. available via CSA platform and http://www.eric.ed.gov
58. 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
59. Troubleshooting Search Results You may encounter: too many results use AND, more precise keywords too few results use OR, synonyms/related words many irrelevant results exclude keywords that are too general no results check spelling, use more OR & synonyms, or redefine your research topic If you need help, check with your professor or ask a librarian!
60. Evaluating Information Sources authority: reputable publisher, society or organisation; author’s credentials & institutional affiliation accuracy: methods of research; means to verify data; support by references objectivity: biasness currency: up-to-date scholarly: peer reviewed, cited
65. EndNote A software that: stores and organizes citations inserts citations into a Word document format references in a predefined citation style For more info: http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/endnote Technical queries (e.g. installation): call IT Care at 6516 2080 or email itcare@nus.edu.sg Watch EndNote video
69. 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 bookmarkletto access full-texts note: only for resources subscribed by NUS Libraries guide to using bookmarklet
