Gabriela Sonntag
Kel 3306
Coordinator for Information Literacy & Reference gsg@csusm.edu
(760) 750-4356
This guide will walk you through the steps for refining
your topic,conducting
a literature review, inding information sources and using the APA style guide for citing your sources.
Before starting your literature search, the
first step is to write a possible search statement
(topic) and identify keywords. Keep an ongoing
list of keywords for your own future reference.Many times we have an idea of what we
want to study but not a clear, focused topic. Take the time
to think about your possible topic and expect to do
literature searches several times throughout your
research process for different reasons:
Review = This is a broad
scan of your general topic that serves as a method
for you to develop your topic further and gain
exposure to multiple dimensions of a topic that you
might not have considered before.
Focus = After you have
reviewed your general topic, it's time to focus your
search to find major, underlying issues. It
should help you answer such questions as:
a. Where are the gaps and controversies in my topic?
b. Who are the major authors in this field of study?
c. What research methodologies are used in various
types of investigations?
Analysis = Finally you're
ready to do a comprehensive assessment of specific
published works that analyzes trends and supports
(or refutes) your research statement. At this
stage you're ready to do "literature reviews".
Developing a Search Strategy
After you have focused your topic by writing your thesis
statement, you want to develop a good search strategy. Select
the main concepts in your statement, find synonyms or
alternative terms, and use Booleans to connect them
appropriately.
EXAMPLE:
THESIS
Even though language can be a
barrier, parents of ESL
students should be active in PTA to show their child
that they care, and to help shape the school
environment.
MAIN CONCEPTS
Parent participation, ESL Students, school
environment
Alternative TERMS
family involvement, limited English
speaking, classroom environment or educational
environment (school environment is not used)
SEARCHES
#1 parent participation OR family involvement
#2 limited English speaking OR ESL
#3 classroom environment OR Educational
environment
Journal Articles
Journals include some of the latest research in
the field. To find articles,
you need to start with research databases. They allow you to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at once.
ERIC* A national information system funded
by the U.S. Department of Education provides access to both journal articles and documents such as reports, lesson
plans and other information on education-related issues.
ERIC has 2 types of information:
EJ = Articles*
ED = Documents: find
full text in the library by
looking for the ED number in the
microfiche cabinets.
Watch this video on how to find articles.
The example database looks exactly
like ERIC.
Academic Search Premier* This EbscoHost database offers
scholarly information in nearly
every area of academic study
including: education, computer
sciences, engineering, physics,
chemistry, language and linguistics,
arts & literature, medical sciences,
ethnic studies, and many more.
PsychInfo*
Available via EbscoHost: A
comprehensive international database
of psychology, covering the
academic, research, and practice
literature in psychology from over
45 countries in more than 30
languages.
* If HTML or PDF documents not
available, find
full-text by clicking on If
the library doesn't have it you can
order it through Interlibrary Loan ( 5-10 days
delivery).
If too many records have been retrieved (more than 50)...
Review the options for limiting your search. You can limit by date,
by language, or by adding key terms or descriptors. Limit your search by adding terms to your search statement using
"AND'.
Example: To narrow a search on bulimia combine bulimia AND college students.
If too few records have been retrieved...
Check your spelling. The database only retrieves exact matches. Eliminate the least important concept.
Example: Learning disabilities AND college-students AND alcohol abuse. In this search,
college-students is the least important concept, so you would enter a new statement:
learning-disabilities and (alcoholism or alcohol abuse).
Expand your search by adding terms to your original search statement
using "OR"
Example: Anorexia-nervosa OR bulimia.
Marking records to print, download or email.
As you browse, mark records for later
by clicking
on the little box that appears next to the title.
Then click on Save, Print, Email
CAUTION: This will email ONLY the information the
screen, no more and no less!
Books
Books at Cal State San MarcosFind
books by searching the Library
Catalog. Can't
think of terms to describe your topic? Catalogs use specific subject headings to group related
books together. A good strategy is to:
enter a keyword or twoscan
the list for one good item of interest click on the "subject headings" for that itemscan
the list of "subject headings" for ones that match your
interest
click on another "subject heading" to search for more
items
Circuit and Other Catalogs
Having trouble finding
books in the CSUSM Library? Try searching the Circuit or other catalogs. You can use the same search
strategy listed above for "Books at Cal State San Marcos".
Remember, you can get almost any book you need from other
libraries using Inter-library Loan.
Literature Reviews
"A literature review is NOT just a summary, but a
conceptually organized synthesis of the results of your
search. It must:
organize information and relate it to the thesis
or research question you are developing synthesizeresults into a summary of what
is and isn't known identifycontroversy when it appears in
the literature
As you do your research, you'll need to cite passages and
ideas from the sources you've found. In order to cite
your resources properly, you need to follow the style
guide used by educators: APA: Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association.
As you write your paper, you'll need to cite passages and
ideas from the sources you've found.
APA: Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association.
5th ed. Washington, DC : American Psychological
Association, 2001
**Note: APA has added updated information on citing electronic resources.
Download the PDF format here or come to the CSUSM Library
to view a print version of this addition for
free: PN171.F56 A63 2007
Binder
Getting IRB
approval
If you are doing research that includes supervising or
conducting any activity involving human subjects, regardless
of whether the research is funded, and regardless of whether
the subjects are members of the University community, you
must receive IRB approval for the research. For the policy,
answers to your questions and forms see: http://www.csusm.edu/rgsip/irb/index.htm
