Yvonne Nalani Meulemans
Behavioral
Sciences and Nursing Librarian
Kellogg Library 3421
ymeulema@csusm.edu
760-750-4375
Office Hours:
Tues & Wed 12-1
or when office door is open
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This guide supports the research projects for students in
Dr. Bigham's class.
Dr. Bigham can provide further details on the
assignments and Ms. Meulemans can provide further
suggestions on gathering relevant information.
Learning about your
discipline
This assignment requires that students become familiar
with a particular discipline or field of study as well as
learn about how the selected discipline considers disability
in America. Consider the following strategies as you begin
gathering information about your selected discipline
Start with a rich interview
The expert in the field will be able to provide a
'structure' to the discipline that will guide your
information gathering.
Learn more about a particular discipline
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Consult the library's subject guides
- Broad searches in the library catalog.
e.g. "disabl* and business*
e.g. "women's studies" as kw, then modify search to
Reference only.
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Google or
Wikipedia might be helpful, too.
This can be helpful to start, not necessarily
something you'll want to cite.
Search the library
catalog below to search for materials that provide
an overview of discipline.
- Too few? Search
'Disability' in your
discipline
A primary goal of this course is to study
disability
from the perspective of a particular discipline. Consider
the following as you begin to collect and analyze
information on your chosen topic.
Monographs=overviews
Think of monographs/books
as giant databases. If you were to investigate
disability as a historian would, a book called "A
history of disability in America" could direct you to
more information than you can imagine.
Discipline-specific databases
Consult the
library's database suggestions
This will help you pick which databases will
have the most useful research.
Vocabulary differences
A discipline may articulate the topic differently,
but may mean the same thing. Searching for materials in
one discipline, using the vocabulary of another
discipline, may not
provide results.
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Topic:
Down's Syndrome
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PsycINFO |
PubMed |
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Downs Syndrome |
Down Syndrome |
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Topic:
Depression |
PsycINFO |
PubMed |
CINAHL |
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Major Depression |
Depressive Disorder
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Depression |
Database differences
Database mechanics are not difficult to master.
However, each one is configured slightly differently to
reflect how a discipline is organized. The chart
below provides a few examples of what to look out
for.
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Database
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Vocabulary list |
Key
limiters |
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ERIC |
Search tools>ERIC Thesaurus |
EJ=ERIC Journals
ED=ERIC documents
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CINAHL |
CINAHL Headings |
gender
in/out-patient
age group |
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PsycINFO |
Thesaurus
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gender
age
animal/human |
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PubMed |
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) |
subheadings
(e.g. diagnosis, treatment, genetics,
history) |
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Utilize limiters
After some work, you will be familiar with some
of the key issues/aspects/concepts that your
selected discipline has on disability. When
searching for contemporary research utilize
limiters, such as:
Narrow your search by date. (i.e. 1997-current)
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Narrow your search by
population.
(Are children with physical disabilities a
current focus?)
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Narrow your search by methodology.
(Are ethnographies or epidemiological studies
being used?
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Determining 'enough'
While there is a requirement that you use at least
10 sources, how do you know when you have enough
information?
The same authors keep appearing in your result
list.
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You find the same articles using different
terms.
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After reviewing your information, you can
actually connect the articles in their similarities
or differences.
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Developing your poster
This assignment
requires developing an understanding of a narrow topic
related to disability. Some strategic approaches include:
Identify monographs/books that not only provide
reference to contemporary research, but also the
historical perspective required.
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Use multiple databases.
(Even if your topic is on the psychological
effects of paralysis, use a database other than PsycINFO.)
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