Library/Research Refresher for M.Ed students

March 2011 Library/Research Refresherfor M.Ed students

Table of Contents A. Finding relevant databases, articles and sources 1. Education Subject Guide 4. ProQuest Theses and Dissertations 2. Sociology Subject Guide 5. E-Book databases 3. Social Science Citation Index B. Advanced searching in databases 1. Concepts 4. Refining and broadening a search 2. Boolean operators 5. Subjects 3. Search terms C. Accessing article full-text 1. Article/Citation Locator 3. Permanent links 2. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) 4. When you’ve tried everything… D. Inter-library loan and distance borrowing 1. Register for RACER 3. Register as a distance borrower 2. Search and request in RACER

A. Finding relevant databases, articles and sources 1. Education Subject Guide • Use a variety of databases 2. Sociology Subject Guide • Try databases in related fields 3. Social Science Citation Index • Use a citation index to find related articles 4. ProQuest Theses and Dissertations • Search this database of theses and dissertations 4. E-Book databases • Search chapter titles and full-text Go back to: Table of Contents

1. Education Subject Guide Go to the Education Subject Guide • CBCA Education – Includes Canadian content • ERIC – Largest Education database • Wilson Education – 79 journals not covered by ERIC • AACE Digital Library – Focused on education and technology Go back to: Table of Contents

2. Sociology Subject Guide The Sociology Subject Guide is also useful for research in education • Academic Search Premier is a general database that has education content • Try Social Science Citation Index (see next slide) Go back to: Table of Contents

3. Social Science Citation Index What can you do with a citation index? • Search for a specific article, and… • Easily find all the articles it cites • Find all the articles that have cited it • Search for a specific scholar and find his/her articles, as well as related scholars Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

4. ProQuest Theses and Dissertations Search the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database • Click on the link above or find the database in the Indexes and Databases A-Z list • Contains over two million dissertations and theses, with significant education content Go back to: Table of Contents

5. E-Book databases Go to the E-Book collections link on the library home page • Start with ScholarsportalebooksandSpringer E-Books • You’ll be searching not only book titles, but book chapter titles and sometimes full-text Go back to: Table of Contents

B. Advanced searching in databases 1. Concepts • Break up your research question into concepts 2. Boolean operators: AND, OR 3. Search terms • Phrases and word endings 4. Refining and broadening a search • What to do when you have too many or too few results 5. Subjects • Use subjects supplied by the database, and search for them in the thesaurus Go back to: Table of Contents

1. Concepts Concept #1 Concept #2 Break your research question into concepts • How are online learning objects being used to teach elementary mathematics ? • Think of terms that could be used to express these concepts online learning objects Concept #3 Concept #4 elementary mathematics online digital virtual learning objects manipulatives tools primary elementary mathematics Go back to: Table of Contents

2. Boolean operators: AND, OR Combine concepts with OR / AND • Use OR between words/phrases that mean the same thing • Use AND between words/phrases that represent different concepts elementary OR primary Online OR digital OR virtual mathematics AND “learning objects” Go back to: Table of Contents

3. Search terms Combine your search terms, and use these techniques: • Enclose phrases in quotation marks • e.g. “classroom management” • Search for different word endings and alternate spellings using an asterisk • canad* retrieves Canada, Canadian, Canadians, etc.) • wom*n retrieves women and woman Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

4. Refining and broadening a search Too many results? • Try limiting the publication year (e.g. articles published after 2005) • Try searching for an important concept (e.g. “mathematics”) in the title or subject field Too few results? • Try adding more alternate terms to your search (e.g. “learning object*” OR manipulative*) Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

5. Subjects Subjects (also called descriptors) are assigned to articles • When you find relevant articles, look at the subjects to see if you want to use any in your search • Type one of your search terms into the database’s thesaurus to find related terms Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

C. Accessing article full-text 1. Article/Citation Locator & Journal search • Search all of UOIT’s databases for the article you want 2. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) • Search for an article using its DOI 4. Permanent links • Share articles using permanent links 5. When you’ve tried everything… Go back to: Table of Contents

1. Article/Citation Locator & Journal search Unable to find full-text for the article you want? • Go to the Citation Locator page • Fill in as much information as you have (e.g. author, journal title, volume, issue) – and search • If full-text is not found, search for the journal and navigate to the appropriate issue Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

2. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) If you have an article’s DOI (digital object identifier), it can save you searching time • Go to the Citation Locator • Fill in the DOI field – that’s all the information you need Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

3. Permanent links Share articles using the permanent link provided by the database • Don’t copy and paste from the address bar; that link generally won’t work • Go into the article record and look for a “permanent” or “persistent” link to copy (it may be called something else) Go back to: Table of Contents

4. When you’ve tried everything… If you’ve tried the Citation Locator and journal search, and still haven’t found full-text: • request the article through inter-library loan (jump to that slide) or • contact a librarian for assistance • Kate Gibbings (kate.gibbings@uoit.ca) • Other librarians Go back to: Table of Contents

D. Inter-library loan and distance borrowing 1. Register for RACER • RACER is the inter-library loan system 2. Search and request in RACER • Request articles, books, conference proceedings, etc. 4. Register as a distance borrower • Use the request form and have items to mailed to your home Go back to: Table of Contents

1. Register for RACER RACER is the Inter- library loan system • Fill in the form to register • Don’t know your Library PIN? Call or email the Library and we will give it to you (this is not the same as your MyCampus password or Network ID). • Once your registration is confirmed via email, login to RACER Go back to: Table of Contents

2. Search and request in RACER • When you’ve found what you’re looking for, submit your request in RACER • Make sure to choose a pickup location (North Campus Library, Education Library, or Social Science Library) • Can’t make it to campus? Register for distance services and we’ll mail the material to you (see next slide) Click on the video to see an example Go back to: Table of Contents

3. Register as a distance borrower Distance borrowers can have materials mailed to their homes • You must live more than 50 km from campus • Send an email to Karin Downie (karin.downie@uoit.ca) to register for the service • Make all requests using this form (that includes inter-library loans!) Go back to: Table of Contents

Library/Research Refresher for M.Ed students