Kategorier: Alla - evaluation - sources - thesis - organization

av Laura Harris för 10 årar sedan

323

The research process

When embarking on a research project, it is essential to evaluate various sources of information, including journal articles, books, and web pages, to ensure the reliability and relevance of the data collected.

The research process

The research process

Organizing search results

Working outline, concept map, or affinity diagramming
More ways to think through a topic
Affinity diagramming

A process of brainstorming and then grouping ideas together by relationship. StickySorter software (free) enables you to create, sort and group sticky notes.

Concept mapping

Sample concept map of "Salvation"

Wisemapping

VUE

SpiderScribe

MindNode for Mac

MindMaple

Mindomo

Can download software to your computer and save your maps there.

Cmap

Free. Use to show processes, causality & other relationships between concepts.

Connected Mind

bubbl.us

Create your map online then export as an image file and save to your computer.

Outlining
Plan your argument

See Chapter 5, "Planning Your Argument", in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. There is a copy in the Reference Collection (LB2369 .T8 2007).

Create Argument map

Argunet

Argumentative

Convince Me

Building a better argument
Revise research question & thesis statement
Re-focus topic
Note-taking tools

Evaluating information

Web pages
Journal articles
Analysing a scholarly article for thesis & arguments
Sources of information to help with analysis
Critical analysis of a book or article
Books, including Reference books

See Turabian, pp 32-35. (Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed. 2007)

Finding information

Search strategies
Citation searching

Citation searching is the process of finding articles in which a specific publication has been cited. Some article databases, such as Academic Search Premier, have this capability.

Publish or Perish is a free downloadable software program that searches for citations in the Google Scholar database.

Citation searching in PubMed

PubMed is a free database provided by the National Institutes of Health that includes articles on behavioral sciences, counseling, pastoral/spiritual care, chaplaincy, etc. Go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.

PubMed Single Citation Matcher

PubMed home

Citation searching in Academic Search Premier

Citation search engine for Google Scholar

Advantages/disadvantages of citation searching in Google Scholar

Video tutorial on citation searching within Google Scholar

Why do a citation search?

To find more articles on a topic

To determine how many times your own article has been cited

To investigate the influence of an article

Tutorial on using various Internet search tools

Using the EBSCOhost result list

Creating search alerts in EBSCOhost

Setting up & using a personal folder in EBSCOhhost

Using the Advanced Search in EBSCOhost databases

Using Library of Congress Subject Headings

Useful LC subheadings

Subject headings from Library of Congress web site

Finding subject headings in library catalog records

Finding subject headings in WorldCat

One way to identify your search terms is to look in the Preferred Subject Headings. On the WorldCat

Advanced Search, click on the Subjects button, and then enter a word or concept. You'll get back a list of terms related to the one you entered. If you "expand" a word or concept, you'll be presented a list of related, broader and narrower subject headings to choose from.

Click a term of interest to select the heading of your choice and search results are returned for that subject heading.

Another useful feature is the "Related Subjects" feature. Once you've done a search and have a list of records, click on the Related Subjects button. This will give you the topic subjects from the first 50 records, and may help you identify additional subjects to search, e.g., broader geographic areas such as counties and townships, or neighboring locations.

The Oxford Guide to Library Research

Read chapters 2 and 4 of this book by Thomas Mann. It's in the Reference Collection (Ref Z710 .M266 2005).

Tutorial on using subject headings

Free Ebooklet: "Understanding & Using Library of Congress Subject Headings

Overview of the LC Subject Heading system

Combined searches with Boolean operators

Boolean Operators

Also includes information on using parentheses and truncation.

Boolean Searching Basics

ATLAReligion database

Searching for sacred texts in ATLAReligion

Using the scripture index in ATLAReligion

Using the scripture citation tool in ATLAReligion

Researching your topic @ Iliff

Finding general material

LC Subject headings

Getting started
Sources for information
Personal networks

Academic connections

Professional organizations

Associations

Web resources

Search engines

Visual search engines

The invisible web

Internet subject directories

Meta-search engines

News searching

Comparison of features

Primary sources on the web

Bible Works software

Click on the BibleWorks icon on any computer in the Taylor Library Computer Center. Go to the "Help" menu and select "BibleWorks Video Demo Library."

Here you'll find a number of instructional videos on how to use the software to search for phrases or multiple keywords, how to display multiple versions of the text, including Hebrew and Greek texts, how to search in Greek or Hebrew, how to determine the morphology of a word (root, gender, number, case, etc. of nouns; tense, gender, number, root, etc. of verbs).

The Reference Librarian will also be happy to assist you in using BibleWorks.

Search the library catalog with the subject heading "Bibliography" plus additional terms specific to your topic to find books listing resources by subtopics.

Newspapers
Scholarly articles

Check "Help" pages in individual databases for information and tips for searching.

Library of Congress Subject Headings (see below)

Many databases, including ATLAReligion and Academic Search Premier, have indexing systems based on the Library of Congress Subject Heading system. Thus you can enter identified subject headings in search boxes of these databases as subject terms.

You can also search subject indexes in these databases to identify more subject headings.

One word of caution: article databases may add some words to their indexes that aren't yet assigned LOC subject headings. Why? Because new concepts appear first in articles. The Library of Congress adds headings only after a critical mass of books are published on a new concept.

Databases

Databases at DU

Penrose Library at the University of Denver has scores of specialized databases in the areas of history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, archaeology, literature, and other disciplines related to religion and theology,

JSTOR

Indexing and full-text articles in religion and the humanities.

Religious & Theological Abstracts

Provides abstracts of articles from scholarly religious and theological journals, including English-language abstracts of articles published in Hebrew, Afrikaans, and major European languages. There is some overlap with ATLAReligion but also many different entries.

Go to the my.Iliff home page and log in. Click on the Library tab. If you're off campus, log in.

Now look on the left side of the screen and click on either the "On Campus Databases" button or the "Off Campus Databases" button.

Scroll down to the link to Religious & Theological Abstracts.

EBSCOhost databases

Regional Business News

This database provides comprehensive full-text coverage for regional business publications. It incorporates coverage of more than 80 regional business publications covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States

TOPICSearch

TOPICsearch contains full text for over 60,000 articles from 399 diverse sources including international and regional newspapers, EBSCO's unparalleled collection of periodicals, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, and government information.

MasterFILE Premier

This multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents, as well as an Image Collection of over 502,000 photos, maps & flags.

Newspaper Source

Provides cover-to-cover full text articles for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, text television & radio news transcripts are provided.

GreenFILE

This collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. Indexing, abstracts and some full-text articles.

Articles not provided online may be found in Penrose Library at the University of Denver.

Business Source Premier

Includes indexing and some full-text articles on non-profit management.

Articles that are not provided online can often be found at Penrose Library at the University of Denver.

Academic Search Premier

Covers almost all academic disciplines. Covers some religion periodicals not covered by ATLAReligion. Many full-text articles.

Articles that are not provided online can often be found in our bound periodicals collection on the main floor of Taylor Library or at the Penrose Library at the University of Denver.

Catholic Periodical & Literature Index

Covers all aspects of the Catholic faith and lifestyle, including over 380,000 index citations of articles and reviews published in Roman Catholic periodicals, Papal documents, church promulgations, or produced by Catholic publishers.

Articles that are not provided online can often be found in our bound periodicals collection on the main floor of Taylor Library or at the Cardinal Staffrd Library at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary (Steele St. @ Mississippi).

Old & New Testament Abstracts

Indexing and abstracts for journal articles, monographs, multi-author works, and software related to biblical studies. Many of these articles can be found in our bound periodical collectioin on the main floor of Taylor Library.

ATLAReligion

Includes a full range of index citations to articles, essays in multi-author works, and book reviews from over 1,550 religious and theological journals, including international titles. It spans over 50 years with selected records dating back to 1818.

Includes many full-text articles. Articles that are not provided online can often be found in our bound periodicals collection on the main floor of Taylor Library.

Scripture citation search

3 strategies for searching by scripture citation (with pros and cons of each): http://www.covenantseminary.edu/academics/library/guides/scripture_searching/

Combining scripture citation with topic: http://www.pitts.emory.edu/services/tools/pdfs/citations.pdf

Search by scripture index: http://libguides.marquette.edu/content.php?pid=30742&sid=1225399. If the video won't play, scroll down and read through the short tutorial.

How to's

Online tutorials

Help pages

Special features

Wildcard & truncation symbols

Visual search

This is an easy way to sort a long list of results.

Search history

Copy & paste your search history into your Research Journal to keep a record of your searches!

How to access

Go to the my.Iliff home page and log in. Click on the Library tab. If you're off campus, log in.

Now look on the left side of the screen and click on either the "On Campus Databases" button or the "Off Campus Databases" button. Then click on the link to the EBSCOhost databases.

Library catalogs

Denver Seminary

St. John Vianney Library

WorldCat

To access from off campus, go to myIliff and login. Select the "Library" tab. In the toolbar on the left, click on "Off campus databases".

Prospector (CO libraries)

Univ. of Denver catalog

Iliff catalog

Online

Religion & theology

Online encyclopedias

Taylor Library Select Sites

Librarians Index to the Internet

How to find in online catalog

"Floating" subject headings according to type of work

Limit to "Reference Collection"

Types

Directories

Conference Journals

Historical timelines

Bibliographies

Style manuals

Handbooks

Atlases

Concordances

Commentaries

Dictionaries

Specialized encyclopedias

Types of information materials
Secondary sources

Magazine articles

Biographies

Reference works

Primary sources

Scholarly research article

Memoirs, autobiographies

Photographs

Sermons, speeches

Newspaper reporting

Correspondence

Diaries, journals

Choosing a topic & formulating a thesis

What is an argument?

Meanings of the terms thesis, argument, premise, claim, etc., are somewhat fluid, which can lead to confusion. Determine how each author of information on this topic is using the terms.

Formulate a thesis statement

The answer to your research question is your thesis statement. Draft a preliminary thesis statement based on what you think the answer will be. Then revise the statement or completely reformulate it as you go along and learn more about your topic.

Thesis statements
Understanding the research question

One way to get at a research question is to complete this sentence: "What I really want to know is...." Then turn your answer into a question.

See also Chapter 2, "Moving from a Topic to a Question to a Working Hypothesis," in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. There is a copy in the Reference Collection (LB2369 .T8 2007)

Focusing your topic
Try writing a tweet defining your topic to practice making it concise & focused.
Difference between topic, research question & thesis

Getting organized for research

Citation management software
Zotero
Sente
Research Journal

Sample journal pages
Notes, questions

Make notes about additional resources you may want to use, questions you want to answer in the course of your research, new ideas that you may want to pursue, names of people to talk with, etc.

Working bibliography
Search log
List of assigned LC subject headings

See also "Organization of information - LC Subject Headings".

How to generate listsof keywords & synonyms

See also "Concept mapping".

Concept blocking

Write down 3 keywords from your topic at the top of 3 columns. Underneath each keyword, write synonyms or related terms you think of.

Example: My topic is "Ancient religious concepts of wisdom".

ancient religious wisdom

civilizations spiritual knowledge

Greece pagan Sophia

Rome Christian learned

old Jewish Proverbs

pre-modern Islamic wisdom literature

pre-medieval Buddhist Ecclesiastes

China Hindu

indigenous

Inspiration!

Use a thesaurus

Note keywords used in lectures & discussions

Note keywords in your reading

Free association

See "Concept mapping"

Working research questions & thesis statements

Research Strategies

Portions of this excellent book are available for free on the author's web page. Click on the link.

Flow chart for research