SYG 2010 - SOCIAL PROBLEMS
INTRODUCTION: GUIDE TO INTERNET RESEARCH
As most of you probably already know, the internet houses a vast amount of information. Much of this information, however, is far from what is considered ‘scholarly.’ The aim of this guide is not only aid you in your research assignment for this class but also to better prepare you for future research. Knowing what internet services (databases, search engines, etc...) are available to you and how to use those services is critical to your success as a researcher and college student.
Keep in mind that the internet is not the end-all as far as information goes – the library has a wealth of information that often goes untapped. People (students) simply do not know about it or how to go about using it to their advantage. The following is a guide for acquainting yourself with the processes of internet research, specifically that done through various electronic databases offered through FIU’s library and WebLUIS.
GETTING STARTED: STEPS FOR UTILIZING FIU’S LIBRARY DATABASES
1.Log into the FIU library’s homepage:http://www.fiu.edu/~library (You can also link to the library through the FIU homepage: http://www.fiu.edu
2.Click on the link that reads “articles by subject” since you are primarily looking for journal articles pertinent your subject area.
3.Toward the bottom of the page, you will see a button that says “social sciences;” Click on there to reveal a directory of various social sciences (and related) databases.Obviously, for purposes of other research, you would choose one of the other subject headings.
4.Once the directory comes up, the wise decision would be to search “social science abstracts” as that is the most popular and commonly used database for social science journals.
5.If using a school computer lab this step should not apply. Now, once you click on “social science abstracts,” you are going to get a message about restricted access to the database – do not worry. All you have to do is input the 14-digit number under the barcode on the back of your student I.D. If your card is valid (meaning, if it is a real number and that you have used the library at some point in your FIU career), you will be granted access to the database. NOTE: you can make sure your card is valid by asking someone at the circulation desk in the library to check the status for you.
6.After inputting your 14-digit number, you will be directed to a page that says “Advanced Search” and a listing (on the top) of the available databases. For your research in this class, click on “social sciences.”
7.Now, considering that you need to find three journal articles relevant to a social problem in three different electronic databases, choosing any of the “general” or “specialized” databases will probably take you where you want to go. Suggestion: “SocioAbs” is an excellent resource for looking up electronic journals dealing with the social sciences.
8.Clicking on any one of the databases will lead you to a search page; it would be prudent to click on “advanced research” in order to enable yourself to find a more complete listing of articles related to the specific area you wish to address.
9.The advanced search works by inputting several search factors through the use of words/phrases and indices (connected by “and” – for the purposes of your research, it is recommended that you always use “and” as your connector). Unless you have prior knowledge of this type of search, it is also recommended that you change all the indices to “subject (keyword).”As you will see, you can also limit the time frame you wish to search within, and, with some, the journals you wish to search. Type in our search parameters, click “search” and a listing of relevant articles will appear. You have just found (probably) several journal article(s).
10.You can scroll through the listings to see what interests you most and whether or not the journal is subscribed to by the library, online and/or full-text (as is required of one of your articles).NOTE: ECO is good source for full-text, online articles. Once you have what you need, you can email the information (i.e.: articles) to yourself, print it up right off your screen, or, of course, write it down.
11.Obviously, there are several ways to go about locating articles in electronic journals via various databases. These instructions are merely a starting point for your internet assignment in this class and later research that may be assigned to you. Only practice will better acquaint you with the endless resources available to you through the library and WebLUIS.
Alternate steps: (and, sometimes, more effective if you are doing upper level social science research): click the “S” under alphabetical listing (under indexes and databases); then scroll down to “sociological abstracts” (Cambridge Scientific); again, enter the 14-digit number from your student I.D. and a page will come up with version 3.7 or 5.0 – pick 5.0; on the next page click ‘social sciences” and either basic or advanced search (I recommend advanced); on the next page you have access to a few databases – ERIC and Sociological Abstracts are both excellent resources; once you choose one, click “continue”, the search page comes up and you know what to do from there.
Now that you are a pro at the library’s internet resources, you can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that the following information on general internet (re)searching will be comparatively easier to digest.
GENERAL INTERNET INFORMATION
The following is a list of addresses (URL’s) to some of the most popular sociological/anthropological journals (and resources) that you can look up from home, the library (LUIS), or one of the computer labs on campus:
American
Sociological Association:
http://www.asanet.org/
American
Anthropological Association:
http://www.aaanet.org/
Selected Statistical Sources for the Social Sciences: http://www.fiu.edu/~library/assistance/socstats.html
SocioWeb http://www.socioweb.com/~markbl/socioweb/
These addresses will lead you directly to particular sources, however, if you cannot find exactly what it is you are looking for or feel that you want a broader range of choices at your disposal, several search engines and meta-search engines and meta-search engines will (attempt) to do just that for you.One quick note: search engines only comb through their specific web pages while meta-search engines comb through several search engines at the same time for what you have indicated as your search query.Here are some ideas:
Dogpile (meta-search engine)
Savvy Search (meta-search engine)
Northern Light (140.6 million web pages)
AltaVista (128.5 million web pages)
Hotbot (95.2 million web pages)
FAST (94.7 million web pages)
Snap (86.9 million web pages)
Google (70.9 million web pages)
Infoseek (59.4 million web pages)
Yahoo (primarily a directory, but does include a search function – 500,000 web pages)
ONE FINAL PIECE OF INFORMATION: SEARCH TECHNIQUES
Whether you are looking up something on a search engine, meta-search engine or on the search page for some database, there are certain techniques that will help you in narrowing and/or broadening your search.
1.Use of “and”: this will narrow your search, e.g.: parent and participation; 2.Use of “or”: this will broaden your search, e.g.: parent or participation; 3.Truncation: this will tell the search device that you wish to look up the word which has been truncated and all forms of that word; e.g.: parent* (will yield searches including: parent, parents, parental, etc...); 4.Phrase searching: uses quotes to look up a particular phrase; e.g.: “parent participation”; 5.Nesting: a little more sophisticated, but useful when looking up multiple subjects or ideas; utilizes and, or and parentheses to limit search criteria; e.g.: parent AND (participation OR involvement).
This may seem like a lot of information, but it is really just the beginning of what is fast becoming the wave of necessary knowledge. Knowing how to effectively research is greatly to your advantage. With any luck, this guide will be of help to you for this class and others as you progress through college.
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