Learning how to search an
Electronic Database
Overview of Search Strategy
1. Select a topic
2. Identify correct concepts, lay terms and
technical terms to describe the topic
3. Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to
identify additional similar technical
terms/subject headings
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/subject terms with “and” to
find common results
6. Evaluate, understand and save results
Instructors Research Topic
• Demonstration Research Topic/Question:
How to train leadership skills
• Main concepts
– Training
Leadership
Students’ Research Topic
• Students’ Topic
– How to train your chosen skill
– Possible chosen skills:
•
•
•
•
•
self-monitoring
OR self-esteem
OR attitudes toward authority
or social skills
or self control
Next Steps in Search Strategy
1.
Select a topic
2. Identify correct technical terms to
describe the topic
•
•
How to access database
Database generated
Debowski, S., Bandura, A., Wood, R. (2001)
How to Access PsycInfo
Database
• From the UTSC library website:
http://utsc.library.utoronto.ca
• On the “Search for Articles” tab, select the topic
“Psychology”, click onto “Go” (Note: this is the
first step of the research process for any
research paper you may have)
• Select ‘PsycInfo’ (the first one)
• Differences between on-campus vs. off- campus
access
UTSC Library’s Website
• For Demo: Search for Articles tab, select the topic
“Psychology”, click on “Go”, and select ‘PsycInfo’
Retrieving the Database on campus
• You will be connected to PsycInfo directly
Retrieving the database off campus
• If you are off campus, you will be brought
to a screen like this:
Step 1: Click on “Connect to this resource”
Retrieving the database off
campus
Step 2: Select one of two options
Summary of what we
did so far:
• From the UTSC library website:
http://utsc.library.utoronto.ca
• Under Search for Articles tab, select the
topic “Psychology”, click “Go”, and then
select ‘PsycInfo’
• Differences between on-campus vs. offcampus access
Screen when logged
into PsycInfo
Next steps in Search Strategy
1.
2.
Select a topic
Identify correct technical terms to describe the topic
• How to access database
– How to get technical terms/subject
headings from database?
Go to the Thesaurus by clicking
on the Thesaurus link
Getting Technical
Terms/Subject Headings by
Using the Thesaurus
1) select a display option to display results
– “Begins With” – Subject headings displayed
alphabetically
2) type in lay terms/keywords (e.g. “training”)
& click Find
Screen after typing in a keyword in Thesaurus
• Click on the subject headings with [+] to show more related subject terms
Exploring the results of your search in
Thesaurus to get more Technical Terms
• click on
“training
(motivation)”
to get more
specific
search
terms
Check off all Relevant keywords to describe
topic and use OR & click “add to search”
Do the same for the other concept Instructor’s
other concept is Leadership
Students do the same for own
topic
• Generate a list of technical terms relevant
to your topic
– Use the PsycInfo worksheet to help organize
your keywords/lay terms
Other ways of identifying Useful
Technical Terms/Subject
Headings with Thesaurus
• Recall, we chose the “Begins With” display
option before
– This gives us related subject headings organized
alphabetically
• Try using alternative “display options" to display
results in a different way.
– Contains – Any subject headings which contain the
search words
Students:
Practice using Thesaurus
• Use the thesaurus to identify useful
subject headings for your practice topic
• Familiarize yourself with the thesaurus
option
– EXPLORE!!!
Next steps of Search Strategy
1.
2.
Select a topic
Identify correct concepts, lay terms and subject
headings to describe the topic
3. Link technical subject headings with “or”
to identify additional similar technical
terms
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/subject terms with “and” to
find common results
6. Evaluate, understand and save results
Another way to Link Key
Words with “or”
• Click on “Recent Searches”
– Enables you to refer back to your previous
searches
• To broaden your search to find additional
articles, type: 1 or 2
Screen you will arrive at when
you click “Recent Searches”
•Note: Search terms used are displayed
•Type: 1 OR 2 and click Search
Examine preliminary results from ‘or’
search to identify new subject headings
• “Subjects” at the bottom of the abstract help to
identify additional relevant subject
headings/keywords
Examine results from ‘or’ search to
identify misleading subject headings
Mis-identifying keywords/lay
terms
E.g., for the concept of “job
satisfaction” Search for “employee
happiness” using the thesaurus
Screen when you have misidentified lay terms/keywords
•
The term “employee happiness” is not found in
the thesaurus
What to do if your search has no
result?
• Don’t panic if nothing matches your search
for lay terms/keywords, error is an
excellent way to learn and discover new
subject headings (Van der linden et al., 2001)
– Look at the list of closest subject headings
and check if there are relevant clues
– If not, try searching the thesaurus using a
different lay term/keyword
• e.g. “employee satisfaction”
Back on track…
Search using “Or”
• E.g., Search for “job satisfaction”
– Use “satisfaction” or “employee attitude”
More Ideas on how to Link
Technical Terms/Subject
Headings with “or”
• Pair different technical terms/subjects with
“or” during initial stages of searching
• Why? To broaden your search results &
help identify new technical terms/subject
headings
Linking Technical
Terms/Subject Headings with
“or”
• Results in a large number of records
• Results are useful in helping you
understand one concept
– E.g., “job satisfaction”
• Can learn about useful search terms by
keeping an eye on the subject headings
under each abstract
Students Practice
on Computer by Linking
Technical Terms/Subject
Headings with “Or”
Next Steps of Search Strategy
1. Select a topic
2. Identify correct concepts, lay terms and
technical terms to describe the topic
3. Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to
identify additional similar technical
terms/subject headings
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/subject headings with
“and” to find common results
When to Link Technical
Terms/Subject Terms with “And”
• After identifying all possible technical
terms/subject headings for your each of
your lay terms/keywords, i.e.,
“organizational commitment” and “job
satisfaction”
• Then, use “AND” to find out how
“organizational commitment” and “job
satisfaction” are related
How to Link key words with “and”
• Click on “Recent Searches”
– Enables you to refer back to your previous
searches
• To narrow your search to find related
articles, type: 1 and 2
Screen for Recent Searches
• Type: 1 and 2 and press enter
A second way to Link Key
Words with “and”
Using Advanced Search Option
• Advanced search allow you to combine
terms with “And”
• Advanced search allows you to search for
articles if you have specific information
(such as: specific subject headings that
you want to search for)
How to Link Technical
Terms/Subject Headings with
“and”
Examining Results of Linking Technical
Terms/Keywords with “and”
What we learned from examining
Results of search of Linking
Technical Terms/Subject
Headings with “and”
• Results contain BOTH technical
terms/subject headings you selected
• Implication: Pairing up different subject
headings can generate useful results
– Explore, test hypotheses, make informed
generalizations
• Van der Linden et al., 2001; Debowski et al., 2001
Students Practice
Search with “and”
• Link technical terms/subject headings with
“and” to find out the relationship between
the two concepts
Next Steps of Search Stragey
1. Select a topic
2. Identify correct concepts, lay terms and
technical terms to describe the topic
3. Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to
identify additional similar technical
terms/subject headings
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/descriptors with “and” to
find common results
6. Evaluate, understand and save results
• Understand information in a record
• Retrieve articles
Understanding information in a
record to evaluate it
Title of the article
Abstract of article
Author
Source (name of journal, volume, issue, etc.)
Link to full text version of the article
if online version available—
What will be displayed if not online?
Display if article is not online
through PsycInfo
• Click on “Get it! U of T Libraries” to check if
article is 1) online or 2) in print through UofT
Libraries
Retrieving an online article through
‘Get it! UTL’
• Click on the link that offers a full text
version of the article
Retrieving a print article through
‘Get it! UTL’
• If an article is not online, it may be
available in print at UTSC or another UofT
Library
• Click on ‘Search the U of T Library
Catalogue’
Retrieving hard copy of article in
the library
Click here to find out info
about the library (e.g.
location, opening hours etc)
Click on ‘request’
to have the journal sent to you at
UTSC
Evaluate, understand and
save results
• Understand information in a
record
• Retrieve articles
• Evaluate the results of a search
Exploring a record in detail
• Click on the title of the article to assess
article
– The abstract,
– The reference list
Evaluate Results
• Read the abstract on the results and
determine the ones that are useful to you.
• Try to note the technical terms/subject
headings of each “useful” result
• If necessary, repeat step 1-4 with different
technical terms/subject headings that you
have jotted down to search for related
articles
Students: Evaluate results
• Examine your results and make sure you
understand the information as displayed
• If results do not look relevant, repeat the
search process to get better results
Review
1. Select a topic
2. Identify correct concepts, lay terms and
technical terms to describe the topic
3. Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to
identify additional similar subject
headings
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/subject headings
with “and”
6. Evaluate, understand and save results
Additional material not covered in
class
Evaluate, understand and save results
•
•
•
•
•
Understand information in a record
Retrieve articles
Evaluate the results of a search
Meta-analysis articles
Save to RefWorks
How to find meta-analysis articles?
• On the advanced search screen, scroll
down & select Meta Analysis
How to find meta-analysis articles?
• Enter your search terms. You will know it worked
when “Additional limits” appears on your results
screen
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Next Steps…
Select a topic
Identify correct concepts, lay terms and technical terms
to describe the topic
Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to identify
additional similar technical terms/subject headings
Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
Link technical terms/subject headings with “and”
Evaluate, understand and save results
• Understand information in a record
• Retrieve articles
• Evaluate the results of a search
• Meta-analysis articles
• Save to RefWorks
Debowski, S., Bandura, A., Wood, R. (2001)
What is RefWorks?
• RefWorks is a web-based citation
manager
• RefWorks enables you to:
– create your own personal database by
importing references such as journal articles
or books
– use these references in writing papers and
automatically format the paper and the
bibliography in seconds
Connect to RefWorks
• Click
Quick Links, select RefWorks
Create a RefWorks account
• Sign up for a New Account
• Make a note of the GROUP CODE
Select Articles to Save into
RefWorks
• Select articles to save by clicking on the corresponding box
•Click on “Export/Save” and select RefWorks
Saving References Using the
Folder System in RefWorks
•
•
•
•
•
Steps for saving references:
Click onto ‘View Last Imported Folder’
Create your own folder
Put items/references into your folder
View your folder
Create Your Own Folder
• Click on “New Folder”
• You will be asked to name your folder
Put References Into Your Folder
• Checkmark boxes for the articles to be moved into your folder
• From the folder icon drop-down menu, select the appropriate
Folder (e.g. “psychology”
View Your Folder
•View your folder to see your list of references
Bibliographies Like Magic
• Select “Bibliography” and click “Create”
Bibliographies Like Magic
1)
2)
3)
4)
Select the “Output Style” (APA is the default)
Select “File Type” (HTML, Word, etc.)
Select the appropriate folder for “References to include” in the bibliography
Click onto “Create Bibliography”
Your Bibliography
Overview of Search Strategy
1. Select a concept
2. Identify correct concepts, lay terms and
technical terms to describe the topic
3. Link technical terms/keywords with “or” to
identify additional similar technical
terms/subject headings
4. Repeat step 1-3 until all are defined
5. Link technical terms/subject headings with
“and” to find common results
6. Evaluate, understand and save results
Debowski, S., Bandura, A., Wood, R. (2001)
Help & Support
• Develop different search statements using
the different technical terms/subject
headings and the Boolean operators (And,
Or, etc)
• Don’t panic if results do not seem useful /
no results are retrieved
• Modify your search statement and try again
• We all learn from trying out different
options and making errors
Help & Support
• If you run into trouble, there is always
1) Online Help from PsycInfo
Help & Support
• Lola Rudin (Subject Librarian for
Management) – office hours Mondays 13pm (IC375), lrudin@utsc.utoronto.ca
• Reference Desk
• Ask Chat
• Email – askalibrarian@utsc.utoronto.ca
• (416) 287-7481