I'm thankful that Walden University's library database is extremely user-friendly because
I know there are some online databases that overwhelm the students. It allows you to
either search through the database for the particular topic you're wanting, or you have
the option to search for a specific subject Students can access peer-reviewed journals,
papers, magazines, books, and videos through this library database. I had to use
Walden's library database for this week's assignments. Our professor provided a list of
terms for the class to research and It was also my first time getting experience with APA
PsycINFO. The term depression was the first one I put in the Walden Library Database,
which returned 215,545 results. Another term that was included in the list was
"depressed", which is very similar to the term depression, however, once I searched the
term depressed the records decreased drastically to only 25,445 results. Depressing
brought back 602 results, and after I put in the similar term depress the search results
were raised to 710. I found 917,310 results for the phrase children, but when I had both
the term "children and depress" both in search, they only brought back 55
results. Analyzing scholarly journals that have been peer-reviewed is an essential part
of the research process. A group of professionals in different walks of life, and certain
careers examine and review the peer-reviewed publications. The journal entries are
usually well-researched, and they are a very reliable option when you are needing
a trustworthy source of information. When conducting internet research, you may
stumble across material from an unreliable source, causing the facts to be erroneous.
When searching the Walden University online database, A suggestion I would give
anyone searching through the Walden University online database is to use the research
by subject option and enter some keywords related to the topic you are attempting to
get information on. Another important thing to keep in mind is to double-check that the
peer-reviewed scholarly option is chosen so you can ensure reliable results.
After conducting each keyword search in the table below, record the number of records
found in each column.
Word to type—The pink
number’s are both columns
added together
Depression—427,310
Depressed—51,477
Depressing—1,152
Depress—1,377
Depress* (Be sure to include an
asterisk (*) in your search.)—
466,328
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Number of Records
Found WITH Full
Text checked but
WITHOUT Peer
Reviewed Scholarly
Journals checked
215,545
25,987
602
710
235,327
Number of Records
Found WITH Full Text
AND Peer Reviewed
Scholarly Journals
checked
211,765
25,490
550
667
231,001
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Children-917,310
Children AND Depress (put the
two terms in separate search
boxes)--105
468,164
55
449,146
50
1. Compare the number of records found for each of the keywords. Why do such
similar keywords yield such different results? Because although they may be
similar words they have a different meaning. Depression focuses on the mental
illness as a whole, while depressed is leaning more to the way certain people
feel.
2. For each keyword, compare the number of records found in both columns. Why
were there fewer results for each keyword when you refined your search by
selecting the “Peer Reviewed Scholarly Journals” option? “Journal articles
from databases are subjected to peer-review, which means other
professionals in the field verify the information in the articles is accurate.”
(Databases vs. Websites- library trocaire.edu, n.d). There’s two group’s one
including just normal everyday people researching for answers, and on the other
you’ve got a group that specializes in going through and sorting out what’s meant
to be included in the searches.
3. Compare the number of records found for Depress and Depress*. Given what
you learned about using truncated root words for keyword searches, why do such
similar keywords yield such different results?
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