Reference Sources
LIBR 210
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Leah Coffin
Dr. Luo
2/28/10, rev. 3/14/10
Reference Sources Assignment
1.
Question #1: A young woman approaches you at the San José King Library reference desk
and says: “Hi! I need some books about the growing number of overweight kids, and what can be
done about it.” (Note: be sure to help her find some useful subject headings to search under).
2.
In terms of book titles to try, you may want to check out Childhood Obesity by M. N.
Jimerson (YA 618.9239 Jimerson), which explores both causes and treatment of obesity in young
people. For literature specifically aimed at parents, you might try A Parent's Guide to Obesity: A
Road Map to Health edited by Sandra G. Hassink (618.9239 Parent's). Conquering Childhood
Obesity for Dummies (618.9239 Tessmer) provides a broader overview of the subject. You can
find statistics on childhood obesity in America at
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/. Some subject headings you may want to
try: Childhood Obesity, Obesity in Childhood, Children's Health, Childhood Diabetes, Metabolic
Conditions, Nutrition Disorders. You may also want to browse nonfiction in the Young Adult
section and the Parent's section of the library for books related to this subject and to juvenile
health in general.
3.
Consumer Health Complete Database - http://0-
search.ebscohost.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=chc
This website was very useful in defining search parameters and subject headings to maximize
patron searches. It also had a number of helpful links and articles related to specific subtopics
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related to childhood obesity, although it was necessary not to narrow these results down too far for
fear of not finding a broad enough range of relevant information.
San Jose Public Library Catalog Search – http://catalog.sjsu.edu This database was
relatively easy to use for searching, and yielded results that could easily be narrowed by various
search parameters and examined for their relevance. The terminology used for this search yielded
mainly government documents, but trade paperbacks and hardcover books available had pictures,
location, and availability information. The main drawback to this database was that search results,
including those for the initial search, would “time out” after a certain period of time, returning me
to the main catalog search page and necessitating that I reboot the entire search process.
4.
Under the SJPL Databases link, I searched the Consumer Health Complete database. I
looked under the “Fact Sheets” link for information related to obesity, and narrowed the results by
clicking on the links for “United States.” Narrowing these results still further by “Childhood
Diabetes” yielded two articles, both of which had full text .pdfs available. One was related to
prevention of gestational diabetes, and one was related to the correlation between childhood
obesity and Type II Diabetes, and had a downloadable link from the CDC website. I then went
back to the database home page and searched for “Children's Health” under C on the “Quick Find”
menu, but found no results. However, searching for “Childhood Obesity” on the main page, which
I then narrowed to “Obesity in Children,” yielded 270 results discussing a number of different
causes for the condition, including nutritional and metabolic disorders. A search for the term
“childhood obesity” from the main SJPL web page, limited to available materials, yielded mostly
government documents available from King Library, but also had a number of book titles aimed at
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parents and concerned with prevention and treatment.
5.
The patron might want to search for related information in articles as well as books, many
of which are available through the general health-related database offered to the public by the
SJPL. Additionally, government-linked websites such as that of the CDC may contain relevant
information in summary and statistical format.
6.
Are you interested in dealing with childhood obesity on behalf of a specific child or group
of children, or are you more concerned with how this problem affects children as a whole? Are
you interested in statistics, trends, and other government documents and field reports related to
childhood obesity? Are you interested in learning about causes for childhood obesity other than
poor diet and lack of exercise (metabolic, disordered, etc.)?
1.
Question #2: A student phones you one day – he is a research assistant for a professor, and
the professor has expressed special interest in the journal Aracnología, and he has been asked to
find out: when did this journal begin publication? Where is it indexed? Is it peer-reviewed
(refereed)? Does the SJSU library have any issues?
2.
This journal began publication in 1983, and is still active, although publication is erratic. It
is peer-reviewed, and is indexed at Cum.index every 10 months. The SJSU Library does not have
any issues, but articles are available via online request from ILLiad.
3.
I performed my initial search via the WorldCat database under http://www.worldcat.org/.
The initial search process was easy enough to use and yielded a good number of results, but it was
hard to distinguish between different types of media (monographs vs. serials, for example) before
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narrowing them down by media type via one of the side options. The links for finding electronic
resources were difficult to maneuver and seemed at first not to work, although they eventually led
to a useable page with a GetText option. Furthermore, for the student to find this resource on his
own, he would have to wade through an entire page of different types of information databases until
he found one that dealt specifically with journal titles.
Next, I tried the SJSU Electronic Journals Index at
http://sjlibrary.org/research/ejournals/index.htm. The “previous” and “next” links when browsing
journal title results (under A for Aracnología) were somewhat misleading, as they only led to the
immediately subsequent or prior page of “A” results rather than to the next set of titles. Seeking to
shorten the search, I used the “title begins with” search option, which brought up a page of results
closer to the title I was seeking, but not the exact title itself. Overall, the browsing mechanism on
this particular search engine is more useful for those searching for subject matter covered by a
variety of different journals than for those attempting to find a specific journal title.
Finally, I tried the SJSU Biological Sciences LibGuide web page at
http://libguides.sjsu.edu/biology. The search function was fairly straightforward, and I was able
to search by specific journal title. Although I was unable to find the journal title here either, I was
able to find out more information about the journal title via a link on the LibGuide page to
http://www.ulrichsweb.com/, which had more complete journal listings and information. Of the
various options available to a student with this particular type of search question, I would
recommend this one as the most productive place to start.
4.
On the logic that a listing of available journal titles would be the best place to start, I
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searched for the journal on WorldCat under the SJPL Database Search. I narrowed the search
results to journal/magazine format, which limited the results to 10 search items. This search
indicated the publication had been in print since 1983, but no copies were available at King
Library. The search indicated that 24 volumes were extant, but that publication was erratic. Using
the OCLC First Search option, I tried to access GetText for the journal, but discovered in the
process that electronic copies of the journal would have to be requested via ILLiad.
A further search by journal title in the SJSU Electronic Journals Index indicated the
library did not hold any of its own electronic copies of the journal. However, after following a
link from the SJSU Biological Sciences LibGuide site to Ulrichsweb and searching for the
journal title, I was able to find out more detailed information about the publication, including
indexing and peer-review status.
5.
I would advise the patron to search in both SJPL and SJSU databases, specifically ones
dealing with either the subject material in question – in this case, biological science – or with
comprehensive lists of available academic journals. I was surprised to find that the SJSU library
did not carry this title, even in electronic form or in English translation. However, I would advise
a student eager to find a specific article or subject covered in the journal to avail themselves of
the Inter-Library Loan services available for electronic materials, as this would take only a few
business days, would be quicker than requesting hard copy, and would be easy either for the
student or the professor to print out themselves.
6. Does your professor want you to check out Aracnología, or Revista Iberica de
Aracnología? Are electronic resources an acceptable substitute for hard copies held at
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King Library? Does your professor have an interest in any specific articles, topics or
volumes of the publication?
1. Question #3: A boy who seems to be about 10 or 11 years old walks up to your desk and
says: “My teacher said to get some articles from the library for my report that’s due
tomorrow. It’s on Barry Bonds.”
2. There are good encyclopedia entries on Barry Bonds at http://0www.worldbookonline.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/student/article?id=ar068910&st= and
http://0-www.worldbookonline.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/kids/article?id=ar832337 which
should tell you most of the general information you need to know about him. For more
detailed information about him, there are biographical articles on Barry Bonds from
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Britannica Biographies, and the Great Athletes series,
which I can print out for you. If you are interested in books as well as articles, there are
four books called Barry Bonds in the childrens' biography section, by Carrie Muskat,
Richard Rambeck, Raymond Miller and Jeff Savage. There is also Barry Bonds:
Baseball's Complete Player by Miles Harvey, and Sports Great Barry Bonds by Michael
Sullivan. If you have trouble finding any of those specific titles, look for the call number
J 796.357 BONDS, and see which authors are available. I can show you where the
section is, and also help you look around for similar books in that section. If you need
more help with articles, I can also help you look in the sports database for more specific
information about Barry Bonds.
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3. World Book Student Biography Center - http://0www.worldbookonline.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/student/biocenter?id=home This was
relatively easy to search, and narrowing search results yielded accurate results quickly.
That said, there is only one encyclopedia entry per sports figure, and they are relatively
brief in length and detail. Helpful aspects include a demonstration of how to cite the entry
properly, although the site does not explain which citation style is being used.
World Book Kids - http://0-www.worldbookonline.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/kids/Home It was
actually more difficult to find the correct search parameters to narrow these results down than for
the Student level search engine. I had to click on multiple picture links to get to the section I
needed, which involved some trial and error. However, once there, the results yielded were
generally useful, and also contained citation information.
SJPL Research Guide: Sports - http://sjlibrary.org/research/web/sports.htm Has information on
general sports-related articles as well as biographical article entries. The biographical search link
was powered by EBSCO and had smart search enabled; the results it yielded were generally
useful and contained HTML full text articles, but were not always directly linked to Barry
Bonds.
SJLibrary.org Kids Catalog - http://catalog.sjlibrary.org:90/search/ Although I was able to find a
number of useful titles related to Barry Bonds using the subject search, there was no indication
on the site to kids that they should try a person's last name first to get better results. If the boy
had done a search himself and simply put in “Barry Bonds,” he would have received a message
showing him where the subject would have been, but not the subject itself. Additionally, as with
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the adult search page, the search results default back to the main search page after a certain
amount of time.
4. In order to search for relevant articles, I selected the World Book Biography Center link
from the SJPL Database, and selected “Athletes.” The search returned encyclopedia
entries on athletes listed in alphabetical order, but they could only be browsed by page
number rather than result letter. I narrowed the search results by gender (male),
nationality and ethnicity (US-African American), and time period (2000s), which gave
me 79 results; Barry Bonds's entry appeared on the first page. I also checked the World
Book Kids link in the same database list, selecting “Sports and Hobbies” and then “Ball
and Stick Sports;” an entry for Barry Bonds appeared on the first page of results.
Finally, I selected the “Web Links by Subject” database listing, selected “Sports,” and searched
for Barry Bonds under the “Biographies on Sports Figures” page. A simple name search yielded
8 entries, 3 of which were specifically concerned with Barry Bonds, and all of which had HTML
full text available.
To search for books, I selected the “Kids” link from the SJLibrary home page, which led me to
the KidsLink homepage. From there, I searched the Kids Catalog by subject, trying first “Barry
Bonds” and then “Bonds, Barry.” The latter search parameter yielded two relevant headings, one
of which dealt specifically with juvenile literature titles and yielded about seven results. One of
these results was a duplicate of another result by the same author, the only difference being the
addition of the book's subtitle. All of the books had the same call letters and were in adjacent
sections.
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5. I would tell the boy not to worry if he couldn't find the exact title that the search turned
up, and show him how to browse in the relevant call letter section for relevant books,
such as those more generally related to baseball that might also discuss Barry Bonds.
6. Did your teacher say they had to be articles, or were books okay? Would you like me to
copy down the authors, book titles, or call letters for you? Do you know where the
biography section is, and do you need me to show you?
1. Question #4: A patron sends you this “chat” question: “hi – I need the original obituary
of francisco franco that appeared in the NYTimes in the mid 1970s – how can I get the
fulltext please?”
2. The full text of the article you requested is available at the following link:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=569&curl=http%3A%2F%2Flibaccess.sjlibrary.o
rg%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fproquest.umi.com%2Fpqdweb%3Fdid%3D90
620573%26sid%3D3%26Fmt%3D10%26clientId%3D17867%26RQT%3D309%26VNa
me%3DHNP&TS=1268597768 I can also email you the link if you give me your email
address.
3. Biography Index Retrospective http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jht
ml?prod=BIR This database was easily searchable by keyword and document type, and
yielded far more accurate results than the other database I tried. However, finding full
text articles using the GetText function required searching for the same parameters all
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over again using the Electronic Holdings function, which although it worked in this
instance might not work for publications less widespread than the New York Times.
New York Times (1851-2006) http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTFhY2QmS
U5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=17867 Although this link took results solely from the New York
Times, the search parameters and refiners available yielded either too many results, or a few
inaccurate ones. It was easy to use for those familiar with ProQuest databases, but the lack of
relevant results made it, in my opinion, a better resource to browse than to search for specific
articles.
4. I selected the “New York Times (1851-2006)” link from the “N-P” page of results for the
listing of SJSU Articles and Databases. For the ProQuest Basic Search, I entered a date
range of 1/1/1970 through 12/31/1979, to ensure I did not cut off the “mid-seventies” at
the wrong point. This search yielded 841 results, so I refined the search and selected
“Obituary” from the drop-down menu as the article type. Although all 6 results were
obituaries, none of them were specifically about Francisco Franco.
I next tried the Biography Index Retrospective (1946-1983) from the same database list, and
searched by “Francisco Franco” under subject type and “Obituary” for article type. This yielded
three results, two of which were from the New York Times in 1975. Neither of the fulltext
articles were directly available from the GetText links. However, a search of Full Text Online
Historical Newspapers (1951-2004) using the dates of the two articles as ranges and “Francisco
Franco” as the keyword yielded 36 results. Although the first article I clicked, which announced
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Franco's death, was not the actual obituary, it did mention the correct page number for the actual
obituary, which I found further down the result page and which had a full .pdf of the article.
5. The article was easier to find under the general heading of biographical information than
via a search for the newspaper's own database. Additionally, finding an electronic copy of
an article may require additional searching among digital resources, even after having
used the GetText option.
6. Do you prefer me to send you the full-text article link via chat or email? Can your
computer read .pdfs, and if not do you need help downloading and installing Adobe
Reader? Do you need help in saving the article and/or printing it out?
1. Question #5: A faculty member greets you in the library café and says: “I’ve been
meaning to call you! I need the full text of this article written over 40 years ago by the
sociologist Sheldon Stryker. I can’t remember the exact title – I have it somewhere! But
it’s this really influential article, about symbolic interaction theory and identity. Since
we’re both here – can you help me out? Also, can you help me find out how many times
this article has been cited since it was published, and I’d like a list of the articles that
have cited it. Thanks!”
2. The article you are looking for is entitled “Identity Salience and Role Performance: The
Relevance of Symbolic Interaction Theory for Family Research.” It appeared in Journal
of Marriage and Family 30:4 in November of 1968, on pages 558-564, and is available at
the following link: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/349494.pdf. It has been cited 33
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times since publication by the following articles:

Political Opportunities and Collective Identity in Ohio's Gay and Lesbian Movement,
1970 to 2000
Nella Van Dyke and Ronda Cress
Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 503-526
 Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity
Lori Peek
Sociology of Religion, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Autumn, 2005), pp. 215-242
 Explaining Differences in Mental Health between Married and Cohabiting Individuals
Kristen Marcussen
Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 239-257
 Cooperation in Microcredit Borrowing Groups: Identity, Sanctions, and Reciprocity in the
Production of Collective Goods
Denise Anthony
American Sociological Review, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Jun., 2005), pp. 496-515
 The Role of Identity Salience and Commitment in the Stress Process
Kristen Marcussen, Christian Ritter and Deborah J. Safron
Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 289-312
 Collective Identity in the Straight Edge Movement: How Diffuse Movements Foster
Commitment, Encourage Individualized Participation, and Promote Cultural Change
Ross Haenfler
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 785-805
 Identity Salience: A Moderator of the Relationship between Group Gender Composition
and Work Group Conflict
Amy E. Randel
Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 6 (Sep., 2002), pp. 749-766
 From the Bottom Up? Technical Committee Activity and Alliance Formation
Lori Rosenkopf, Anca Metiu and Varghese P. George
Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), pp. 748-772
 Classifying Managerial Responses to Multiple Organizational Identities
Michael G. Pratt and Peter O. Foreman
The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 2000), pp. 18-42
 Compliance and Values Oriented Ethics Programs: Influences on Employees' Attitudes
and Behavior
Gary R. Weaver and Linda Klebe Trevino
Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr., 1999), pp. 315-335
 Role-Taking, Role Commitment, and Delinquency: A Theory of Differential Social
Control
Karen Heimer and Ross L. Matsueda
American Sociological Review, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Jun., 1994), pp. 365-390
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 The Meaning of Occupational Prestige Scores: A Social Psychological Analysis and
Interpretation
Neil J. MacKinnon and Tom Langford
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 2 (May, 1994), pp. 215-245
 Specifying the Relationship Between Social Ties and Activism
Doug McAdam and Ronnelle Paulsen
The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Nov., 1993), pp. 640-667
 From Nerds to Normals: The Recovery of Identity among Adolescents from Middle
School to High School
David A. Kinney
Sociology of Education, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 1993), pp. 21-40
 Mundane Consumption and the Self: A Social-Identity Perspective
Robert E. Kleine, III, Susan Schultz Kleine and Jerome B. Kernan
Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 2, No. 3 (1993), pp. 209-235
 Gender, Work, and Stress: The Potential Impact of Role-Identity Salience and
Commitment
Mary Glenn Wiley
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Winter, 1991), pp. 495-510
 Allocation of Investment in Work and Family Roles: Alternative Theories and
Implications for Research
Sharon Alisa Lobel
The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Jul., 1991), pp. 507-521
 Religion and Role-Identity: A Structural Symbolic Interactionist Conceptualization of
Religiosity
Dale W. Wimberley
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring, 1989), pp. 125-142
 Intense Loyalty in Organizations: A Case Study of College Athletics
Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler
Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Sep., 1988), pp. 401-417
 Organizations and Identity: Obituaries 1856-1972
Gary L. Long
Social Forces, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Jun., 1987), pp. 964-1001
 Structural and Interpersonal Family Influences on Adolescent Self-Conception
Jon Hoelter and Lynn Harper
Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Feb., 1987), pp. 129-139
 Beyond the Mechanics of Infertility: Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Infertility
and Involuntary Childlessness
Anne Martin Matthews and Ralph Matthews
Family Relations, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Oct., 1986), pp. 479-487
 Toward a Meadian Conceptualization of Role
Peter L. Callero
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 343-358
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 Infertility and Involuntary Childlessness: The Transition to Nonparenthood
Ralph Matthews and Anne Martin Matthews
Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Aug., 1986), pp. 641-649
 Work Identity and Marital Adjustment in Blue-Collar Men
David L. Gaesser and Susan Krauss Whitbourne
Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Aug., 1985), pp. 747-751
 Social Influence, Self-Referent Identity Labels, and Behavior
Bruce J. Biddle, Barbara J. Bank, Don S. Anderson, Ragnar Hauge, Daphne M. Keats,
John A. Keats, Marjorie M. Marlin and Simone Valantin
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Summer, 1985), pp. 159-185
 Salience as a Condition for Various Social Consequences of Religious Commitment
R. Hoge and Ernesto De Zulueta
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar., 1985), pp. 21-38
 Adult Development and Social Theory: A Paradigmatic Reappraisal
Dale Dannefer
American Sociological Review, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Feb., 1984), pp. 100-116
 Death and Personal History: Strategies of Identity Preservation
David R. Unruh
Social Problems, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Feb., 1983), pp. 340-351
 Aging, Values, and Rewards: Explaining Age Differences in Job Satisfaction
Arne L. Kalleberg and Karyn A. Loscocco
American Sociological Review, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Feb., 1983), pp. 78-90
 Role-Identity Correspondence in the College Student Role
Donald C. Reitzes
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 607-620
 Sexual Behavior as Symbolic Interaction
Viktor Gecas and Roger Libby
The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Feb., 1976), pp. 33-49
 The Family Therapist as Intermediary
Nathan Hurvitz
The Family Coordinator, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr., 1974), pp. 145-158
3.
Social Sciences Full Text -
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/advancedsearch/advanced_search.jhtml;hwwilsonid=HNX
LEYJVGFI31QA3DILSFGOADUNGIIV0?prod=SSFT Getting a relevant search using the
advanced search parameters for this database yielded no results, despite repeated variants, both
simplifying and expanding, on the original search terms. A basic search yielded more relevant
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results, which were easily refined and sorted using drop-down menus and suggested side
refinement links. However, the articles provided did not go far back enough to be relevant to the
professor's request.
Sociological Abstracts http://www.csa.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/htbin/dbrng.cgi?username=sjsu&access=sjsu67&db=s
ocioabs-set-c It was necessary to perform an advanced search under the author's name to produce
relevant results, and was additionally necessary to put his first and last names in separate boxes.
Although the results went far back enough to be relevant, there was no immediately visible
option for narrowing or refining the search by specific subject terms. I was eventually able to
find the relevant article, but virtually by accident when it was suggested to me by the GetText
function and JSTOR. It is entirely possible that this database could be effectively used to find the
professor's information; however, to do so would take repeated revision of search parameters by
even experienced reference librarians.
4. I selected the Social Sciences Full Text link from the SJSU Articles and Databases list. I
then performed a search using Sheldon Stryker as the author and “symbolic” and
“interaction” as keyword searches, asking the search engine to return only full-text
articles and search within article text. When searching with some combination of all of
these factors yielded no results, I did a basic search for “sheldon stryker” and clicked the
box to search within the text. I then narrowed the search results to articles listing Sheldon
Stryker as author and symbolic interactionism as the subject. This search yielded 8
results, the earliest of which was published in 1984. A GetText search on the earliest
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article to mention symbolic interactionism revealed that the library's JSTOR holdings
only went back as far as 1979.
In the Sociological Abstracts database from the same list, I did an advanced search for both
“Sheldon” and “Stryker” as author terms; a reverse-chronological sorting revealed that the
earliest of the 48 search results was from 1952. After further limiting the search results to
journals only, the earliest relevant link was from May of 1959. A GetText search for the article
yielded some recommended link results, one of which fit the time frame specified by the
professor. By following this link, I was able to find the full text and citation for the article, as
well as information on articles which cited it in a separate tab.
5. Searching for abstracts rather than full text in the initial database selection actually
yielded more relevant results, and the GetText option meant these results were available,
albeit not without some extended searching. I would also encourage the professor to pay
attention to the relevant links provided by GetText, as they might eventually lead him to
his desired information.
6. Is it possible the article could have been published either significantly earlier or later than
40 years ago (i.e. 30-50)? Was Stryker a co-author, or did he write the article alone?
Would you like me to provide links for the articles which cite the initial article, or is it
sufficient to provide the citation information?
1. Question #6: A high school student poses the following question to you: “My parents are
so lame! They’re scared that if I play violent video games it will make me violent. Is
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that really true?” Please select one appropriate subject-specific index from among those
on the source list and carry out a search on this topic. Explain thoroughly the steps you
take, in terms of analyzing the concepts in this question; selecting an appropriate
database; identifying appropriate search terms; combining the search terms using Boolean
logic; viewing a few search results; and revising your search (if needed) based on these
results. Finally, if you could choose one additional index to search, which one would you
choose and why?
2. Although playing violent video games can lead to increased aggressive and violent
behavior, the extent to which it does so depends on how often the person plays the games
over a longer or shorter period of time. It can also depend on whether they are playing the
games simply to play, or with the specific intent of learning how to solve problems, recall
images, or otherwise improve their cognitive skills, something which people of different
ages, genders, and educational levels can learn to do.
If you or your parents would like more information about studies and statistics related to video
games and violence, check out the following articles:

Burgess, M. C. R., Stermer, S. P., & Burgess, S. R. (2007). Sex, lies, and video games:
The portrayal of male and female characters on video game covers. Sex Roles: A Journal
of Research, 57(5-6), 419-433. Retrieved from
http://www.springerlink.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/content/n032505384291134/fulltext.p
df

Cerulo, K. A. (2000). Packaging violence: Media, story sequencing, and the perception of
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right and wrong. New forms of consumption (pp. 153-176). Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield. Available via Inter-Library Loan.

Ferguson, C. J., Cruz, A. M., & Rueda, S. M. (2008). Gender, video game playing habits
and visual memory tasks. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 58(3-4), 279-286. Retrieved
from
http://www.springerlink.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/content/g8033jv674007212/fulltext.p
df

Gentile, D. A., & Gentile, J. R. (2008). Violent video games as exemplary teachers: A
conceptual analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(2), 127-141. Retrieved from
http://proquest.umi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/pqdlink?RQT=569&curl=http%3A%2F%
2Flibaccess.sjlibrary.org%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fproquest.umi.com%2Fp
qdweb%3Fdid%3D1411279401%26Fmt%3D6%26clientId%3D17867%26RQT%3D309
%26VName%3DPQD&TS=1268611883
3. SJSU Subject Guides > Sociology > Sociological Abstracts http://www.csa.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/htbin/dbrng.cgi?username=sjsu&access=sjsu6
7&db=socioabs-set-c Although it was relatively easy to narrow down search terms to a
reasonable number of relevant results in the Advanced Search, to do so was necessary in
the first place because the Basic Search yielded far too many. When GetText yielded
retrievable results, the easiest to use came from SpringerLink, as this website generates
.pdf links which can be easily copied, downloaded, or printed.
4. I chose the the Sociology subject guide in the SJSU Subject Guides index, as I felt the
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study of their effect on society and youth in particular fell more under the rubric of
sociological analysis than of media or mass communications. Under this heading, I first
selected the Sociological Abstracts database to perform my initial search, as I had found
it the most useful in terms of locating full text documents and retrieving accurate search
results. As an initial basic search for “video games” retrieved too many results, I
performed a narrower advanced search in which I searched by the keywords “video
games” and “violence,” using the Boolean “and” rather than “or” indicator to find results
which explicitly explored the connection between the two subjects. This search retrieved
26 results, of which 21 were journal articles, 19 of these 21 articles were peer-reviewed,
one was a conference paper, and one was a book chapter. One of the first peer-reviewed
articles retrieved concerned a study of male college undergraduates and the correlation
between game frustration and violent content and their resultant hostile and violent
behaviors, if any. Another explored the possibility that violent video games could actually
be used as a positive learning tool to teach complex problem-solving, adaptability, and
shifting identities. Another college-level study examined both male and female
undergraduate subjects, and found that playing violent video games enhanced visual
recall ability. Finally, the book chapter retrieved by the search suggested that the impact
of violent video games depended to a large extent on their packaging and
commodification by mass media. In order to provide the patron with further information
related to these topics, I used the GetText function to determine whether or not hard
copies of articles were available, provided links if they were, and if not found out where
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and how they could be acquired. Finally, I generated citations using the “Save, Print,
Email” option so that the patron and/or patron's parents could look up the relevant
sources if desired.
If I could select one other index to search, it would be the one related to Communication Studies.
I would specifically like to deal with the database subheading contained in this subject dealing
with Mass Communication, as I feel issues related to video games and violence may also be
studied from the point of view of the media itself, rather than simply studying its impact on those
who use it.
5. I would let the teenager know that relevant information would be found under headings
related not to the media form – i.e. video games – but to its study using social sciencerelated research methods.
6. Do you want information on materials strictly related to high school students, or are you
interested in a broader age range (younger children – college-age students)? Would you
like some links to articles and other information that you can share with your parents? Do
you have format preference regarding articles or book chapters, or do you prefer the
information in whichever format is available? Do you need help printing, saving, or
emailing any of the articles I have shown you? For the ones that are not available, would
you like me to request them for you via ILL, or simply copy down the relevant
information?
Leah Coffin
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