COUN 5081
RESEARCH & RESOURCES
Megan Lowe, Coordinator of Public Services
Where to Begin? At the Beginning!
Let’s say you need some resources for your research,
whether you’re writing a research paper or a thesis or
a dissertation. You know you need a lot of information,
but you’re not quite sure how or where to start.
Your impulse might be to start with Google or Bing, but
instead, first consider what you need to find:
quality, credible resources for
literature reviews and research studies
Narrowing What You Need
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Off course, “counseling” is a rather broad topic.
Even if you narrow it to a particular aspect – such
as marital counseling – that’s still very broad. You
need to narrow it further to make the research more
manageable.
You can narrow the topic further by considering
different populations (race, age, ethnicity, etc.),
types of study (qualitative vs. quantitative), and
timeframe (1980s, the last ten years, etc.).
Some Narrower Concepts
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marital counseling
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 spouses
 unmarried
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 resolution
couples
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infidelity
school counseling
 extramarital
 children
 affair
 student/teacher
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conflict
conflict
marriage counseling
family therapy
relationships
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communication
couples therapy
premarital counseling
Intervention(s)
Just a few tips before we search…
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Keyword searching is how you’re going to be
conducting most of your searching. Keyword searching
is the combination of key words (get it?) with operators
(AND, OR, and NOT) to produce search strings
Those narrower concepts we looked at earlier are
actually keywords
When using phrases – like couple conflict – you need
to put the phrase in quotation marks:
“school counseling”
Search string: examples
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counseling and marriage
“marital counseling” and “unmarried couple”
therapy and couple and infidelity
“extramarital affair” and counseling OR therapy
infidelity and marriage NOT divorce
* Use AND not + or &. Pay attention to number (singular
vs. plural) and spelling.
A few more tips…
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DO create a list of keywords
DO underline/highlight/bookmark
DO take notes/sticky notes
DO get organized
DON’T multitask
DON’T procrastinate
DON’T plagiarize
LET’S DO THIS
We know we need scholarly resources on counseling, and
that will likely need to narrow it.
We know how to use keywords and search strings.
We have the skills we need to get started.
So we start with the Library’s website
http://www.ulm.edu/library
What If the Library Doesn’t Have It?
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As huge as the Library is, and as large as our collections
are, we still don’t have everything
When you discover a resource that you NEED but the
Library doesn’t have, there’s a way to get it
The Library has a (free!) service called Interlibrary Loan
(ILL for short)
With ILL, we borrow needed materials from partner
libraries and lend those materials to you
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
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In order to request an item through ILL, you will
have to set up an ILL account (which I’ll demonstrate
shortly)
Please note: it can take some time to receive
requested materials
 Articles
can be sent via fax or email (so, fast)
 Books and other materials like that come through the
mail; sometimes those requests take 2-4 weeks to fill
(this is why you should never procrastinate w/research!)
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
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Please note: some libraries charge to lend; the
Library does NOT pay those fees
 But
we will notify you if a lending library has fees, and
 Help you make arrangements to pay the fees
 The Library will NEVER borrow an item with a fee
without discussing it with you first!
NOW LET’S LOOK AT ILL!
http://www.ulm.edu/library
After the Searching’s Done…
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You have the resources you need, either digitally or
physically, if you’ve printed them out
This is when underlining/highlighting comes into play, as
well as notes and sticky notes
Documentation is also important, in order to avoid
plagiarism – several of our databases (like Ebscohost) will
generate citations for you
Need a Hand?
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If you need help with the research process – at ANY
point in the research process – you can ask the
librarians for assistance – that’s what we do!
We also check documentation (quotations and
citations) for accuracy.
If you’d like someone to check your writing (grammar,
spelling, and syntax), you can go to the Write Place
on the 1st floor of the Library.
RECAP
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When doing research, make sure you have a
manageable (narrow) topic.
Create a list of keywords and search strings.
Bear in mind that you need scholarly resources,
which can be found in the Library.
Search the Library’s resources using the keywords
and search strings, bearing in mind the tips we
discussed.
Make sure you document your resources!
RECAP
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Select databases based on your research needs –
for a class like this, marriage & family therapy
databases work well, but so do psychology
databases (think outside the box)!
Use parameters like “scholarly/peer-reviewed” and
“full text” – and even publication date – to make
the results lists more manageable
Some databases will create citations FOR you –
take advantage of that for accurate citations!
RECAP
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Most of the Library’s resources are available OFFCAMPUS (aka remotely); you will have to login in order
to use those resources (CWID/MMYY)
If the Library does NOT have a resource you need, you
may still be able to get it through ILL
But ILL is not a same-day service, so be sure to give
yourself time, and don’t procrastinate w/research
ILL is free on the Library’s end, but some libraries
charge; the Library won’t pay the fees but will notify
you and help you make arrangements to pay
RECAP
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The librarians can help you with research, from start
to finish!
The librarians can also help you with citations and
documentation.
The Write Place can help you with writing – they
can check spelling, grammar, and syntax.
All of these services can be found on the 1st floor of
the Library (that’s also where you check out books,
study rooms, and make copies).
Question & Answer Time!
Thanks for your cooperation!
Remember, if you need research help, all you have
to do is ask the librarians. You can…
Visit the Reference Desk, Library 1st floor
 Email us at reference@ulm.edu
 Call us at (318) 342-1071
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