Social Ecology 195 – Heckhausen                              Julia Gelfand              

Field Study                                                                  Science Library 228   

Spring 2007                                                                 jgelfand@uci.edu       

                                                                                    949-824-4971            

 

This handout is a guide for how you can find appropriate resources, especially scholarly articles at the UCI Library that will inform you about some aspect of the research question you define about your field placement.  The assignment for your field study course tasks you to write a research paper in which you cite at least three scientific research or scholarly articles published in the last five years. 

 

Your point of departure is the Library Website at http://lib.uci.edu  Please read through this handout to determine which databases will be most appropriate.  There are some hints for specific topics that have been defined at the end of the handout.  If you can determine the database or resources you need, it is efficient to use one of two methods to go directly to that resource:

  1. Search Antpac - online catalog for UCI - use the pull-down menus to focus on title of resource and the kind of product at the far right - usually "online/Internet resources"
  2. Search the E-Resources Locator - To Search on the left side you can search by the words in the title, exact title or by Keyword which is the most common choice and again you can choose the kind of resource you seek and it is best if you can identify the type of resource you seek - it can be:
  • Article Database
  • Online Journal
  • News Resource
  • Reference Resource
  • Data or Statistical Resource
  • Or any of the above, searched collectively

 

To Browse  on the right side

If you do not know the title or the keyword does not lead you to an appropriate source, consult the Subject Guides for Social Ecology where you will find departmental pages for each of the four departments and lists of recommended resources, under "How to Find Articles in …"

 

Appropriate article databases for most Social Ecology undergraduate Field Study research includes any of the following resources:

 

1.     PsycINFO - social & behavior sciences; social, developmental, clinical, health psychology - covers journal articles, books, book chapters and dissertations - full lifespan and multicultural coverage - There is also a specific database guide for how to refine searches and is highly recommended that you consult it and use the online Thesaurus.  You can search add lines to refine your search.  Remember to use the pull-down menus so that you search the database accurately.  Will need to specify if only interested in journal articles because this database includes dissertations/theses and books and book chapters

2.     Sociological Abstracts - social issues &  problems

3.     Criminal Justice Abstracts

4.     Social Services Abstracts

5.     Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management

6.     ERIC - education; full lifespan - thesaurus is important to establish relevance; two kinds of results 1) journals - EJ #s, and 2) ERIC documents - EDs (recent ones are usually available online) - there is an online thesaurus for this database, too

 

These just listed above are all on the Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) Illumina platform where the default is the Advanced Search as shown below.  They can be searched independently or collectively by clicking on "Specific Databases" to get the full roster as shown below:

 

Depending on the databases chosen, will determine what criteria you will use to define the search.  If you search only one database at a time, you get higher relevance because you can refine the search strategy more specifically.  For example, you can restrict searches in PsycINFO to different research methodologies including empirical study or by publication type, age, gender, etc. 

 

 

In addition there are some more specialized databases that index and abstract a narrower corpus of literature and they are all on different platforms:

7.     Child Abuse, Child Welfare and Adoption Database

8.     Child Development and Adolescent Studies - compliments the PsycINFO and ERIC databases

9.     National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)

10.  PubMed - covers clinical medicine, allied & public health

11.  Web of Science - several discipline specific citation indexes are included in this database and can searched independently - this is probably the most academic/scientific/scholarly list of content and contains eLinks to holdings and full-text content - Social Science Citation Index (SSCI - 1954+)

Science Citation Index (SCI - 1900+)

there is also the option to export to EndNote Web if you register to create a bibliography and recall the list on the right side-bar of the search output:

12.  BIOSIS - a database that intensely covers life sciences for human, plant and animal populations also on the Web of Science platform

13.  Applied Sciences & Technology Fulltext - a multidisciplinary science database that covers museum science and the technology

 

General databases that cover an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary subject approach and which cover academic, popular and trade publications include:

1.     Expanded Academic ASAP - The UC-eLinks icon will direct you to the fulltext content if it has been licensed for our collection.  There are different formats of inclusion ranging from pdf to re-keyed content minus the images.

2.     Business Source Premier - business/management database

 

Databases that specialize in fulltext News Services include:

Lexis Nexis Academic Universe NEWS - in the Guided Search mode - note you have to refine search strategy

 

 

3.     Ethnic Newswatch - indexes English language papers that reflect specific community activism and populations

4.     Alt-Press Watch - covers non-mainstream publications and many local and regional papers that cover public events, popular culture, etc.

5.     for additional resource, please consult Subject Guide for News & Newspapers

 

Other Basic Reference Tools:

6.     Opposing Viewpoints - a service that covers popular and scholarly content on controversial social topics. 

7.     Government Information Subject Page - increasingly content is available online but consult the appropriate websites for Orange County, State of California, different federal agencies for better navigation or check with a librarian.

 

Finding your content:  if the UC eLinks do not take you to fulltext content, there is a chance that it may be available in print and you can check ANTPAC or MELVYL by title of source, for holdings and the call number.  The online journal collection is quickly expanding but there are many titles only available in print at UCI and they are noted on ANTPAC or via the eLinks.

 

 

Specific hints for paper topics in this class:

1.  To describe the design of a possible empirical study that could test your hypotheses or investigate the research question, you will certainly want to read several empirical articles - the easiest way to find those is via PsycINFO and scroll down to the qualifiers to refine your search and for Methodology, select Empirical Study.

 

2.  APA Style Format - consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed., 2001 found at all Library Reference Desks at BF 76.7 P83 2001 or for additional information about how to cite electronic resources, consult online guides and other resources

 

3.  For direction to specific databases based on where Field Study assignments are made the following recommendations are provided:

·       Peer teamwork in early childhood - ERIC, PsycINFO, Child Development & Adolescent Studies Database

·       Recidivism in drug users - Social Services Abstracts, PsycINFO, PubMed (especially for treatments), Sociological Abstracts

·       Treatment of child abuse victims - PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, PubMed, Child Abuse, Child Welfare & Adoption Database

·       Effect of attorney's presence at initial interview on defendant's engagement - LexisNexis Academic Universe -Legal - Law Reviews, Legal Trac, Westlaw Campus for Law Reviews, Web of Science (SSCI)

·       Students of color in higher education - effect of exposure to other minority students - ERIC, Web of Science (SSCI), PAIS

·       Developmental benefits or drawback of preschool attendance - ERIC, PsycINFO, Child Development & Adolescent Studies

·       Social-emotional development at UCI Child-Care - promoting social development - PsycINFO, ERIC, Child Development & Adolescent Studies

·       Teenagers coping with OCD (assuming that this is obsessive compulsive disorder?) - PsycINFO, Child Development & Adolescent Studies Abstracts

·       Interventions for high school students with parents that don't speak English - (consider using ESL as a term for English as a second language) ERIC, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science (SSCI)

·       Sport and wellbeing or Sports as an alternative to gangs - ERIC, Expanded Academic ASAP, Sociological Abstracts, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe - NEWS

 

4.  For assistance in preparing presentations you may find the following resources helpful if you choose to prepare a Powerpoint presentation that can capture your ideas with some visual elements including images, graphs, photographs, etc.  For some background in creating an appropriate presentation, consider the needs of your audience and play to that group.  You may find the following resources and tutorials helpful:

 

Mastering Powerpoint 2000 - Science Library Bar  T385 .M8863 1999 

 

And tutorials at:

http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/library/HHCL_New_Web/Teach_Learn_tutor_ppoint.htm

 

http://www.cew.wisc.edu/accessibility/tutorials/pptscratch-text.htm

 

            Sources for images include:  Google Image Search and other search interfaces

 

For additional help, you have several choices by going to Ask-a-Librarian:

  • an option for eMail or Live Chat online reference
  • to request a Research Consultation
  • The Reference Desk at the Langson or Science Libraries

Or contact the Liaison Librarian, Julia Gelfand