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HD490: Fall 2009: Course research guide
HD490-Bigham-f09-Articles by discipline
Databases by discipline
For your project, students are to investigate how different disciplines consider/conceptualize/analyze a situation faced by someone who is differently-abled.
Consult the library's database suggestions
This will help you pick which databases will have the most useful research. For example, if you were to investigate how a political scientist might consider a visually impaired person attending higher education, the database suggestions would suggest the database PAIS.
Vocabulary differences
A discipline may articulate the topic differently, but may mean the same thing. Searching for materials in one discipline, using the vocabulary of another discipline, may not provide results.
|
Topic: |
PsycINFO |
PubMed |
|
| Downs Syndrome | Down Syndrome | ||
| Topic: Depression |
PsycINFO | PubMed | CINAHL |
| Major Depression | Depressive Disorder | Depression |
Database differences
Database mechanics are not difficult to master. However, each one is configured slightly differently to reflect how a discipline is organized. The chart below provides a few examples of what to look out for.
|
Database |
Vocabulary list |
Key limiters |
| ERIC | Search tools>ERIC Thesaurus | EJ=ERIC Journals ED=ERIC documents |
| CINAHL | CINAHL Headings | gender in/out-patient age group |
| PsycINFO | Thesaurus | gender age animal/human |
| PubMed | MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) | subheadings (e.g. diagnosis, treatment, genetics, history) |
Utilize limiters
After some work, you will be familiar with some of the key issues/aspects/concepts that your selected discipline has on your selected situation. When searching for contemporary research, utilize limiters, such as:
Narrow your search by date. (i.e. 1997-current) |
| Narrow your search by population. (Are children with physical disabilities a current focus in this field?) |
Narrow your search by methodology. (Are ethnographies or epidemiological studies being used? |
Determining 'enough'
While there is a requirement that you use at many sources, how do you know when you have not only enough information but quality information?
The same authors keep appearing in your result list. |
| You find the same articles using different terms. |
After reviewing your information, you can actually connect the articles in their similarities or differences. |
Last Update: 29 Sep 10:15
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