1. Electronic Resources for Psychology Karine Barker and Kate Williams 8 th February 2006

2. Learning aims By the end of today’s session you will: have gained confidence in the use of e- resources relevant to psychology have gained confidence in the use of e- resources relevant to psychology be able to construct a search strategy, using appropriate search terms and Boolean connectors be able to construct a search strategy, using appropriate search terms and Boolean connectors be able to identify and use appropriate information sources be able to identify and use appropriate information sources know who to ask for help! know who to ask for help!

3. Google etc Fast, easy to use Fast, easy to use But remember: But remember: –You may find that the article you want is number 1001! –It can be hard to limit/re-run searches –You must assess the quality of information

4. Useful internet resources  Google Scholar  SCIRUS – scientific search engine Resource Discovery Network (RDN). Resource Discovery Network (RDN). Reviewed internet resources. Subject hubs: BIOME - Health & Life Sciences BIOME - Health & Life Sciences –http://biome.ac.uk/ SOSIG - Social Sciences SOSIG - Social Sciences –http://www.sosig.ac.uk/ http://www.sosig.ac.uk/

5. OxLIP Oxford Library Information Platform – your gateway to electronic resources Oxford Library Information Platform – your gateway to electronic resources –Library catalogues including OLIS –Bibliographic databases –Full-text electronic journals –Internet sites (subject gateways) –Reference works & Statistics

6. Glossary Library Catalogue = a list of books, journals, maps, records etc. held in the library arranged in a systematic manner Library Catalogue = a list of books, journals, maps, records etc. held in the library arranged in a systematic manner Bibliographic Database = an indexed source of citations of journal articles Bibliographic Database = an indexed source of citations of journal articles

7. Accessing OxLIP Access from any Oxford University computer Access from any Oxford University computer If you need access from a non-University PC If you need access from a non-University PC –Arrange before you leave Oxford –Some allow access via Athens: register for a personal Athens account –If database does not use Athens, contact OUCS to arrange remote access (VPN) to the Oxford University network.

8. Electronic journals Majority listed together on TDNet Majority listed together on TDNet Full-text journal articles – for viewing on screen, printing or emailing Full-text journal articles – for viewing on screen, printing or emailing New collection added: New collection added:  PsycARTICLES from APA Full text journal articlesFull text journal articles Includes more than 50 peer-reviewed journalsIncludes more than 50 peer-reviewed journals 1985 -1985 - Some book chaptersSome book chapters

9. Bibliographic databases Excellent for locating journal articles, book chapters and book reviews Excellent for locating journal articles, book chapters and book reviews Journals more up to date than books Journals more up to date than books Some are general and some subject specific Some are general and some subject specific There are some links to full text via “TOUR” button There are some links to full text via “TOUR” button Not all references held in Oxford Not all references held in Oxford Different interfaces but similar functionality Different interfaces but similar functionality

10. Interdisciplinary databases Web of Knowledge (including Web of Science) Web of Knowledge (including Web of Science) Covers all subject areas Covers all subject areas Very good for citation searching Very good for citation searching SCOPUS SCOPUS –New from Elsevier –25 million abstracts –Covers sciences and social sciences –Strong on free text searching –Citation searching (last 10 years)

11. The key psychology database:  PsycINFO – Coverage: 1806 – present dayCoverage: 1806 – present day Bibliographic database: citations and abstracts from scholarly journalsBibliographic database: citations and abstracts from scholarly journals Over 2 million records from 2,000 journalsOver 2 million records from 2,000 journals Updated weeklyUpdated weekly Strong on thesaurus searchingStrong on thesaurus searching

12. New look PsycInfo From March 2006 shift to OVID interface for all medical and related databases, including: From March 2006 shift to OVID interface for all medical and related databases, including: PsycInfo - psychology PsycInfo - psychology Medline - medicine Medline - medicine Embase - pharmacology Embase - pharmacology Cinahl - nursing Cinahl - nursing AMED – complementary medicine AMED – complementary medicine Same content – just looks different! Same content – just looks different!

13. How to start your search Choose a clear research topic. Choose a clear research topic. e.g. Investigate the methods through which language acquisition occurs in babies. Break the topic into search concepts. There are 3 main concepts to search for. What are they? Break the topic into search concepts. There are 3 main concepts to search for. What are they?

14. Language acquisition in babies language language acquisition acquisition babies babies Use these as your first search terms. You will probably find more terms from retrieved records while searching. Use these as your first search terms. You will probably find more terms from retrieved records while searching.

15. Searching techniques AND, OR (Boolean connectors) AND, OR (Boolean connectors) AND to narrow the search AND to narrow the search OR to broaden the search (synonyms, British/American spellings) OR to broaden the search (synonyms, British/American spellings) For free text searching, if a term has variant spellings or different endings, truncate it (using $ in Ovid) For free text searching, if a term has variant spellings or different endings, truncate it (using $ in Ovid) E.g. enzym$ for enzyme, enzymes, enzymology etc E.g. enzym$ for enzyme, enzymes, enzymology etc

16. OR, AND language babiesacquisition

17. Search string Search terms, e.g.: Search terms, e.g.: language languageAND acquisition OR development acquisition OR developmentAND babies OR toddlers babies OR toddlers