1. SYLVIA ROBERTS Communication Librarian sroberts@sfu.ca
CMNS 260 (Fall 2017)
SYLVIA ROBERTS
Communication Librarian

2. Assignment 1 (excerpt) Report on Literature Search:
Research topic
Description of scholarly literature search (databases, search terms)
How the search process & results informed your conceptualization of the research topic
Annotated bibliography: Four scholarly publications selected from search (articles, book chapters)

3. Overview Why do a literature review?
Recognizing empirical research articles
Finding articles on your topic – effectively & efficiently
Additional support

4. If I can see further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants
(Isaac Newton, 1676)

5. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH PROCESS
Academic literature is important at both the beginning and the end of the empirical research life cycle

6. Benefits of literature review
Saves time!
Peer-review process acts as quality control
Situates your research topic in the field
Protocol of citing influential studies helps find related research
Shows how other researchers have framed their questions
Provides models of effective research methodology

7. Anatomy of an empirical journal article
Take 3 minutes:
Draw a picture of journal article reporting on empirical research
Note any special identifying features
Take 2 minutes (each)
Talk to a partner about these features. Try to find some common ground about features of empirical research articles.
Each group of 2 will report 1 key feature to the class.

8. Identifying features:
“Journal” often in publication title
Lengthy (10+ pages)
Authors affiliation
Abstract
Introduction / literature review positions research
Documentation (in-text citations and reference list / bibliography)

9. Identifying features:
Formal language, well-organized with section headings
Research questions stated
Methodology section

10. Identifying features:
Discussion of results
Illustrations are somber looking, used to provide meaning (tables, charts)
Conclude with implications of findings and suggestions for further research

11. Disciplinary databases:
Sociological Abstracts
Communication and Mass Media Complete

12. Your research topic
“…general research topic — attitudes and practices related to the ethics and to etiquette in social media use in communication. Within this general area you need to narrow the topic and conduct bibliographic research about scholarship related to your topic, develop specific research questions, design a research proposal that outlines how you might collect and analyse data related to this topic.”

13. Sample topic
Topic: How do adults experience friendship in Facebook, compared to friends made in real life?
Key concepts: Friends Facebook
Related terminology: friendship or relationships social media or social networks

14. Reflective research practice:
Database: Sociological Abstracts Search #1: Friendship or friends and facebook or “social media” Results: 138 scholarly articles Many empirical articles Focus on young people as subjects Additional search terms: “friendship practices” “sense-making” “intimate friends” “close friends” “attitudes”
Reflective research practice:
Using the worksheet to document searches

15. Search and evaluate DEMONSTRATION
Search Sociological Abstracts, using your search terms
Review results list
If necessary, modify search (search terms, limit to scholarly)
Click on promising title to get detailed record with abstract
Assess whether empirical article
/download & capture promising citations for bibliography

16. Improving your results
Capitalize on useful articles
Use same subject terms for searching
Review “cited references” or “cited by” to find related articles Find these texts by searching for “title” on library homepage
Try a different database in consultation with librarian
Do a broader search and use subject headings to scope results; modify your research question according to your results

17. Assignment support after this class
Ask a Librarian (research help)
Citation style guides
Undergraduate Writing and Learning (Student Learning Commons)