1. Postgraduate (Research) - Databases
Karen Chilcott | Faculty Liaison Librarian
University Library

2. Research Design Preparing Research Strategy
Identify key concepts / ideas / themes
Breakdown each concept into keywords or phrases, synonyms and word variations
Identify limits – date, language, document types
Research Plan available from Library’s Information Skills webpage at
Think about the different sources you may need to consult: library catalogue and collections, databases, internet, people, organisations
Preparing research strategy
Writing down ideas
Defining concepts
Finding synonyms, broader terms and related terms
Analysing the question
o        Style of assignment - Are you required to write an essay, a policy or lab report, a personal response, a critical review, an analysis of a reading, a media article or script, a book review, based on primary sources?
o        Length of assignment - This will help you think about how many references you might need to find when researching.
o        Key concepts - Pick out the key concepts that you need to research and make sure you fully understand what the question is asking. If in doubt, contact your lecturer or tutor.
o        Currency of material - Do you require only recently published research or do you need to have a comprehensive range of references that include all dates?
·         Types of References required
o        Do you need books, journal articles, newspaper articles, government reports, diaries, manuscripts, music scores, blogs, glossy magazines?
o        If scholarly material is required, has it been peer reviewed or refereed?

3. My Research Research Sources Research Sources to consult Databases
For: Journal articles, book chapters,
reports, conference papers, etc
wide range of journals searched
some full text
sophisticated search methods
subject headings & mapping
items may not be held by our library
Library Catalogue
For: books, journals, reference, reports,
conference proceedings, AV, reserve
items held at USYD
some full text journal articles
limited to what USYD holds
can access other libraries’ catalogues
Internet
For: material not found through
other sources
+ can give links to subject related sites,
organisations, etc
-need to assess credibility of the site
Ejournals
For: full text journal articles by
volume/issue
+ full text articles
limited collection of journal
titles searched
Understanding Information Resources
Think about the different sources you may need to consult: library catalogue and collections, databases, internet, people, organisations.
With any material you locate, be it print or electronic, always remember to evaluate it! Be cautious about using resources such as Wikipedia and Google. These popular, non-refereed resources often contain articles of poor scholarship and are not authoritative. Here is a checklist to evaluate a source:

4. Background Information
Use Background Information to:
Define or clarify terminology
Obtain an overview of a theoretical area
Locate key readings on a specific topic
Find Background Information by
Searching the Library catalogue
Look for Dictionaries & Encyclopedia
Available in hardcopy or eBook
Internet Search Engines or Wikis

5. Finding Journal Articles
How to find Journal Articles
You can find articles in journals by searching our databases and ejournal collections.
Databases:
 provide access to the content of journals within broad or specific subjects areas
index articles, essays, conferences papers, websites, book reviews, reports and occasionally book chapters
sometimes provide full-text versions of articles
Summon:
a simple and fast search engine that searches multiple collections at the same time,
Searches the library catalogue as well as a variety of bibliographic databases
Types of journals
Before we start searching for journal articles, it is helpful to know what they are.
Journals have a number of different types and names. These include: magazines, serials, periodicals, newspapers, bulletins and proceedings. Basically, they are anything that is published regularly in a series of volumes.
An article is one of a number of papers published in an issue of a journal.
Articles in journals can range from articles on popular or topical issues through to in-depth scholarly works.
It is important to use journal articles because they can contain the most current research and information on your topic. Sometimes this material is not published in books at all!
 How to find journal articles
 You can find articles in journals by using databases and ejournal collections.
Databases:
provide access to the content of journals within broad or specific subjects areas
also index collections of essays, conferences papers, websites, book reviews and research reports and occasionally book chapters
sometimes provide full-text versions of articles, and
allow researchers to identify and locate key journals in their subject areas.
However, not all publications indexed are held in the library. You will need to check the Library’s Catalogue to see if we subscribe to them.

6. Selecting the right Databases
The Library has access to over 300 databases
See listing at
Use the Subject listing to find databases specific to a particular topic
Many different types of databases including;
General (eg. Expanded Academic or Proquest)
Subject Specific (eg. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts)
Resource Specific (eg. Factiva, or ABS)
Other (eg. JSTOR (retrospective) or Web of Science (citation) )
Types of Databases
General Databases
Cover a broad range of Subject areas and index a variety of sources both academic and popular or generalist.
Eg. Proquest 5000 ; Expanded Academic ASAP ; Scopus
 Subject Specific Databases
Cover a specific subject area and index a selected range of journal titles specific to that subject area. Sources can be both scholarly and general.
Eg. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts ; Business Source Premier ;
 Resource Specific
Some databases index a particular type of Resource or use some other criteria for indexing items.
Eg. Factiva – indexes Newspapers & Newswires : TVnews - indexes Australian Television Current Affairs : Informit Databases – Indexes Australian Material : Statistical Databases such as ABS or SourceOECD
 Others:
There are database that index material for other specific reasons
Web of Science – Citation Database that uses article bibliographies to identify who has used what.
JSTOR – A retrospective database that indexes resources back to their first issue but does not have current 5 years

7. Common Database Features
Using Databases
Many databases look different, but they all have some common features:
Search a range of years
Search by subject headings or your own keywords
Download, print or results
Limit references retrieved by date, language or document type
Searching a database
Many databases look different, but there are some common features:
Search a range of years
Search by subject headings or your own keywords
Download, print or results
Limit references retrieved by date, language or document type
But there are some things to consider when searching a database – consult the Help or Search Tips to get the most out of your searches
** Remember to think laterally – if your subject is cross disciplinary then think to use the database subject listings to see what databases might be available in alternative subjects.

8. Common Search Syntax Search Syntax Truncation Wildcards
To use truncation, enter the root of a search term and replace the ending with the truncation symbol.
Common symbols used are ; * or ? or $ or % or !
Wildcards
The wildcard indicates the symbol used is a placeholder for any unknown term(s) and then find the best matches.
Common symbols used are * or ? or $ or % or !

9. Common Search Syntax Phrases – Boolean Operators Nested Searches
use double quotation marks - “ ”
determines a search for the exact words in that exact order without any change.
Boolean Operators
Term X and Term Y: search results display articles containing both terms
Term X or Term Y: search results display articles containing either term
Term X not Term Y: search results display only articles containing Term X, excluding any articles also containing Term Y
Nested Searches
(A or B) and (C or D)

10. Further Help Need further assistance?
Contact your Faculty Liaison Librarian
Karen Chilcott 
Arts Library Services Team | University Library
The University of Sydney
T:  7289  | F:  6722  | M:   E
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