Refine your search results
| Finding the right
articles for your research can be a time consuming process. Searching
successfully can involve some trial and error. |
| |
| Too many results? |
- If you get more than around 100 results then you
need to NARROW your search.
|
| Narrowing a Search |
| The easiest way to
narrow a search is to add another search term to your original search
using the the word "AND". Here are the results of two searches in
Academic Search Premier: |
| Search Terms |
Result |
| alcoholism |
4621 hits |
| alcoholism AND
teenagers |
110 hits |
|
| |
| You can also NARROW a
search by: |
- limiting the date of items you want to
retrieve. Most databases will include this feature.
- limiting your search to particular types of
articles such as those that have been peer-reviewed or refereed.
Some databases will include this feature.
|
|
| |
| Too few Results? |
- If you get no results or only a few then you need
to BROADEN your search.
|
| Broadening a Search |
| Sometimes you can make your
search too narrow, or too specific. The best way to broaden your
search is to think of a more general way to describe your topic. Here
are the results of two searches in Academic Search Premier: |
| Search Terms |
Result |
| teenagers and
budweiser |
2 hits |
| teenagers and
beer |
30 hits |
|
| |
| You can also BROADEN a search by: |
- Using truncation to retrieve all versions of
your search term.
- Removing limiters such as
date/full-text/article type (see previous page)
|
|
| |
|
Not all the results retrieved by a search will be
relevant for your research so it is important to evaluate search
results to ensure that you select the best articles for your topic. |
| |
| An Evaluation
Checklist |
 |
abstract |
Many
databases provide an abstract which is a brief summary of that
article. It is always a good idea to read an abstract before you
decide to print or retrieve an article. If an abstract is
available you can generally access it by clicking on the title of
the article from the brief results page. |
|
|
subject headings |
Not
all databases include abstracts. Subject headings, if included,
can provide a summary of an article in point form. |
|
|
journal type |
It
can be possible to evaluate an article by it's title. Citation
information included in a brief results display will include the
title of the periodical. For example: If you need a scholarly
article then a result from People magazine can be ruled
out. Similarly, an article from a medical journal may be too
advanced if you are researching a paper for English class. |
|
|
article length |
The
citation include in the brief results should also indicate how
long that article is. It may include a number followed by the
letter p (e.g. 7p.) or a page range (e.g. p. 7-14). If a result
has an article length of 1/3 page or 70 pages then neither might
be suitable for your needs. |
|
|
date |
Note
when the article was published. If you are researching a topic
that is in the news currently then an older article may be out of
date. |
|
| |
Scholarly articles
|
Not all information is created equal. That's why
learning to evaluate information is so important. |
|
|
- It's essential to know how to identify one
particular sort of information - scholarly articles.
- scholarly articles are also known as
peer-reviewed or refereed articles.
|
| |
|
When deciding
whether an article is scholarly or popular there are 5
basic factors to consider*: |
|
1. |
audience
|
who is the
article written for? |
|
2. |
coverage |
what
type of subject matter is covered? |
|
3. |
author |
who is the
article written by? |
|
4. |
issuing body |
who sponsors the
magazine or journal? |
|
5. |
references |
does the article
have a ‘works cited’ or list of sources at the end? |
|
| |
| |
scholarly
journals |
popular
magazines |
| audience |
The Intended
audience is usually scholars, such as researchers, professionals
in the field and students. The language tends to be technical and
complex in nature. |
The intended
audience is the general public. Language is simple so that the
average person is able to read and understand the article. |
| coverage |
Coverage includes
research results and important findings in the field. All articles
are about the same general subject (e.g. psychology, nursing,
physical therapy etc) |
Articles cover
popular topics and current affairs. Articles usually cover a range
of general topics, NOT one particular subject area. |
| author |
Authors are
experts in their fields and usually include their title or
qualifications after their name. |
Authors are
often generalists or professional journalists. Unsigned articles
are an indication that the article is NOT scholarly. |
| issuing body |
The issuing body
of the journal is a professional association or organization in
the field. Usually the name of the issuing body will appear on the
cover or in the title of the journal e.g. Journal of the
American Medical Association. |
The issuing body
is NOT a professionally affiliated group or association. Magazines
are usually owned by corporations. |
| references |
References, or a
list of sources used by the author of the article, are included at
the end of the article |
A list of
references is NOT included with this article. |
|
|
|
Locating articles
|
A journal database will provide you with a citation
that identifies an article and sometimes the article itself
(full-text). How do you find an article that isn't full-text in a
database? Check if GCCC library subscribes to the journal that the
article was published in. |
|
|
| There are 2 ways
to do this: |
- Search the book catalog for the title of the
journal (or source) listed in your citation. Use the Title
(begins with) search.
- Check the GCCC Library periodicals
subscription list. This is an alphabetical list of all the
periodicals this library subscribes to. Click on the letter that
corresponds to the first letter of the journal and then scroll
through the list.
|
|
| |
| Note: |
- If the journal you are looking for appears in the
book catalog or in the periodicals subscription list then the
library subscribes to this journal.
- Check that the date range/volume number range
includes the date for your citation.
- Not every journal that is indexed in a particular
database will be available at the library.
|
|
Articles can also be ordered through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). |
| |
 |
what? |
If
the library does not subscribe to the journal that contains an
article you need then you can order that article on interlibrary
loan |
|
|
how? |
Submit a request for ILL by using the online form. Be sure to
check if GCCC Library subscribes to the journal before ordering. |
|
|
who? |
Students of GCCC, FSU-PC and Troy State students enrolled at
Tyndall Airforce Base, faculty and staff. |
|
|
how many? |
5
items per day |
|
|
how long? |
It
takes from 2 days to 2 weeks to receive materials ordered on ILL. |
|
|
how much? |
ILL
is generally free however sometimes there is a charge. The library
will check with you first before ordering items that incur a fee.
Indicate on the form how much you are willing to pay. |
|
|
can I keep it? |
Articles received through ILL do not need to be returned to the
library. |
|
| |
| Note: |
- some databases feature internal ILL request
forms.
- these can also be used to order ILL. GCCC Library
receives the form and processes the request the next business day.
ILL materials can take 2 days to 2 weeks. Order as soon as you can.
|
|
This page icon is used in many databases to
indicate that a particular article is available in full-text.
Other databases will include a hyperlink that may say " View
text", "View full-text", "View html full-text" etc. Clicking on
the full-text link in whatever form it takes will take you through
to the article itself which you can then print, save to disk or
email. 