Graduate Research in Education
EDUA 5800
Janice Winkler
Education Librarian
Elizabeth Dafoe Library
Adapted from slides created by Kyle Feenstra
What we will talk about today...
- Types of sources & research methods (what)
- Resources available through (where)
- Search methods (how)
- Citation management
Types of sources
and research methods
What are scholarly journals?
- The journal publishes current research in a particular academic field.
- Articles are written for an academic audience in a scholarly community.
Identifying scholarly articles
- The article presents original research or new analysis.
- Resources used to write the article are adequately cited.
- The author has academic credentials.
- Language used indicates the intended audience is academic.
What do we mean by "peer review"?
Articles submitted to the journal are reviewed by independent scholars prior to publication to ensure they meet the standards for research in that field.
Identifying Peer Reviewed Journals
- The catalogue or database where it is found identifies the journal as a peer reviewed source. (Example)
Tip: Most databases have filters that show only PR results. - The journal editors identify the publication as
peer reviewed.
Qualitative Studies & Quantitative Studies*
- Case studies
- Questionnaires
- Narrative studies
- Prolonged studies
- Embedded researchers
(i.e. action research)
- Study concludes with new perspectives & theories (example)
- Experimental study
- Data collection by observation and various survey tools
- Measurement and analysis of data
- Study concludes with
new data (example)
*Creswell, J. (2009). Research design : Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Many researchers use mixed method approaches that incorporate both quantitative and qualitative elements.
Systematic Reviews*
- 'A review of research literature using systematic and explicit, accountable methods'* p. 2
- One type of literature review
- Looks like:
- Research Q + methodology
- Search strategy + screening
- Code/describe studies
- Assess for quality and relevance
- Synthesize
- Campbell Collaboration library for examples
*Gough, D., Oliver, S., & Thomas, J. (2012). An introduction to systematic reviews. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Resources Available
for locating information
Where to locate information
Books
Print
Online
Scholarly articles
'Grey literature'
Policy documents
Govt publications
Library catalogue ('One Stop Search')
Library search bar ('One Stop Search')
Databases (ERIC is the go-to; find more)
Google Scholar
Check multiple locations
Where to start your research:
- The Subject Guide for Education will help you identify the resources relevant to your research.
- The advanced search on the library's website works for basic article searches.
- The journal databases identified by the Subject Guides and Database A-Z are great places to start your search for articles. ERIC is a go-to database in education.
Search Skills
Advanced Research as Language Learning
Review prior knowledge and consult reference sources to develop an understanding of language and concepts.
Write Your
Thesis!
Search, read,
review the literature.
Develop an understanding of the literature considering relationships between concepts, authors, and publications.
Expand understanding & critique of concepts, theory, and data.
Encyclopedias
Wikipedia
Research Handbooks
Dictionaries
Thesauri
Bibliographies
Keywords
Subject Headings
(Taxonomy)
Language used in the literature of a field of study
Language used to organize a field of study for the purpose of retrieval
Natural Language
Language as it's really spoken.
"Ok Google"
Language used is arguably the most important part of a successful search
Subject Headings
results are based on a match with the subject heading field in the library or database record.
Subject headings are useful for identifying related materials.
A combination of subject headings and keywords often produce most precise search results.
When you search with...
Keywords
results are based on frequency of word use in the library or database record and in some cases the document text.
Monograph Subject Headings
The Library of Congress assigns subject headings for all monograph publications
Article Subject Headings
Databases organize subject headings in a thesaurus.
ERIC offers a comprehensive thesaurus for education.
(See other Education Thesauri.)
Searching with Subject Headings
A few approaches:
- Search with keywords to find relevant books or articles. Use their subject headings to find similar materials.
- Find the preferred subject headings first and search by subject rather than keyword.
- Refine a subject heading search by adding keywords.
Searching for Subject Headings
Books
Articles
Example
finding subject headings for
co teaching in ERIC
finding Library of Congress subject headings for
co teaching in the catalogue
Basic Search Techniques
Here are some tips to get better search results in the catalogue and databases.
| Strategy |
Example |
|---|---|
| Combining search terms |
formative AND summative AND assessment |
| Using quotation marks |
"professional development" |
| Multiple word endings |
teach* |
| Search formulas with parentheses |
teach* AND (formative OR summative) AND assessment |
How should you know which search techniques to use?
Read the search results!
Start with a broad search, and narrow down based on your results.
Example
back to co teaching in ERIC
Activity #1
&
Activity #2
Citation Management
Citation Management
There are many citation management apps available and
workshops* to help you learn how to use them.
Getting started with Zotero
- Create account
- Download Zotero & add account info to app
Edit > Preferences > Sync - Download browser plug-in to add items
Activity #3
&
Research Time
APA Style Guides
UM Library copies of recommended APA Guides
Handouts from this Workshop
Questions?
Kyle Feenstra
Education & Psychology Librarian
Elizabeth Dafoe Library
kyle.feenstra@umanitoba.ca