Source DiscoveryLibrary Workshop for PSY 2640

Christopher ChanInformation Services Librarianchancp@hkbu.edu.hk

Learning OutcomesBy the end of this workshop you will be able to:

Follow references in your readings to discover other relevant sources

Use the PsycINFO database to locate the fulltext of journal articles relevant to your essay topic

Use Mendeley to organise your the articles you find

How you will learn today...

Mini-Lectures

In-class exercises: Answers via Moodle Course Site - get set up by logging in now

Following ReferencesTextbooks, journal articles, and other course readings always make reference to other sources

A simple way to widen your reading and deepen your knowledge is to look up these other sources

Those sources will have references too, which you can also follow

Finding Known BooksYou can use citation information in OneSearch to see if the material is available from the Library.

Example:

Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P.A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner and W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed.), Vol. 1, Theoretical models of human development (pp. 793-828). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

If HKBU Library does not have a copy, check HKALL:

Example:

Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton.

In-Class Exercise #1Try it yourself! Are the following books available for HKBU students to request? Submit your answer to Moodle

Brown, R. (1973). A first language - The early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

LaFreniere, P. (2000). Emotional development - A biosocial perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Finding Known ArticlesFor article references, use the Library’s Fulltext Finder tool to see if the Library has access to the online fulltext

Example:

Dai, D. Y. (2001). A comparison of gender differences in academic self-concept and motivation between high-ability and average Chinese adolescents. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 13(1), 22-32

Fulltext Finder can also link to the Library Catalogue so you can check for hard copies

Example:

Werner, L.A. & Bargones, J.Y. (1992). Psychoacoustic development of human infants. Advances in Infancy Research, 7, 103-145.

Exercise #2Try it yourself! Check to see if the following articles are available at HKBU Library, and submit your answer to Moodle

Pombeni, M.L., Kirchler, E., & Palmonari, A. (1990). Identification with peers as a strategy to muddle through the troubles of adolescent years. Journal of Adolescence, 13, 351-369.

Thompson, R.A. (2008). Measure twice, cut once: Attachment theory and the NICHD study of early child care and youth development. Attachment and Human Development, 10(3), 287-297.

Going to the next levelQuick Poll (on Moodle): When you need information for your assignments, what search tool do you use?? (be honest!!)

Up until now, you may only have experience using Google, or perhaps the Library’s OneSearch tool

Now that you have been at university for some time, it’s time to step up and learn how to use subject-specific databases

PsycINFO@ProQuestEFFECTIVE SEARCH STRATEGY

What are databases?

Example:PsycINFO

...and 2400+ other titles

Concept:

To search for information (usually journal articles) from hundreds of publications at the same time

✔language development AND Hong Kong AND child*language development AND Hong Kong AND adolesc*

Search Statements for Databases

Use main ideas / keywords only

Connect main ideas with AND

Use the “*” symbol (truncation) for variant word endings

Think of synonyms and try different searches

Using Subject Headings

Subject Headings are descriptions added to article records by human

cataloguers

We can use them to more precisely target

our searches

How do we know what words to use for subject searches?

Answer: The thesaurus

Live Demo

Let’s look at how we can use PsycINFO to find information on this

topic...

“I want to find out about gender differences in conservation ability”

Exercise #3Try it yourself! Use an advanced search in PsycINFO database to locate a relevant journal article for the following topic:

Influence of childhood play on relationships

In Moodle, provide an APA-style citation for the article you find

Getting organized...After a good long session with PsycINFO, you will have lots of articles and (hopefully) a good number of full text PDFs

How are you going to keep track of them all?

How are you going to annotate them and make your notes?

How are you going to produce the bibliography based on these articles?

Live Demo - Mendeley

SummaryReferences cited in your textbooks are a valuable way to widen your reading and discover the literature

Library-subscribed databases like PsycINFO are powerful tools for literature searches

Get organized with Mendeley or other reference managers

If you need help with any of the above, ask a Librarian!