Searching

 

One question I am frequently asked "is how do I know that I have found all relevant articles in the library?" You really don't know- new literature is added every day. So searching should continue even after you have written the literature review.  

However, I can give you some additional suggestions. Check the keywords on relevant articles that you find – and use those for additional searches. Check the references on all relevant articles and look for ones that you may not be aware of yet. Look at those articles' references and keywords. Think of it as being a detective- you are searching for that elusive clue! 

Try searching without "full text" turned on – you may pull up articles that you have not seen before. You can request up to 20 articles (total at Walden) from the library's document delivery service – see the library home page for info on this. 

Keep track in your research notebook all the searches you conduct, the database used, and the keywords used. You will need this info in c. 2; it also cuts down on the time for future searches. 

There are a number of special features in the Walden library that I want to mention, that can help your search. When you have found an abstract that appears relevant, look to the left of it and you will see a green box labeled: "Find Similar Results using SmartText Searching." It is worth checking this to see if it gives you any help. Another resource is to look right above the green box at "Times cited in this database." This shows you every article that cited the one you are looking at. Often they will be related in topic. 

Also a hint, if you find a reference you want to use – look at the right side of the screen and click "Cite." It will provide the full reference in APA format, this can be copied into your reference section. 

Finally, if you are having a great deal of difficulty finding literature, contact the librarian. They are able to come up with many ideas for keywords and search terms that you have probably not considered. 

Next time, I will discuss a great opportunity for Walden doctoral graduates. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu