Alternative Sources for Articles, part 1

Students frequently ask me how to find articles that are not available in the library. Here are a few alternative sources. Make sure you have checked Google Scholar, also check electronic professional media such as LinkedIn or Research Gate. These are sites where authors frequently post preprints (work not yet published) as well as published articles. Be sure you have checked all of the available databases in your library. In psychology, one that is frequently missed is "Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection." This database has many psychology articles, which for some reason, are typically not picked up by PsycINFO. If you are interested in a health related topic, make sure you check CINAHL (a nursing database) and Medline.

See if your library has "Thoreau: Search Multiple Databases." This often pulls up articles not found in individual databases. Similarly, the database, "Academic Search Complete" brings up some information outside the regular databases.

If you still cannot find a particular paper you are looking for and if you know the authors and title, you can request an interlibrary loan, in which the librarian will track it down for you. As a dissertation student, you may be allowed only a certain number of free loans, so check the rules out first.

Next time I will post an updated blog index. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Finding Articles

I suggest starting to write your dissertation with Chapter 2, the literature review. How do you start? How do you do library searches and not be overwhelmed with distantly related articles? The first step is doing the outline of your Chapter 2, including your variables. Then you are ready to begin the library search. Pick a variable and get started!

If you are in psychology, you may want to start your search in the psychology databases; however, be sure you check related ones too (e.g., Thoreau, Sage, CINAHL, Medline, ERIC). Start with getting some general background on your topic. Say you are interested in "resilience" in older adults; begin with a search of resilience, review, and older adults (you will also need to try elderly and aging). This search will bring up literature reviews on the topic. Let us say there are three reviews, which look to fit your interests. Read those. These articles will have references, which relate to your specific interests, look those up. In addition, take note of the keywords lists with each of your articles; they may offer suggestions you had not considered.

When you find mention of theories, make a note of authors related to the theories. Look up those authors, you may find additional information on your topic. Keep in mind you are expected to understand the history of the theories. It is very important you are keeping a research journal as you search. You need to keep track of your search terms and databases used, as these will be included in Chapter 2. You should also keep notes as you go, perhaps marking articles, which you want to be sure to read carefully. 

Next time we will consider alternative sources for articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Updating articles

Students often feel that once they have completed Chapter 2’s literature review they do not have to look at the literature again. Sorry, not true! I suggest every month or two you go to the library and update your literature. New articles are constantly being published, and you want your literature review to be up to date. Do you need to do an exhaustive search each time? No, but you may want to set up a schedule, so that over several months you have checked on all of your variables and theories.

Then add in the new articles into your literature review. I suggest using track changes, so it is obvious to your faculty reviewers what is new info and what they have previously read. Keep track in your research journal your searches and if you find new info. It will make it much easier to remember what you have done along the way if you keep a map through your journal. Remember that you should be an expert on the literature related to your study, so keep reading!

Next time we will consider how to find articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading results and discussion sections

The results section of articles, are often the ones that students want to skip. However, it is important to read this section and keep in mind a few things. Highlight significant results (p < .05); for each one, write in your own words what it means (e.g., females had higher self-efficacy than males). Does it make sense that they used the type of statistic or qualitative method that they did? It is a good idea to compare the author's original research questions to the results they provide- do they address each question?

When you are done with the results section, compare your notes to the authors' discussion points. Do they interpret the results differently than you? How do they relate the results to the literature and the gap they were addressing? Do you agree that they have resolved the questions? Make notes to yourself as what you agree and disagree with.

Finally, take a look at the references for the article, are they reputable journals? Do they seem to only cite themselves? Pay attention to how old the references are- are they recent? You may want to indicate which ones that you would like to read.

You have now learned to review articles! As a Ph.D., you may be asked to be a peer reviewer for journals, and this is the method you will use to do so. Take notes, so you do not have to reread the article several times. 

Next time I will discuss updating articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading method sections

Last time we examined reading an article's literature review, this time let's examine reading an article's methods section.

Determine what overall methods were used to answer the research question/s (e.g. quantitative, mixed methods, interviews; observations). Look at whether any qualitative data were quantified to answer the research questions. Then determine what specific design/type of quantitative method was used (e.g. experimental, quasi-experimental, survey, etc…) or what qualitative method was used (e.g., narrative; case study; phenomenology; grounded theory; straight qualitative)?

Next, examine who is the population? Be specific (e.g., adults between 65-85 years, who live in the Midwest, and attend senior centers). Who is in the sample and how were they recruited? Is the sample appropriate to the identified population, or did the recruiting methods, reduce the study's population? For example, did the individuals have to use a computer? Then the study is limited to those who are willing/ able to use one. What is the sample size? How was the sample size determined?

What measures are used and are they valid? If interviews were conducted, are the questions appropriate to answer the research questions?

Next time I will talk about reading articles' results and discussion sections. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading literature reviews

What should you look for in articles' literature reviews? I will give you a few general guidelines, I suggest highlighting or marking each of these areas in your article. The areas may not be specifically labeled- so it often takes some detective work. For each area, consider how it relates to your study. Are you examining a similar social problem or gap in the literature? Is this a theory that would be applicable for your study?

First, find the social problem being addressed in the study. In other words, what is the big picture reason that they are doing the study?

Determine what gap in the literature the study is filling. This is looking at the specifics of what has been previously done and how the study fits into the history of the topic area. What theory/theories are the authors utilizing to address this issue? How do they integrate the theory into the study?

What are the study's Research Questions? What are they planning to examine and how does that relate to the literature gap?

What are the study's hypotheses? They may use language such as predictions or expectations. Also, examine the variables of interest within the hypotheses. Are they using survey measures? What type of scores or sub scores will result from the measures? Have you ever heard of the measures they are using? 

Next time I will talk about reading articles' methods sections. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Reading articles

How do you read research articles? I think everyone develops their own system, but here are a few suggestions.

Decide what you want to know from the article before you start reading. Are you trying to get general information? Are you concerned with methodology? You may not need to read the entire article, but only pieces to get the info you need. Be very careful about simply taking their discussion comments as the results of the study- writers often over-interpret their results, so check them yourself.

Develop a shorthand or marking system. Whether you read the article's pdf or a paper version, you should be developing a method to keep track of important info. I tend to read pdfs, so I highlight in yellow the key points that I want to be able to find again. I also write myself notes in the article, using "add sticky note" an Adobe Acrobat about why I think the highlighted text is important (e.g., "interesting qual method," "confirms my idea on self-efficacy in this population"). If you are reading the paper version, you can add sticky notes marking important issues (consider color coded ones, e.g., pink = method issue). Have a master list of what your codes/ colors mean so you remain consistent.

You may want to keep an Excel file of articles with key points for each article you read. An alternative is do use a bibliographic software such as Endnotes, and make comments in the entries.

The trick to all of these is to be consistent in using and maintaining them. Decide on how you want to read articles- in pdfs or in paper version and set up a filing system to work with your method. 

Next time I will talk about reading articles' literature reviews. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu