Summary of Library Research
The importance of library research cannot be overestimated.
Without library resources, each investigator would effectively be
"reinventing the wheel" with every research study. Fortunately, the
modern university library not only has the relevant past research on
virtually any topic, but also has the complex indexing necessary to
find the material you need.
This tutorial summarized briefly the library resources available
to the student researcher and described some of the strategies one
might use to find appropriate background material for a study. Our
discussion was brief, however, and only touched the surface of this
topic. We encourage you to use the services of the reference
librarian to learn more about the specific resources available at
your institution. A book by Reed and Baxter (2003) outlines in more
detail the resources and strategies covered in this appendix.
Listed below is a list summarizing the strategies for library
research.
- Have a clear statement of the literature search problem.
- From the problem statement, identify the key terms for your
topic. Use the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms to
help determine your key terms.
- Consult with your reference librarian and determine which
databases are most likely to include the information you seek.
- Search the databases using your key terms. PsycINFO
is probably the most useful for you. Look for secondary as well
as primary sources. Read the titles and abstracts of the papers
and chapters; narrow your list by deleting those that seem least
relevant.
- Print out the list of remaining references; find the
original articles, books, and chapters; read them.
- As you gain information from your reading, you will refine
your ideas, gain new ideas, and will further refine your problem
statement.
- Consult other citation indexes (ERIC, Social Science
Citation Index, Readers' Guide, etc.).
- At any point in this search process, you can consult your
reference librarian!