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Sociology Course Guides: SOC 656

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Title: Sociology 656
Today we will cover….
Basic Search Strategy
Narrowing and Expanding SearchesKeywords vs. Subject Headings

Selecting the right database

Managing your citations

Finding additional help

 
Basic Search Strategy

AND Narrows a search and ensures that both terms appear in same record

Terms have different meanings

example:  internet AND socialization

 

OR broadens a search and looks for synonyms.

example: (punks or skinheads) always use parenthesis around OR terms


Narrowing and expanding

The Asterisk Can look for multiple endings of a word or plurals

for example:  theor* will search for the following words:  theory, theories, theoretical

Proximity is phrase searching. Proximity searching allows you to specify how close you want your terms to appear in the record

For example: social w1 identity = social identity = “social identity”

Narrowing and expanding
Keyword Searches: Search the title, abstract, subjects and in some cases the full text of the record

Subject Searches: Search only the subject or Descriptor line-This makes your searches more specific and better defined

Refworks

First get a Refworks Account

Sign up for the account at refworks.com

Set up a folder and we are ready to save articles

Dissecting your topic
5 ways to start your search effectively
1.Pick the correct database
2.Match your terminology to the database
3.Search more than one database
4.Keep track of your citations
5.Contact me for help BEFORE you get frustrated!
 
I am still confused…
Get Additional Help from Tiffini Travis

Email

ttravis@csulb.edu

phone: 562 985-7850

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