Learn how to search smart! The techniques will help you find more precise and relevant results. They work across many different databases.
|
Don't type in the whole sentence to search, pick the most important keywords. (2 min 37 sec) |
Think of and use alternative terms and keywords to improve your search. (1 min 23 sec) |
|
Phrase searching can help you refine a search and find more precise results. (1 min 14 sec) |
Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to connect keywords to search effectively. (39 sec) |
|
Use truncation symbols to find words with a common root or stem. (1 min 14 sec) |
Use parentheses to combine multiple keywords (prioritize orders of searching). (1 min 26 sec) |
|
Use wildcard symbols to find a word's variants. (1 min 39 sec) |
Citation Chaining and Citation Mapping are two common techniques used to explore scholarly literature and trace the development of ideas and research trends.
When you do research, you will find things cited in papers & books you read. You can then look those up and read them.
Example: I read a chapter in this e-book
Ho, B.C. and Li. Q. (2013). Rural Chinese Women's Political Participation. In Z. Hao and S. Chen (Eds), Social Issues in China : Gender, Ethnicity, Labor, and the Environment (pp. 23-44.). Dordrecht, Netherlands, Springer. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-2224-2
1. You decide to follow-up on the in-text citation as written in the article " In Tong's studies (2003) Chinese men fare better....". So you go to the full reference below.
2. You then search for the article in PrimoCentral of PowerSearch - very generally - using the title
Results - 75,000, but the one you want is the top (thank goodness!). Then you read it. This may lead you to more citations and useful resources.
A more efficient search would use advanced search with author = Tong + title= gender gap political china
