SOCL 223: Logics of Inquiry (Dixon): Starting Points

IDENTIFYING SEARCH TERMS:

Here are some general tips to guide you in choosing your search terms:

- Use keywords or very brief (1-2 word) phrases instead of sentences -- one or two for each part of your topic. Concepts and other nouns usuually work best. 

- Don't forget about any special terminology you might know. 

- Notice what kinds of results you get -- and whether they are relevant -- and adjust your search accordingly. 

- If your keywords aren't turning up many results, you may need to:

• Try thinking of synonyms or other ways of phrasing your topic. 
   
• Try a broader search (ex - broader topic).
   
• Try a different database.

Having trouble getting started? This worksheet will walk you through the process of brainstorming keywords: 

TROUBLESHOOTING: 

Here are some of the most common problems that you may encounter when accessing links from off-campus, and what they mean.

In general, many technical problems can be solved by clearing your browser cache. 
 

ARE YOU HITTING A STRANGE LOGIN? 

When accessing items from off-campus, the only log-in screen that you should ever see is the CAS login screen, which uses your Holy Cross network username/password (i.e., what you use for STAR), or the Google/Gmail login screen, which is the same as your Holy Cross email login. 

Some users are encountering an EBSCO or OCLC login. If these appear, it usually means that there is something wrong with the link that you are using. Check that the link has the proxy prefix (more information below) and does not have any extra punctuation (i.e., a period at the end of some links will prevent them from working). If you are still hitting the OCLC or EBSCO login, please get in touch! You will not be able to login to the OCLC or EBSCO login screens. 

IS YOUR PROXY PREFIX MISSING?

When working off-campus, any link to a library resource should begin with: https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=. This is what prompts the database to show you the Google authentication screen and verify that you are a Holy Cross user. If you have a link that does not begin with this prefix, you can often fix the link yourself by copy-pasting this prefix on the front of the link. 

If that doesn't work, please get in touch with us (chat or libref@holycross.edu) and we'll be happy to get you the correct link. 

Note that the links auto-generated by many databases (ProQuest among them) do not include this prefix by default; you will have to add it manually. 

ARE YOU STILL LOGGED IN?

In library databases or journal pages, if you are properly logged-in, you should see a message with wording similar to “Access provided by College of the Holy Cross,” usually near the top of the page. If you see a message prompting you to log-in to your library’s subscription, are asked to pay for access to articles -- or, in CrossSearch, if you see a yellow bar at the top welcoming you as a Guest -- you may need to log-in again. You can do this by starting a new CrossSearch search, or by opening a database from the library website. Then, refresh the tabs you have open and your log-in and access should be renewed. 

If you are experiencing technical problems, please reach out to us! Not only do we want to fix your access as soon as possible, but you may have encountered a problem that will affect others, too! 

The best way to contact us for tech problems is to e-mail Helpdesk-request@holycross.edu, and mention that it is a library related issue. If you can, CC libref@holycross.edu, which will help us respond to you more quickly!  You can also use the library chat if you need a more immediate response. 

REVIEW ARTICLES: 

Review articles (sometimes called secondary articles) are a type of scholarly/academic, or peer-reviewed, article. Scholarly articles are articles written by experts, for experts, and vetted by experts via a rigorous review progress (known as peer review) prior to their publication. For most research assignments, you will want to rely on scholarly sources for your information. However, there are different kinds of scholarly articles. 

See the chart below for a comparison of the differences between a non-scholarly and a scholarly article:

Review articles are scholarly sources that provide valuable information about research being done in the field. However, they are a step removed in that the authors of review articles are reporting on research that has been conducted by other scholars, rather than sharing the results of their own research.

CHARACTERISTICS:

• Lacking methodology, results, etc. sections that indicate that the author(s) are reporting the results of their own research
• Metadata articles (articles that collect, compile and present data from many studies into one article) are secondary articles
• Clinical Trials (ex. testing pharmaceuticals) are usually secondary articles

USES: 

• Provide an depth overview of major literature published on a topic
• Provide citations to primary/research articles on a topic - which you can then find in full text using library tools

EXAMPLE:

Jones, Deborah J., Raelyn Loiselle, and April Highlander. 2018. "Parent-Adolescent Socialization of Social Class in Low-Income White Families: Theory, Research and Future Directions." Journal of Research on Adolescence, 28(3), 622-636. doi:10.1111/jora.12392

Click here to view the article, with highlighted references to an empirical research article. (requires HC Google log-in).

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ARTICLES:

Empirical research articles (sometimes called "primary research articles"), are scholarly sources that provide valuable first-hand information about research being conducted in a given discipline. These articles directly present the experiments/studies and subsequent results currently being conducted in the field, as presented by the scholars who conducted these studies. 

CHARACTERISTICS:

• Has all the characteristics of a scholarly/peer-reviewed journal; in addition -- 
• Look for sections such as methodology, results/findings, etc. that indicate that empirical research is being reported 

USES: 

• Provides main source of information for the basis of your paper
• Research methods used can be observational, experimental, or descriptive
• Provides structure to follow in writing your paper: Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results (Qualitative Description of of Findings), Discussion (why findings are significant), Conclusion (summary)

EXAMPLE:

Streib, Jessi, Miryea Ayala, and Colleen Wixted. 2017. “Benign Inequality: Frames of Poverty and Social Class Inequality in Children’s Movies.” Journal of Poverty, 21(1): 1-19. doi:10.1080/10875549.2015.1112870

Click here to view the article (requires HC log-in if off-campus)