PSYC 315: Biology of Mental Disorders (Bitran): Searching the Literature

E-Journals Search

You may want to check out the library's e-journals list to search for articles in specific journals. For example:

• Neuroscience 
• Behavioural Brain Research 
• Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• European Journal of Neuroscience
   

There are 2 methods that you can use to search within 1a specific journal, newspaper, or other periodical publication. 

In some databases, you can specify the publication in your search options, either in the Advanced Search menu or by using a special tool. PsycINFO lets you use the Cited Reference search to search by Source.

You can also search within a journal by going to that journal's dedicated 'home page' in each database.  To do this, search for the journal title in the E-Journals List, then click on the name of the database you want to look in. 

Pay attention to the date ranges available in each database. You will need to match these date ranges to the date on your article (for example, a database marked "1993-present" will not contain an article dated 1984). 

From the journal 'home page,' you can browse by issue, and will usually also see an option to search the journal's contents. This will look slightly different in each database, and might say something like Search this journal (Sage) or Search within this publication (Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, ProQuest). 

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great tool for doing a broad search of scholarly literature on your topic. The 'academic' side of Google, It searches multiple disciplines and a broad range of sources ( including journal articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, and abstracts). 

Some caveats: 

• Google Scholar's coverage is not comprehensive. Many sources are hidden in publishers' databases and journals that Google can't search, so you'll want to look at other databases as well. 
• Not everything in Scholar is peer-reviewed. Search results can include links to things like course syllabi and high school term papers, as well as pre-prints of papers that have not yet undergone review --  so you'll want to carefully evaluate what you find. 

Tips for using Google Scholar effectively: 

• You can access advanced search features by clicking the arrow in the right of the search box. These features allow you to refine your search.
• Look for the words Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross next to an article. You should be able to access any of these articles through the library's subscriptions. If you come across a source that Holy Cross does not have access to, remember that you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
• Click on the Cited by and Related articles links at the bottom of a search result to find more relevant articles and books.
• The citation tool in Google Scholar (") can connect with RefWorks and other citation managers. 

Google Scholar Settings

While on campus, Google Scholar will recognize that you are at Holy Cross and connect you to articles accordingly. To make this happen while using Google Scholar at home, you need to update your Scholar Settings.  See the document linked below for detailed instructions with screenshots. 

 Instructions for customizing your Google Scholar settings

In brief: 

1. Go to Settings > Library links

2. Type College of the Holy Cross into the search box

3. Check College of the Holy Cross - Full Text Finder Results.

This will trigger HC links to display on the right side of your results page.

Using Subject Headings

In  most databases you will see subjects listed for each resource. You can think of these as 'tags' used to identify the topic(s) covered in a given article or database. These subject headings can be very useful for identifying possible keywords for your search (or revising the keywords you are already using). They are also a great way of pulling together all of the resources 'tagged' with a particular topic! 

In many article databases, you can search by Subject (usually under Advanced Search options). Choose a subject heading and use that as your keyword; then, choose to search in the field Subjects.  

Some databases also allow you to search or browse a thesaurus, or a comprehensive list subject terms used in the particular database. For example, PubMed's thesaurus is called MeSH (for Medical Subject Headings). You can search the list of MeSH terms by choosing the appropriate link from the PubMed home page: 

From here, you can search the list of MeSH terms, or, visit the NLM's MeSH home page to browse the complete list: 

Once you've identified relevant MeSH term(s), you can automatically add them to your search in PubMed using the search builder.  Note that PubMed will also provide you with information on the technical definition of each MeSH term, which can be helpful when working with precise scientific terminology. 

TRACE Research Leads:

No piece of research stands alone; each is part of a broader scholarly conversation in that topic/ field. These resources have clues that you can TRACE, if you know how to look. We also sometimes call this technique the exploding article, because it helps you 'explode' a single source into many sources! 

Terms– Check the abstract, subject terms and article for concepts and terms that you can use for your future searches.

Reported in– Is the journal where the article was printed relevant? Try searching for other articles from this journal.

Author– What else has the author(s) published on this topic? Search the databases for their other publications

Consulted by - Check Google Scholar to see which articles or books have cited your sources, and to find
more-recent research which builds on your original information.

Evidence -Check the references list (or bibliography) to see what previous research this resource is drawing on. From here, you may wish to consider: 

- Previous articles or books published on your topic
- Other authors who have published on your topic
- Journals where your topic is frequently discussed

Tools for TRACE-ing: