Baker Core Research

What do you do when you still have questions? When you've listened to the lectures and you've read this libguide and you're still struggling and still confused?

Go to the library! We are here to help you. You can schedule a research consultation with Amanda or Melanie and you can always ask anyone at the library for help. 

So give a call, send an email, or pop on by. When you need an extra hand or just want someone to look over your sources and make sure they're okay, you can always ask a librarian!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Q: “Recommendations for ways to keep track and not lose sources you find?”

   1. A: “I’ve started using Zotero. It is free and easy to use allowing you to capture articles from databases, webpages, and more keeping them organized, cited correctly and allowing you to write notes. You can go to https://www.zotero.org/ to download the application for free. I would suggest downloading both the software for your operating system and the “Connector” for your browser.”

2. Q: “I would like to know more about the citation section of the database, is it reliable?”

   1. A: “I believe you are asking about the database’s citation generator tool, yes, it is. I have found some mistakes (such as when anything is in ALL CAPS). Still, I find it to be more reliable than other citation generators. I DO NOT recommend asking a.i. to generate a citation for you. If you need help creating or checking citations chat with a librarian or schedule time with a writing tutor at the SAS on the lower level of Collins.”

3. Q : “How do you still get non-scholarly results even if it’s filtered out?”

   1. A : “This likely was an instance of a book review appearing in the academic journal results, this happens sometimes when a book review appears in an academic journal (which is normal) but the metadata for the entry in the databases does not categorize it as a Book Review so it does not get filtered out when you remove Reviews from the results using the Source Types filter. One way to spot a Book Review is when the scholarly article is one page or less and a price point is included somewhere.”

4. Q: “Would EBSCO or ProQuest be part of the citation?”

   1. A: “It depends on the citation style. Some, like APA do not require the database name or URL be included unless the information is updated often (such as databases like Encyclopedia Britannica or Issues & Controversies). I always advise students to put professor instructions for this above citation style. It also can’t hurt to included the database name just incase you or your professor need to look up the article in the future.”

5. Q: “How to narrow down to more specific results?”

   1. A: “There are multiple ways to do this and how you do this will vary depending on the database you are using. First, in any database you use, you can narrow results by adding additional keywords. In EBSCO you can utilize the filters to help you (my favorite for this is the Source Type filter, and the Subject Thesaurus Term filter) EBSCO has about 10 total filters that are possible to see depending on your results. I suggest exploring them and seeing what you like.”

6. Q: “How to distinguish between a scholarly resource to use vs. a scholarly resource not to use”

   1. A: “The answer to this depends on the individual searching. One aspect of becoming information literate is being able to evaluate a source for clarity, relevance, and viability and how clear something is will greatly depend on your knowledge of the research field, subject, or industry. One way that helps me is if I have to look up a few words vs. looking up words or concepts or jargon multiple times per paragraph.”

7. Q: “How to narrow things further down, but not get ‘no results’”

   1. A: “The process of research may take multiple combinations. You might have to “RE”search more than once before getting results back. This is why preparation is SO SO important. Writing GOOD research question(s), brain storming keywords, doing background research on the topic will help. A LOT. Also trying more than one database and making a research appointment with a librarian to discuss your research.”

8. Q: “Peer Reviewed vs. Scholarly?”

   1. A: “Many, but not all, scholarly sources are peer reviewed. A peer reviewed source is one that has been “graded” before being accepted for publication. It is sent to other experts in the field to be reviewed before being accepting for publication. Scholarly Sources are written by experts for other experts.”

9. Q: “Are there sources in the databases that are not scholarly?”

   1. A: “Yes! Databases provide a wide variety of information both scholarly (written by an experts in a field of study for other experts in that field) and popular (usually written by a journalist for the general public) in the form of newspapers, magazines, trade publications and more. Some even have images, art, and video/media content.”

10. Q: “How do I connect words together when searching the database?”

    1. A: “In a database like EBSCO it is usually best to utilize what we call Boolean logic between keywords. Boolean logic words tell the database how to show you the results. There are 3 Boolean logic words AND, OR, & NOT. Using AND between keywords will tell the database to only show you results with both those keywords. Using OR between keywords tells the database to show you all results that have at least one of the keywords as well as both keywords. Using NOT between keywords will remove results with the second keyword (ex: Jaguar NOT car).
    2. NB: You can also use OR to incorporate multiple spellings or word versions (ie: “artificial intelligence OR a.i.” AND “college OR university”). The key with this is to TRY, TRY AGAIN. Consult a librarian for help!”

11. Q: “How does EBSCO get all of its articles?”

    1. A: “Database providers such as EBSCO do not publish the journals or write the articles you find on their databases. They create the software you use to access the articles. EBSCO works with thousands of publishers around the world to curate digital access to information published in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, academic journals, conference proceedings, eBooks, images, video media, and much more. EBSCO adds those materials as individual records to the applicable database(s), and utilizes something called metadata to make it searchable. The title, author, publication name, publisher, and subject headings are just a few of the parts of the article’s metadata that makes an article searchable.
    2. NB: Databases (even if they are both provided by EBSCO) often have access to unique journals titles and the articles in those journals. While some journals and their contents are added to multiple databases, this is not always the case. This is because some databases are SUBJECT specific (such as Business Source Complete) and others are general (such as Academic Source Premier). So things are NOT always “cross posted”. How do you deal with this? Think Strategically and and plan on search in multiple places or chat with your librarian!