Norma Marion Alloway Library

MCOM 191 Research

A platform for the Research section of MCOM 191

Locating Books and Journal Articles with OneSearch

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We now move to using the Library OneSearch search engine, a tool more sophisticated than Google. With this Module, you will learn how to use the many features of OneSearch to find and limit results to the most relevant, format citations, and obtain full text. Go through each of the boxes below in order to prepare for the assignment. As you begin the readings and activities below, view the two following resources, which will help you with search terminology in an academic setting:

Boolean logic: http://williambadke.com/Boolean.htm

Keywords vs. Subject Headings:

 

Having trouble breaking your research question into searchable keywords? Try playing around with this search assistant, or download the form.

Search Terms Generator

Enter your research topic below. Try to create a single sentence that describes your research. Here are a few examples:

  • Impact of artificial intelligence on higher education
  • Impact of regular physical exercise on academic performance
  • Effect of dog ownership on dog owner’s physical health

Now enter main concepts for your topic (enclose compound terms in double quotes to search for the exact phrase). For example:

  • "artificial intelligence"
  • "higher education"

Next, brainstorm synonyms for each main concept; try to come up with at least three synonyms for each concept. For example:

  • AI
  • "generative AI"
  • "gen AI"

 

 

 

 

Next, combine your main concepts and synonyms using BOOLEAN operators (AND and OR).

Use OR between each Main Concept and Synonym:

("artificial intelligence" OR AI OR "generative AI" OR "gen AI").

Then, combine each Main Concept (and synonyms) with AND:

("artificial intelligence OR AI OR "generative AI" OR "gen AI") AND ("higher education" OR college OR university OR post-secondary).

Enter the operator between your synonyms (SY) and concepts below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Advanced search

Introduction to Library OneSearch

Library OneSearch is the main search engine for finding academic literature available through the library.  You will find OneSearch on the library home page - https://www.twu.ca/library/.

Please take note that there is a guide to OneSearch at https://libguides.twu.ca/LibraryOneSearch. Take a bit of time to go through it, and refer to it if you get stuck in your searching.

The following video looks at the basic search features of OneSearch:

Finding Books (print and e-books)

It is possible, through OneSearch, to search just for books, either by selecting the Books tab on the main OneSearch page or by using Search Everything and then selecting for books on the results page. The following video illustrates the second option, showing you how to select for books, print books only, or e-books only.

Note that books tend to cover topics more broadly than articles, so you may have to find books that only have a chapter or two directly on your issue. Try to find books that as narrowly as possible deal with your question.

Expand to full screen:

Finding Articles

You can select the Journals/Articles search for articles on the Library OneSearch main page, or you can use Search Everything and then select for articles on the results page. The following video looks at the second option.

Journal articles are important for most kinds of academic research. With OneSearch, you can limit to scholarly/peer reviewed articles only and focus the results to the most relevant by choosing one or more subject terms. You can also download full text for many of the items found, and you can create citations in the format of your choice. This video shows you how:

Using the OneSearch Personal Folder

It's possible to use the internal folder system on the OneSearch results page (top right of screen) to create a list of your citations and links to full text for future use.  You have to create your own login which is different from the TWU login. From that point, any citation you save will appear in your folder, and you can put it into a subfolder for a project you are working on.

Go to this link - https://libguides.twu.ca/LibraryOneSearch/
SavingCiting#s-lg-box-wrapper-18349156 - for a PDF with a description of the system and a pictorial introduction. 

It's a great thing to be able to save citations that you can format in the folder with the Cite link, and link to the full text available electronically.

Citation Formats

It's good to have a few sample citations to check against the citations created by OneSearch.  Here they are:

Books:

APA - Mosher, C. J. (1998). Discrimination and denial : Systemic racism in Ontario’s legal and criminal justice system, 1892-1961. University of Toronto Press.

MLA - Mosher, Clayton James. Discrimination and Denial : Systemic Racism in Ontario’s Legal and Criminal Justice System, 1892-1961. University of Toronto Press,  1998. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=468068&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Journal Articles:

APA: Castle, B., Wendel, M., Kerr, J., Brooms, D., & Rollins, A. (2019). Public health’s approach to systemic racism: A systematic literature review. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 6(1), 27. https://twu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-018-0494-x

MLA: Castle, Billie, et al. “Public Health’s Approach to Systemic Racism: A Systematic Literature Review.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019, p. 27. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s40615-018-0494-x.

Assignment Three

Download the template for Assignment Three using the link to the Word doc below.

Click here to email Assignment Three to Elisha.

RUBRIC

A passing grade requires that student responses demonstrate:

  1. Appropriate identification of main concepts.
  2. Good choice of initial search terms (relevant keywords and appropriate synonyms).
  3. Successful format-specific search: print or e-books, and scholarly journal articles.
  4. Selection of books and articles that are highly relevant to your research question.
  5. Correct formatting of citations.