literature searching in anthropology david sowerbutts [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Types of Material - Printed
• Monographs
• Encyclopaedias
• Other types of book (essays, readings, conferences)
• Journals
• Theses and Dissertations
• Newspapers and Magazines
Controlling the Literature
• Bibliographies– Book form– Indexes– Abstracts
• Review Articles
• Current Awareness
Some Titles to Consult
Annual Review of Anthropology 572(05)
Annual Review of Sociology 053.01
Levinson, D and Ember, M (1996). Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. 4 volumes. New York: Holt. Ref 572(03)
Michie, J (ed) 2001. Readers Guide to the Social Sciences. 2 volumes. London: Fitzroy Dearborn. Ref 016.3 REA
International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences. (2001) 26 volumes. Amsterdam: Elsevier. At present available online and at Ref 303 INT
Types of Material - Electronic
• Abstracts and Indexes (Bibliographic Databases)
• Reference Books
• Electronic Journals
• Internet Resources
Understanding Databases
• Subject Scope
• Inclusivity– Number of sources– Type of material– Level of material
• Date range
• Geographical bias
Understanding Databases
• Search defaults
• Features provided– Abstracts?– Option to create subsets?– Printing/Saving/E-mailing?– Links to full text?– Links to local catalogue?
• Remember to use the help screens
Databases (v. Internet)
• Refereed Material
• Restricted access
• Covers print as well as electronic (usually)
• More sophisticated searching
Internet (v. Databases)
• Not evaluated
• Electronic/digitised
• Large number of items but some “quality” material not included
• Difficult to assess results of searches
Databases: Getting Started
• Identify your ATHENS password– if necessary contact [email protected]
• Library home page– http://www.dur.ac.uk/library– click on Databases (guidance on selecting your
database comes later)
Keyword
• Random– matches patterns not concepts
• Scope– Title only– Abstract– Full text
• Semantics– Ambiguities– Alternatives– Language problems
Boolean Searching - Syntax
• Similar to formula in Mathematics
• BUT symbols not used as consistently
• BUT “default” values vary between databases
Boolean SearchingWoS (1981- ) IBSS (1951-)
a) Ritual Kinship 32 24
b) Ritual and Kinship 78 88
c) Ritual or Kinship 8981 9510
d) Ritual not Kinship 5574 5754
e) Kinship not Ritual 3329 3668
c) = b) + d) + e)
Refining Searches
• Taboo* and Asia* not (Burm* or Myanmar
• Racis* and Polic* not (London or Metropol*)
• Racis* and (Police or Policing) not (London or Metropol*)
Coded Concepts
• Usually a notation for a hierarchical structure– Arrangement of books in a Library– Application to databases (e.g. MedLine)
Library OPACStart Date c. 1500Scope: Durham stock only
Excludes journal articles
Export records Subject terms Truncation * Wildcard x
Phrase searching xBoolean and/or/not - use operators in normal form
(default combination is “and”)
Links to full-text: indirect
Web of Science
Start Date 1981Scope: All SubjectsAbstracts: From early 1990s
Export records Subject terms Truncation * Wildcard Phrase searching Boolean and/or/not - use operators in normal form
(default combination is phrase search)
Links to full-text: some providedATHENS authenticated
IBSS
Start Date 1951Scope: Social Anth/Economics/Politics/SociologyAbstracts: Recent years only
Export records Subject terms Truncation * Wildcard Phrase searching Boolean and/or/not - use operators in normal form
(default combination is phrase search)
Links to full-text: some providedATHENS authenticated
FirstSearchA collection of around 25 databases; more than one can
be searched simultaneouslyStart Date variesScope: All SubjectsAbstracts: in some databases
Export records Subject terms: some d/basesTruncation * Wildcard Phrase searching (use quotation marks)Boolean and/or/not - use operators in normal form
(default combination is “and”)
Links to full-text: noNo password needed on site
Internet Gateways/Portals
• Selected Unrestricted Electronic Resources
• Often classified
• May be evaluated/annotated
• SOSIG (http://sosig.ac.uk)
• See also other links from PINAKES (from Library’s “Subject Gateways” page)