Literature

Finding Literature

The topic of finding literature to reference for a position paper is a highly uninteresting topic however, I also know that it is a crucial skill to learn early on in university. In this weeks post I will be covering what types of literature I use and what types I avoid when searching, what tools I use to find them and how to make the search easier.

What I avoid:

•  Don't use Wikipedia: Anyone can edit Wikipedia, I had a friend who was listed as the mayor of cork for half a year.. need I say more?

•  Don't just google for any websites: Although some websites can be useful, the majority of the websites on the internet are not peer reviewed nor scholarly!

•  Don't use the majority of magazines and newspaper articles: Sometimes there might be an article which has been written by someone who knows their stuff, or who interviewed someone who knows their stuff but I've found this usually isn't the case.  

• Don't buy expensive academic books: Books can be valuable resources however the ones written by someone who has a PhD usually cost over $100 each so I'll gladly avoid these.

What I search for:

• Scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and articles: These can be found on the internet in easily accessible formats and are usually my first choice.

• Government published websites: Sometimes they know what they're talking about There is nothing they do not know.

• Library books: The easy way to access those expensive books, however sometimes it might be difficult finding specific books.

Searching tools:

Scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and articles
When I'm looking for scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and articles, I like to use Massey's library database search. The Massey library search function can be found at www.massey.ac.nz/massey/research/library/.

Government published websites
A simple google search with the word govt (or similar keyword, ex. gov) will usually return results but there usually aren't more than a couple of relevant results

Library books
I'd probably look for these in a library.. maybe

How to make the search easier:

• Use keywords: Make sure you're using keywords which are most relevant to your topic. Less words are usually better for finding more specific results.

• Use a phrase search: To search for a group of words in a specific order, surround the phrase with quotation marks. This allows for more accurate results.

• Use a date filter: Limit your search between a certain time period which is relevant to your topic or exclude results which are outdated.

• Use a file type filter: I like to search for files which are easily accessible (PDFs or websites containing journals/articles)

...And that's how I find my literature when I'm looking for academic resources. These methods have worked well for me many times in the past but I'm also aware that I don't have the most varied resource types so I'm open to any suggestions about more extensive methods.