{"id":213,"date":"2023-09-19T18:39:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T18:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/chapter\/introduction-to-finding-sources\/"},"modified":"2024-07-26T07:23:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T07:23:47","slug":"introduction-to-finding-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/chapter\/introduction-to-finding-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Learn It 4.3.4 Search Techniques","rendered":"Learn It 4.3.4 Search Techniques"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>Library Databases<\/h2>\r\n<p>To access professional journals, you will often need access to a subscription database. However, some institutions (particularly institutions with more academic leanings) will provide their employees with access to these. Public libraries also often have access to many databases. Databases come in all shapes and sizes and are not necessarily just troves of quantitative figures and facts.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox watchIt\">\r\n<p><iframe src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=12265746&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=375&amp;video_id=ZjxHODprg-A&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-t4ocquyv-ZjxHODprg-A\" width=\"800px\" height=\"450px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<p>You can view the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/BCommMgrs\/Transcripts\/LibraryDatabasesvs.Google_transcript.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transcript for \"Library Databases vs. Google\" here (opens in new window).<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h3>Finding Sources From Databases<\/h3>\r\n<p>If you have access to a library database, it can be a helpful tool for finding additional sources.<\/p>\r\n<h4>Subject Headings<\/h4>\r\n<p>Most databases will include related subject headings alongside each search result. Subject headings are a form of descriptive [pb_glossary id=\"2197\"]metadata[\/pb_glossary]. At their simplest, they may be tags chosen by the authors, but most databases use a controlled vocabulary assigned by professional catalogers<\/p>\r\n<p>The advantage of controlled subject terms is that they\u2019re standardized terms that will be assigned to all appropriate content no matter what terminology (or even language) is used by the author. For example, the database may use the subject heading \u201cmotion pictures,\u201d even if the article uses the words \u201cfilms,\u201d \u201cmovies,\u201d or \u201ccinema.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Whenever you find a good article in a database, check out the subject headings. If one or more of them look like matches for your topic, re-run your search using those terms\u2014and be sure to specify you want those terms in the subject field. That will ensure the search results are really about that subject and don\u2019t just happen to mention those words in passing somehow.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox proTip\">\r\n<p>If more than one subject heading applies to your research, don't forget to use quotation marks and [pb_glossary id=\"2198\"]Boolean operators[\/pb_glossary] to target your search.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h4>Follow the Bibliographic Links<\/h4>\r\n<p>As long as you find one good scholarly article or book, you can look up the works cited in the footnotes or bibliography to find the sources it\u2019s based on. Databases assist researchers by directly hyperlinking to research in the cited reference lists (even if it's not contained in their database). This makes research more streamlined and accessible.<\/p>\r\n<p>You can also follow citations forward in time by looking up who cited the work you found. <a href=\"http:\/\/apps.webofknowledge.com\/WOS_GeneralSearch_input.do?last_prod=WOS&amp;product=WOS&amp;highlighted_tab=WOS&amp;search_mode=GeneralSearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Web of Science<\/a>\u00a0has cited reference searches.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox proTip\">\r\n<p>If you find that a particular work has been cited by many other articles, journals, and books, it often indicates that it is significant to that field. High citation counts can signal the work's impact, relevance, and sometimes its authority on a particular topic, showing that it has been recognized and utilized by other researchers or professionals in the area.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\" aria-label=\"Try It\">\r\n<p>[ohm_question]24648[\/ohm_question]<\/p>\r\n<\/section>","rendered":"<h2>Library Databases<\/h2>\n<p>To access professional journals, you will often need access to a subscription database. However, some institutions (particularly institutions with more academic leanings) will provide their employees with access to these. Public libraries also often have access to many databases. Databases come in all shapes and sizes and are not necessarily just troves of quantitative figures and facts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox watchIt\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=12265746&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=375&amp;video_id=ZjxHODprg-A&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-t4ocquyv-ZjxHODprg-A\" width=\"800px\" height=\"450px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can view the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/BCommMgrs\/Transcripts\/LibraryDatabasesvs.Google_transcript.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transcript for &#8220;Library Databases vs. Google&#8221; here (opens in new window).<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h3>Finding Sources From Databases<\/h3>\n<p>If you have access to a library database, it can be a helpful tool for finding additional sources.<\/p>\n<h4>Subject Headings<\/h4>\n<p>Most databases will include related subject headings alongside each search result. Subject headings are a form of descriptive <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_213_2197\">metadata<\/a>. At their simplest, they may be tags chosen by the authors, but most databases use a controlled vocabulary assigned by professional catalogers<\/p>\n<p>The advantage of controlled subject terms is that they\u2019re standardized terms that will be assigned to all appropriate content no matter what terminology (or even language) is used by the author. For example, the database may use the subject heading \u201cmotion pictures,\u201d even if the article uses the words \u201cfilms,\u201d \u201cmovies,\u201d or \u201ccinema.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whenever you find a good article in a database, check out the subject headings. If one or more of them look like matches for your topic, re-run your search using those terms\u2014and be sure to specify you want those terms in the subject field. That will ensure the search results are really about that subject and don\u2019t just happen to mention those words in passing somehow.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox proTip\">\n<p>If more than one subject heading applies to your research, don&#8217;t forget to use quotation marks and <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_213_2198\">Boolean operators<\/a> to target your search.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h4>Follow the Bibliographic Links<\/h4>\n<p>As long as you find one good scholarly article or book, you can look up the works cited in the footnotes or bibliography to find the sources it\u2019s based on. Databases assist researchers by directly hyperlinking to research in the cited reference lists (even if it&#8217;s not contained in their database). This makes research more streamlined and accessible.<\/p>\n<p>You can also follow citations forward in time by looking up who cited the work you found. <a href=\"http:\/\/apps.webofknowledge.com\/WOS_GeneralSearch_input.do?last_prod=WOS&amp;product=WOS&amp;highlighted_tab=WOS&amp;search_mode=GeneralSearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Web of Science<\/a>\u00a0has cited reference searches.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox proTip\">\n<p>If you find that a particular work has been cited by many other articles, journals, and books, it often indicates that it is significant to that field. High citation counts can signal the work&#8217;s impact, relevance, and sometimes its authority on a particular topic, showing that it has been recognized and utilized by other researchers or professionals in the area.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\" aria-label=\"Try It\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm24648\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=24648&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm24648&source=tnh&show_question_numbers\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"glossary\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\" id=\"definition\">definition<\/span><template id=\"term_213_2197\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_213_2197\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>Metadata is information that describes other data, like a summary or a label, telling you what the data is about, when it was made, or who made it.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_213_2198\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_213_2198\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>Boolean operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT) used in search engines and databases to combine or exclude keywords in a search, thus refining and controlling the search results.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><\/div>","protected":false},"author":9,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Using Databases\",\"author\":\"Freedom Learning Group\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Library Databases vs. Google\",\"author\":\"FSCJ LLC\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZjxHODprg-A\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"other\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":191,"module-header":"learn_it","content_attributions":[{"type":"original","description":"Using Databases","author":"Freedom Learning Group","organization":"Lumen Learning","url":"","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""},{"type":"copyrighted_video","description":"Library Databases vs. Google","author":"FSCJ LLC","organization":"","url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZjxHODprg-A","project":"","license":"other","license_terms":"Standard YouTube License"}],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4737,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/revisions\/4737"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/191"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/businesscommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}