Transcript PURL it! Hassle-Free Linking to Library eResources

Finding Scholarly Articles
and Research Data
in Education
Kathleen Carter
[email protected]
Arnulfo L. Oliveira Memorial Library
The University of Texas at Brownsville and
Texas Southmost College
Modified by Janice W. Butler, January 2007
What is research-quality
information?
Accurate
 Appropriate
 Credible
 Reliable
 Relevant

Sources of quality information
Books – explanations, facts
 Journals – studies, literature reviews
 Magazines – news
 Newspapers – news
 Trade publications – news and announcements
in a field or discipline
 Web sites – can provide all of the above
…and more!

Scholarly Sources Defined
Written by experts or "scholars" in a particular
field of study
 Geared towards researchers, and/or other
experts in the field
 Peer-reviewed or refereed
 Evaluated through rigorous process before
being accepted for publication
 Report the results of original research and offer
complex analysis of a topic.

Why are scholarly sources
important to research?
The intent of a scholarly source is to offer an
analysis of a topic or issue based on hard
research. Authors of scholarly articles have
formed a hypothesis, designed a study, and
collected and interpreted data to test the
hypothesis.
A scholarly article is a method by which
researchers can relay results and conclusions to
other researchers. Therefore, the presence of
point-of-view or bias in the information is
significantly reduced.
“…written by experts or "scholars" in a
particular field of study.”
Authors of scholarly sources usually
 focus their research on a narrow topic within a
discipline.
 have advanced degrees in their field of study.
 are affiliated with a college or university.
“…usually peer-reviewed or refereed, and go
through a rigorous evaluation process…”
A panel of respected experts in the field review
articles for weakness in research design and
execution, data errors, and potential bias before
accepting the article for publication. Journals
that require this process may be called…
peer-reviewed or refereed journals.
“…report the results of original research and
offer complex analysis of a topic.”
Articles that report original research
 state a hypothesis
 outline a plan for testing the hypothesis
(methodology)
 report and analyze findings of study and state
conclusions.
“geared towards researchers, and/or other
experts in the field.”
Scholarly sources
 assume the reader has considerable knowledge
of the field.
 use technical language and terminology.
 build upon or add to existing research in a given
field; refer to important studies, researchers, etc.
 provide extensive bibliographies of resources for
further review by the reader.
What is a study?
A published study is an article
published in a scholarly journal
that reports research findings.
Published studies are primary
sources.
Original research articles typically include:
Abstract
 Literature Review
 Methodology/Procedures
 Conclusion/Findings
 List of References

Not everything in scholarly journals
is "research"
Scholarly journals can include:
 Literature reviews
 Research/Studies
 Case Studies
 Book reviews
 Editorials
Peer Reviewed Journals
Peer reviewed journals contain
articles that are reviewed and
approved by a panel of experts in
a field before they are published.
A few examples:
 Journal of Technology Education
 Journal of Technology and Teacher Education
 Journal of Computing in Teacher Education
 Journal of Research on Technology in Teacher
Education
 USDLA Journal
Finding Journal Articles

Search online technology databases
available via the Library Web site.

Browse for papers in online
technology journals.

Use a search engine (Yahoo,
Google) to find free journals on the
Web.
What is a database?

Collection of records that can be searched and
retrieved online.

Used to search for journal, magazine, and newspaper
articles.

Provide citations, abstracts and sometimes full text
journal articles.

Search for articles by subject, keyword, title and more!
Databases to Know About
Multi-disciplinary Periodical Databases
Academic Search Premier
Expanded Academic ASAP
Proquest Research Library
WilsonWeb OmniFile Full Text
Education Periodical Databases
Education Collection: Sage Full Text
ERIC
Professional Development Collection
Possible Related Databases
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
PsycARTICLES
PsycINFO
Using the E-journal Portal
Go to: http://library.utb.edu/
2. Click on Online Journals link
3. Enter your title in the search box.
4. Follow the link to the appropriate database to
access the journal you need. Take note of the
dates of availability.
Journals can be browsed by title or subject.
1.
Begin your search at the UTB online library. If you are off campus, you
will need to login using your student ID and your pin number.

Username:
Your username is your first initial, last initial and your 7digit UTB/TSC ID number. For example,

if your name is John Doe,and
your ID number is 0123456,
your username would be JD0123456.

Password:
Your password is your 4-digit PIN.

If you do not know your PIN, click here.

Note: This username and password is also used to login
to MyUTBTSC (Blackboard) and the Gemini server.
Getting Help
Visit – The Reference Desk, Library 1st floor
 Call – (956) 882-7205
 Email – [email protected]
 Chat – Ask a UT System Librarian
http://www.lib.utsystem.edu/students/ask.html
