The Find It Button: When you click on the DePauw "Find It" button within a database (to locate an article), you will be redirected to a web page that searches for print and online access to the journal you are seeking. If there's no match for the article you are seeking, you can make an Interlibrary Loan (ILL request).
Welcome!
Please reach out if you have any questions about your research. If you'd like to schedule a research appointment you can see my availability and schedule one here.
STEM Librarian: Alicia Ikerd
Email: aliciaikerd@depauw.edu
Advanced Search Techniques
Most authors, researchers, doctors, etc. will dedicate their lives to their craft. Utilize author searching (especially Author Profiles on Google Scholar) to find more works by the author of a source you like. You can also locate a researcher at ORCiD and see a history of works associated with their research specific ID.
Utilize past references a work you like has in their own reference list
Utilize Google Scholar's "Cited by" feature on a source to look for more current sources on the same topic. Some databases also have a similar feature like SciFinder.
Consider multiple names for your topic
Example: Artificial Intelligence OR Machine Learning OR Knowledge Engineering
Example: Soil OR Sod OR Dirt OR Turf
You may need to use medical terminology appropriate to your topic. Google the medical term or use PubMed to identify the MeSH term for your scientific topic. Example: Parkinson's Disease can also be called idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome, paralysis agitans, shaking palsy.
Utilize controlled vocabulary specific to the database you are in. You can usually find these by googling the database and "index terms" or "controlled vocabulary". Example: PubMed utilized MeSH terms to help discoverability. ACM utilizes a computing classification system. SciFinder uses "concepts". Academic Search Complete uses "subjects".
If working in a database, utilize your operators
AND, OR, NOT, *, ()
Operators are specific to each database
If you are looking for a starting point on a topic, consider dissertations and Annual Reviews. Annual Reviews will give summaries of a topic at an overview level. Dissertations are usually written by those attempting to receive their PhD in a topic. If they are writing a dissertation it operates as a book in terms of length and amount of information. However, they can be useful because usually a person writing a dissertation needs something new to say about the topic.
Just because an item is Open Access, does not mean it has integrity or is a legitimate source. Make sure you are investigating the author, their credentials/degrees, their methods, their affiliated organization, and the publisher.
Consider grey literature
Grey literature is literature that exists outside of the typical peer review publishing process. These items may get reviewed by editors, board of directors, etc. but they do not get reviewed by a panel of experts in their field for integrity. Grey literature often times lives outside typical databases and includes things like technical reports, statistics, patents, research reports, etc.
You get access to multiple newspapers free through your DePauw affiliation -- use them! Click the newspaper tab on this guide and it will take you to the step-by-step procedure to create your accounts.
