SFU Library: Resources and Research – Criminology Honours

Presented byYolanda Koscielski,Liaison Librarian,

Criminology & Psychologyysk6@sfu.ca

Outline

1. What is a Literature Search?2. Where to Search3. Information Sources4. Working your Topic5. Library Surprise

1. What is a Literature Search?

“ A systematic and thorough search of all types of published literature in order to identify as many items as possible that are relevant to a particular topic” (Ridley, 2008).

Q1

• In addition to being an essential source of information for your thesis project, what are some of the other reasons & benefits for conducting a literature review?

Purposes of a Literature Search

1. To identify the field and specific context in which your work is situated.

2. It can assist you in identifying your approach to the research and the methodology you wish to adopt.

3. It will help you identify the type of data you might collect and use, sites of data collection, the sample size, and how you might analyze this data.

Purposes of a Literature Search con’t

4. A means of extending your understanding of the key concepts, theories, and methodologies in your field.

5. To find out what others have done in the area so as to avoid duplicating previous work.

6. Identify key people, organizations, and texts which are relevant to your research.

The Landscape of the Lit Review

“We can see reported speech [i.e., text in journal articles] as mapping a set of positions in the territory of knowledge producers. On this map, no spot can be occupied simultaneously by more than one publication; that is, the publication must be “original”. Some disciplinary locations on the map are very heavily populated….Competition for space is keen, and researchers vie for position”.

The Landscape of the Lit Review

“One way they can get title to a location on the map is by claiming to add to existing knowledge: a space that has been recognized as unoccupied or only tentatively claimed gets filled up with new data and further reasoning. Sometimes the space has not yet been recognized: it has gone unnoticed by others. Another way scholars get title to a position on the map is to evict the current occupant. They show that previously established knowledge cannot hold that ground because it is faulty or undeserving in some way” -- Janet Giltrow, Academic Writing, (1995, 2nd edition), pg. 286

2. Where to Search

SFU Library Website = Your gateway to research resources• 1.35 million books• 400,000 ebooks• 63,000 ejournals• 500 database subscriptions• GIS + Maps, images, streaming music + movies, video games, etc.• Research data library with specialized datasets

• Key sources: Subject Research Guides, Publication Type Research Guides, Databases by Subject Area

Where to Search…?

Library Search

Catalogue Databases Fast Search

Google

Q3: What is the difference between the search tools?

SFU Library’s matryoshka dolls

aussiegall. (2006). Russian dolls. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/288377539/

Library Search

Catalogue

Fast Search

The Catalogue• The base source, ingested and displayed by the more

general sources• Strength: searching for books using subject headings• Contains info on all books and other individual items

(moves, maps, journal titles, database titles)• Weaknesses: no journal or newspaper article-level

indexing; less aesthetically pleasing • DEMO: 3 fields to note, typical book record, online icon

SFU’s “Google” – Fast Search

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• Books• eBooks• Journal Articles• Newspaper Articles• Images• Videos/DVDs• Music

• Maps• SFU

theses/dissertations• Government

documents • Sound recordings (CBC

Ideas)

All catalogue content, PLUS journal articles + newspaper articles – *many*

FastSearch

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Subject Terms ≠ Subject Headings

Use with caution

Fast Search

• Key advantages of Fast Search:– Broad search can capture unique terms/proper

names across thousands of sources– Tool for beginning research outside your discipline– 3 Branch availability facet, peer-review checkbox– Easy export to citation managers– Add results beyond your library’s collection– Search for books and articles at the same time– Easy faceted searching, DOI search

Fast Search• Beware:

– Subject terms not useful for literature review– Missing journal content; coverage is maybe 95% of SFU

Library content– Not mapped to a specific discipline, with associated

search limiters and features (controlled vocabularies, populations, etc.)

– Lots of citation “noise”– Peer-review limit facet not completely accurate (as with

most databases) DEMO:

Library Search

Criminology 220 18

All catalogue content, PLUS Fast Search Content, PLUS the library’s website, Summit, Best Bets, external pages.

Library Search

Library Search• Searches 100% of Fast Search content, plus more; top of the data

food chain• Divides Fast Search content by info type, including newspapers• Plus:

– Summit (the Institutional Repository)– The library website – FAQs, Research Guides & special

collections– Better for known item book search– Course reserves– ISBN search ILL request form if not filled– “Best bets”, e.g., Criminal Code– Often too broad for searches

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Some Google Strengths

1.Known-item searching (excellent with keywords)

2.Long-tail searching (i.e., low occurrence of word)

3.Times Cited tool (use with caution)4. Books – out-of-copyright full-text access,

locating a quote5. One search box6. US case law7. Extremely user-friendly

Some Google Weaknesses

1. Low level of subject + author collocation2. Not mapped to a specific discipline3. Less search sophistication4. Missing deep data (e.g. statistics)5. Not usually free

• Search via library6. Mysterious algorithms (Coverage? Publishers?

Opposite of transparent sources like PsycINFO).7. Dirty data

Subject-Specific Databases

• Examples: PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts• Benefits:

– Mapped to a disciplinary perspective– High quality metadata– Search limiters unique to discipline, allow fine-

tuning of search results– Search history and search sets– Subject headings that are key to a lit review

• But: more time-consuming, more narrow

Q3. Information Sources

• In order to conduct a thorough literature review, you will need to search a broad range of sources. What are some databases you might use for journal articles?

• What about for other sources like statistics, policy papers, books?

The Usual Suspects for Crim Articles

• Criminology databases:– Criminal Justice Abstracts, National Criminal

Justice Reference Service• Other discipline-based databases:

– PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts• General databases:

– Academic Search Premier, Web of Science

The above are great for journal articles.

Consider Specialized Databases:

• PC Census or Simply Map• Canadian Public Policy Collection• PsycTESTS• Sage Research Methods Online• Inter-university Consortium for Political and

Social Research (ICPSR)

Encyclopedias

• Overview of your topic / the “big picture”• Particularly helpful if working outside your area• Written with the academic in mind, often by specialists in

the field• Use the bibliography to identify key articles, studies,

authors, etc.• Gale Virtual Reference Library (multiple subject areas)• Sage eReference Library ( about 15 Crim titles)• Check research guides, Online Reference Sources web page

Featured Resource

Oxford Bibliographies Online-Subject module for Criminology-Written and peer-reviewed by international experts

• “Crime Victims' Rights Movement”• “Routine Activity Theories”

Provides: • Key Readings• Ideas for keywords for searching

4. Working Your Topic

• Do you have a subject area, topic, or thesis?– Subject is very broad: freedom of information,

Charter of Rights and mental illness– Topic adds a second concept, explores a

relationship or question between the two concepts: testosterone levels in sex offenders, effect of art therapy on recidivism

– Thesis: you are making an assertion and providing supportive evidence: Art therapy decreases recidivism in young offenders

Working Your Topic

• Subjects can be researched at the exploratory level (browse journals, use encyclopedias)

• Effective literature review searching requires a working thesis

• Try posing your thesis in a question format:– What is the impact of art therapy on recidivism in

young offenders?

Working Your Topic

Next, think of synonyms, plus broader, narrower and related terms for each of your concepts:What is the impact of art therapy on recidivism in young offenders?

Art therapy Recidivism Young offenders

Music therapy (RT)Dance therapy (RT)Graffiti club (NT)

Repeat offender (synonym)

Early adolescent offenders (NT)Juvenile Delinquents (synonym)Criminals (BT)

Working your topic

• Test your keywords out in the database: find the best keywords and subject headings for your searches.

• Subject headings: a systematic, hierarchical, and finite language used for describing subjects/concepts.

• Articles and books will usually have 3-8 subject headings assigned to their bibliographic record. These are provided by live humans (as opposed to their robot counterparts).

Subject Headings

• Each database may have a slightly different look and feel, but they all work in the same general way, usually with subject headings/descriptors as a field in each database

• Subject heading languages will usually be unique to each database, e.g., MESH (Medical Subject Headings) of PubMed, PsycINFO thesaurus for PsycINFO

• Demo: our 3 concepts in PsycINFO• Can start with thesaurus directly or keyword search• Sometimes keywords = subject headings

Search Operators

• Boolean operators AND and OR used to join keywords in database searching (often automatic in search forms)

• Use AND to narrow or focus the search (using key words/terms)

• Example: creative arts therapy AND criminals

• Use OR to expand your search results (using related words/concepts)

• Example: music therapy OR art therapy OR dance therapy

Creative arts therapy

CriminalsCriminals AND creative arts therapy

Music therapy

Dance therapy

Arttherapy

Search Tips

• Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase• Example: “art therapy”

• Use truncation (*) to search for related words• Truncation. This expands a search term to include all forms of a

root word• Example: technolog* will search for technology, technologies,

technological, etc.

Bull’s Eye and Relevance

Art therapy AND recidivism AND young offenders

Art therapy AND criminals, or Criminals AND recidivism

Art therapy (a broad “subject”) + something else

Journal Article Citations

• Use the Times Cited/Cited By feature– Caveat: you’ll only see results from journals the

vendor or database indexes, so try a few sources

Q4: You have a key citation in hand for a journal article. What is the best way to see if the library has it?

Grascia, A. M. (2004). Gang violence: Mara salvatrucha -- "forever salvador". Journal of Gang Research, 11(2), 29-36.

Articles – Multiple Ways to Track Down a Citation

• Library Search• Catalogue—Journal Title Search• Databases• Fast Search• Citation Finder• Electronic Journals Link• Google via the Library

Most accurate way of determining SFU access is the journal title search in the catalogue. Simplest is LibrarySearch.

Library Surprise

Good things to know…

• Fun stuff: Videomatica documentary collection• Interlibrary loans available

– Book checked out already– Print preference

• Many service points for research help• BrowZine – A virtual bookshelf of SFU Library's scholarly

online journals on your tablet device.

Submit your Honours Theses!

• You are welcome to submit your Honours Theses to Summit, SFU Library’s Institutional Repository

• Other Crim Honours Theses• Criminology grad theses & dissertations

Citation Management Software

Software which allows you store, organize and cite your citations

• Refworks • Zotero• Endnote Web• Mendeley