For the Soc 127 assignments, watching the searching, using databases, and using the catalog sections will help. It’s especially helpful to understand the difference between Google and a library database (and what a library database is) and the importance of using synonyms.
Tutorial (33 minutes total) and Powerpoint Slides:
Introduction
About searching (2:12)
Using databases to find articles (8:54)
Using the catalog (UC Library Search) to find books and e-books (16:39)
Doing a lit review (21:43)
Managing your citations (26:39)
Library resources and ways to get help (30:47)
Check out the library’s research guides! These will point you at MANY resources that will take you BEYOND GOOGLE. The full list is here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/
Take a look, depending on your country choice, at area studies guides: African Studies, Asian Studies, Eastern European Studies, Global and Area Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Near Eastern Studies, South and Southeast Asian Studies (2 guides)
Also take a look at guides from subjects that apply: Sociology, Economics, History, Global Studies, Political Economy and Political Science guides.
And, this Global Development Guide is fantastic: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/subject-guide/111-Development-Studies especially the suggested databases page: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=4393&p=15515
All library databases are listed here; specific databases to check out include: PAIS, JSTOR, EconLit
Take a look at Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)! It’s really good for an overview of your country and topic. But-- be careful, it is giving you what it thinks you want, so you may need to look at several pages’ worth of results!
First try: < [your country name] AND development AND history >
That may be enough, but you may need to try using synonyms and alternate terms… for example:
<[your country name] AND (development) AND (timeline) AND (economic) >
NEED MORE SYNONYMS? Try: development, policy, changes, legacies, trends, economic, financial, legal, outcomes, evaluation, timeline, improvements, civic/urban planning, history, colonization, independence, political movements, presidencies, social economic policies, etc. As you find good articles, be watching for terms that will be good to use in a search for more articles.
Also--remember that Google Scholar is only giving you the citation to the article, not the actual article. You may need to enter the title of the article (and best to add the first author too) into the UC Library Search to find out your options for getting the article! (be sure to be logged in, at the upper right of the screen)
You can also try this Google Search: < [your country name] LibGuide > —you may find something like this:
GO TO THE LIBRARY’S SHELVES! The Main Stacks of the library are open now! These are four floors’ worth of shelves of books that sit beneath the Memorial Glade in front of the North side of Doe Library. If you go in that North library entrance, and head towards the Circulation desk, you will come to the entrance to the Main Stacks. Search the Library Catalog, or find a good book name from another source and find its location in the Library Catalog; when you go to find it on the shelf, there will be similar books on the shelves right next to the one you found!
Citing a database, from https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/databases/:
The UpToDate database contains peer-reviewed medical articles that are periodically updated by experts in the field; as such, it is a popular source for writers to cite in APA Style.
Cite an article from UpToDate like you would an entry in an online reference work or chapter in an edited book. Here is an example citation:
|
Williams, J., & Nieuwsma, J. (2016). Screening for depression in adults. In J. A. Melin (Ed.), UpToDate. Retrieved February 1, 2017, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/screening-for-depression-in-adults |
∙ In text: (Williams & Nieuwsma, 2016).
Here are some notes about the components of the reference:
∙ Use the authors of the article as the authors in the reference.
∙ For the year in the reference, use the year listed after “this topic last updated.”
∙ For the title, use the title of the article.
∙ Use the name of the deputy editor(s) for the article as the editor(s) of the reference work. Section editors do not need to be listed in the reference.
∙ Write UpToDate in italics as the name of the reference work.
∙ Provide a retrieval date because the content will change over time.
∙ Provide a URL for retrieval of the article.
ASA Style Guide:
Print: Doe Reference Hall
HM569 .A54 2014
More resources:
https://lib.trinity.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ASA-Style-Citations-5th-ed_rev.pdf
Take a look at these additional resources if needed:
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Country Reports and Profiles
Statistical Abstracts of the World
Demographic and Health Surveys
Search for geography-specific results as well (should be listed in the area studies research guides)