Academic Research

By Author: Anthony W Bills
Total Articles: 154
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Academic Research
A good academic research should be done by carrying out a thorough and exhaustive search for academic resources related to the research topic. This includes a literature search. A literature search is a survey of all the written works on a particular topic. A list of references is usually the result produced by a literature search. In order to save time and obtain exactly what one actually needs, it is paramount to know how to conduct an effective literature search. Search strategy skills assist in searching databases, library catalogues or the Internet. It is generally helpful to start with a wide topic and narrow down the results as the search proceeds (AlphasPlus, 2004).
In order to conduct an effective literature search, it is advantageous to do some groundwork reading which helps the researcher to focus on the topic to be searched, and then use specialized dictionaries to shed light on terminology and to find synonyms to the key terms. It is important to make sure that the correct terms are used. A good practice is to write a paragraph which gives a general idea of the research. The paragraph ...
... should comprise of the main concepts in the research and all the key words. A list of synonyms of the key words and other words that may be used in the discussion is then generated to help in the literature search. The next step is to select a helpful database. This is done by first understanding the scope, chronology and geographic span of the subject. The scope of the subject can easily be found in
http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/Collections/Databases
Once in this website, the learner should search the author’s name and the bibliography for articles related to the topic. The journal title can also be used as a search limit to search other articles on the topic (Jeffline, 2010). This strategy is illustrated in the following example:
Topic: How does health affect the success of an adult learner?
There are two concepts by which the search for this topic can be approached.
Concept 1: Learner’s performance
Learning outcome
Learner’s achievement
Learner assessment
Concept 2: Wellbeing
Health
Illness
Medical condition
Sickness
Ailment
Disease
Synonyms can be obtained from the following online sites:
- http://thesaurusalpha.org/thesaurus/index.htm
- www.thesaurus.com
- ww.merriam-webster.com
- www.visualthesaurus.com
- www.macmillandictionary.com
- www.wordwebonline.com
When a search results in too many references, the search can be narrowed down by using the following techniques:
i) Using sub-titles with key terms of the topic.
ii) Focusing the search term.
iii) Using “AND” to combine search terms
iv) Using limits.
Streamlining the search using limits entails specifying
- The date of the publication
- The language of the publication
- The type of the publication
It is however profitable to use one limit at a time instead of applying all of them simultaneously.
When a search results in too few references, the search can be broadened by:
i) Looking for a broader term to search.
ii) Combining search terms using “OR”.
iii) Exploding the search term.
If the nature of the topic to be searched concerns current issues or the topic is very local, the researcher should confer with the appropriate organizations or look up personal contacts (Baudino, 2009).
After useful materials begin to come out of the search, it is helpful to maintain a record of them. This can be done by noting complete bibliographic data of the information, i.e. the title, author, the date of publication and volume number of the journal (Jeffline, 2010).
Time is very valuable in any research and a thorough and exhaustive search for academic resources is always required. Being equipped with the right search skills helps to save time by assisting the researcher in searching databases, library catalogues or the Internet. This not only helps to avoid duplication of work already done but also helps in doing quality work in a short span of time.
References
AlphasPlus Centre (2004). http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/lecturenotes/literatur-search-tips-2004.pdf
Retrieved November 11,2010.
Baudino, Frank. (2009). Searching Tips and Tricks. http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/search/tips.htm
Retrieved November 11,2010.

Jeffline. (2010). Literature Searching: Tips and Tricks.
http://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=help
Retrieved November 11,2010.

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