Accessing Research Papers using EbscoHost
Development and Learning
This is the course link: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/edpsych/EDUC2047/
The discussion papers require you to discuss two research papers with regard to the literature and theory.
Please follow the instructions below to help you to identify research papers using our online database system.
Goodluck…
Go to: www.library.unisa.edu.au
Click on: Resources
Click on: Databases
Click on: Datebase Titles - select E
Select: EbscoHost Research Databases
Follow this link to allow you entry: EbscoHost for UniSA Staff and Students
Enter your user name and password to gain access
Select the following Databases by placing a tick in the box beside them:
Academic Search Elite
Professional Development Collection
psycARTICLES
psycINFO
Select: Continue at the bottom of the page
This is where you should end up… (if not go back and try again!)
To search effectively you need to use a number of ‘tools’ that the database offers. You need to limit your
searches using certain criteria an also use Boolean search techniques, all of which I will outline.
1. You need to put your key words in the section that says Find
2. It is best to enter three key words, thus limiting your search. To do this highlight three key words
from your guiding question and enter them
3. You need to click on the default fields drop down box and select an area of the article that you wish
to limit your search to. The best are:
Abstract (if you are searching for a key word)
Author (if you want to find works by the original theorist – not essential)
Title (if you want to be really specific)
Author-Supplied Key Words
4. When entering your own key words to search with you need to use Boolean techniques, this will yield
more accurate results, for example:
Teach* will search for - teacher, teachers, teaching, teaches
Primary AND Elementary will search for articles with either word
Sometimes when you conduct a search using multiple databases you get thousands of returned responses. To
limit this happening you can limit your results.
1. Select the Refine Search Tab
2. Select the full text box – this will only return articles that we have full text electronic versions of – it
saves further hunting and photocopying in the library
3. You can limit the publication date by month and year using the drop down boxes, we generally say
that research articles over ten years old (published before 1995) are redundant. However, this is not
always the case so be careful with this one!
4. You can then limit the results from each of the databases using the following instructions:
After limiting your search click on the search button at the top of the page
The database will then retrieve the articles that match your criteria, the screen should look like the only below:
Tips for searching for Research Articles:
1. Read the abstract and look for indicators that it is a research article, for example statistics and
methodology
Example:
This paper explores students’ (N = 117) and teachers’ (N = 17) attitudes toward and
understandings of Program Achieve: a social-emotional-behavioural development program. The
majority of students were happy at school, representing healthy self-esteem development (M =
19.57). Students’ perceived ability in applying their knowledge of Program Achieve to their
behaviour was measured. Students felt they could apply their knowledge sometimes to always,
however were inconsistent in their applications. Most teachers and principals indicated that
Program Achieve was an effective and useful social-emotional-behavioural development program
for some students. Effective program implementation is thus dependent upon numerous factors:
readiness to change; student complexities; resourcing; and teaching style.
2. Use one of your key words in the search to try to locate research papers, for example research*
3. Jumble up the key words and look for papers using different combinations of words
4. Look for a research paper structure in the paper:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Abstract
Literature Review
Methodology
Results
e. Discussion
f. Conclusion
5. I will consider ‘action research’ papers to be research articles
6. BE PATIENT!
7. Look at the following link for more information on researching (select the database search option):
http://portal.unisa.cc/Resources/library_skills.htm
8. Look at the following link for information on writing a report:
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/reports.asp
9. Look at this link for tips on referencing (please use the Harvard system):
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/referencing.asp