Literature searching in
Economics
Susan Mowers
Data Librarian
Morisset 309B
May 21, 2014
Did you know?
• Your Library provides :
▫ Scholarly databases for finding research journal literature
▫ Help …
 with literature searching and finding that tricky reference?
 with accessing and finding data
 For an appointment with Susan, please contact
[email protected]
▫ Large collections of electronic books and journals as well as print
books, also interlibrary loans
▫ RefWorks for saving research time, research results and automatic
bibliographies
▫ Other services ensuring you can access your research information
Learning objectives
• Learn what are the elements of an effective
search for retrieving research
• Learn how to save your research/search results:
▫ Open a RefWorks account …
• Introduction to creating a bibliography from
RefWorks
Agenda
• Library Survival basics
• Create a RefWorks account
• Intro to doing a search (preparation)
• Do a search to retrieve research
• Citation style for:
▫ book, journal, paper, data
Library Survival basics
• Access the Library from off campus [Link]
• Databases to find scholarly journals by topic, All A-Z[Link]
• All our e-journals [Link]
• Search+ Find books and journals, reserve materials, renew your borrowed books &
more[Link]
• Library Resources 101 [Link]
• RefWorks [Link] guide, webinars and more
• Economics Research Guide [Link] … Economics Dictionaries [Link] … Working
Papers important in Economics [Link], Books [Link], Databases [Link]
• Data … International [Link] | Canadian [Link] | Microdata . Odesi [Link] . RTRA … ICPSR
[Link] . COOL RDC [Link]
Agenda
We are
here
•
•
•
•
•
Library Survival basics
Create a RefWorks account
Intro for doing a search (preparation)
Do a search to retrieve research
Citation style
Before we search for research
literature …
• Let’s create a RefWorks account for managing
our library information!
Agenda
We are
here
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Library Survival basics
Create a RefWorks account
Intro for doing a search (preparation)
Do a search to retrieve research
Citation style
What is this: Book, journal, paper, data?
Topics for future consideration:
Introduction to doing a search
• Define your search – from topic to search
• Translate that search to your database
Define your search – What is your
broad topic?
• When searching for books, you CAN search by broad
topic, e.g.,
▫ Energy economics
• Search Economics books [Link]
▫ Can you find one print book and one e-book on energy
economics?
• Don’t forget economics e-books collections like: OECD
[here] on energy economics!!! – theme energy
• Working papers
Define your search
(1) Define your research question
(2) Identify key concepts from your
research question
(3) Identify synonyms
• Use “operators” to put it all together:
and, or, not, *, “”, ()
• Do your search, are your results to
broad or narrow?
Refine your
search – broaden
or narrow your
search
Exercise
• Topic: energy economics
• Pick a specific type of energy and develop your
search strategy on the handout
• Be sure to include the country or countries of
your research
Introduction to doing a search
We are
here
Library Survival basics
Create a RefWorks account
Intro for doing a search (preparation)
• Define your search
• Translate that search to your database
Do a search to retrieve research articles
Citation style
Economics Research Article Databases
• Research guide: Articles tab
• http://uottawa.ca.libguides.com/content.php?pi
d=14806&sid=2867048
Article abstract
• Re: oil energy economics
Database essentials
EconLit
Web of Science
Scopus
and
oil AND economics
oil AND economics
oil AND economics
or
oil OR petroleum
oil OR petroleum
oil OR petroleum
Both of the
above
(oil OR petroleum)
AND economics
(oil OR petroleum)
AND economics
(oil OR petroleum)
AND economics
and not
oil NOT shale
oil NOT shale
oil AND NOT shale
energy NEAR/5
economics
energy w/5 economics
OPERATORS
within 5 words energy NEAR/5
economics
Truncation:
Left
Right
*economics retrieves
economics,
microeconomics and
macroeconomics
*economics retrieves
economics,
microeconomics and
macroeconomics
econom* retrieves
econom* retrieves
economic, economics,
economic, economics, economy…
economy…
*economics retrieves
economics,
microeconomics and
macroeconomics
econom* retrieves
economic, economics,
economy…
Phrase
“energy economics”
“energy economics”
“energy economics”
Agenda
We are
here
•
•
•
•
•
Library Survival basics
Create a RefWorks account
Intro for doing a search (preparation)
Do a search to retrieve research articles
Citation style
EconLit
• Run your search in the advanced EconLit search
screen
[Link] USE ROWS – one per concept
• Did you get relevant and manageable results?
• Export 5 references to RefWorks
• You may wish to expand to other databases
Agenda
We are
here
•
•
•
•
•
Library Survival basics
Create a RefWorks account
Intro for doing a search (preparation)
Do a search to retrieve research articles
Citation style
Basics of CJE* & Chicago** –
Books
Woodrow W. Clark (2013) The Next
Economics Global Cases in Energy,
Environment, and Climate Change
(New York, NY: Springer)
▫ Author (Year) Title: Subtitle (Place of
publication: Publisher)
*Canadian Journal of Economics - style guidelines for authors
http://economics.ca/cje/en/style.php
**Chicago Manual of Style
https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
Basics of CJE & Chicago - Articles
Gabriel Chan et al. (2012). “The
Canadian oil sands industry under
carbon constraints?” Energy Policy 50,
540-550 doi:
10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.056
Author (Year) “Title of article.” Title of
journal vol, pages. doi:
Basics of CJE* & Chicago** – Working
Papers
Y. Dissou and L. Karnizova (2014) ”Comovement of oil
prices with US economic indicators over the business
cycle: facts and explanations” University of Ottawa
Working Paper No. 1401E
Author (Year) Title: Subtitle (Paper series
No.)
Basics of CJE & Chicago –
Data/Statistics
Statistics Canada (2014) CANSIM Table
134-001 - Refinery supply of crude oil and
equivalent, monthly (cubic meters)
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/
Author (Year) Title of resource (Version if relevant) [Format,
if not otherwise clear] (Place of publication/distribution:
Publisher/Distributor – if different from author) Retrieval
information
Questions?
A good starting point to developing a research
question?
Appointments
• Literature searching continued …
• Find out who has cited your key journal
articles … ? Web of Science, Scopus,
Google Scholar
• Do you have data or statistics for your topic?
Thank you
• [email protected]
• Susan Mowers