On-Line Resources for Research

Hi All:

Preparing to begin a Ph.D program and thought I would come direct to the source of DL info to get a question answered.

In your collective studies, where have you found the best on-line sources of research data (journals, databases) that one can access from home to help with dissertation work. I am not enroled in an institution as of yet and hope to begin the fall of the year. I am just doing some legwork now to prepare myself.

Thanks in advance

Ian

 

Research sources..

Hello Ian,

The internet is (arguably) one of the best research sources available -- especially in the early stages. You can find direct info and/or links to much detailed info .... often so much it is overwhelming.

I have researched a broad range of topics, from history to international politics and seldom not been able to find a broad range of info sources.

Good 'ole 'Googling' is about as good a place as anywhere to start.... there's just no telling what websites / links you'll discover!

Best wishes on a successful venture / experience!

 

Hello;

Try the infopeople web site - it has tons of information on research. See http://www.infopeople.org/libraries/

also, see http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/

Infopeople also has a nice breakdown of the various search capabilities. See http://www.infopeople.org/search/tools.html and especially http://www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html

Good luck!

 

If you could tell us what field you are in, maybe some of could tell you what the databases are in such and such field and find out which of said databases exist online nowadays and which databases you'll just have to go to a bricks & mortar library to find in their paper and print molecule book form.

 

Field of Study

Hi Ted:

I'll be completing studies in Educational Leadership. My dissertation interests are:

1) Fair-Play sporting comps for high school athletes in Newfoundland

2) International Student Recruitment and the impact on schools

3) Mentoring programs for School Based Administrators.

Ian

 

go to science direct, it cover almost field of papers.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Arts and Humanities
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Business, Management and Accounting
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Computer Science
Decision Sciences
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Economics, Econometrics and Finance
Energy
Engineering
Environmental Science
Immunology and Microbiology
Materials Science
Mathematics
Medicine and Dentistry
Neuroscience
Nursing and Health Professions
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
Physics and Astronomy
Psychology
Social Sciences
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine

http://www.sciencedirect.com/

 

Lexis-Nexis is the gold standard. Make sure that your prospective institutions will offer you access to Lexis-Nexis through the school's online library resources.

I have found scholar.google.com and highbeam to be useful as well.

I've never taken advantage of the free trial subscription to Infotrac which comes bundled with some textbooks.

 

Elsevier Science Direct is fee based so that is probably not what you want. LexisNexis is also fee based and quite expensive for the unaffiliated individual user. However I don't recommend LexisNexis for your area of study. Education is not one of LexisNexis' strong points.


The Internet is grand but the vast majority of it lacks authority.


You probably have access to any number of sources that include professional journals. Most state or provincial libraries have some electronic database collection that would benefit you.

You may also wish to consider ERIC via http://www.eduref.org/Eric/

You may also find the Directory of Open Access Journals helpful ( http://www.doaj.org/ )



However I would check with your local public librarian ( I am a reference librarian at a public library in Florida). Ask for an appointment with the librarian (ask for an MLS degreed librarian) to discuss available electronic resources. Your public library card opens many more doors than you can imagine. With my card I have access to over 11K full text online journals.



Failing that a local university will almost always allow the same access to non-students as students if they are using the campus libraries.


If you need specifics please let me know in what city and state or provice you live and I'll find out exactly what is available to you.

 

In selecting an institution, I encourage you to check out their electronic libraries. As a former student and now professor, I'm especially impressed with Nova Southeastern's on-line collection. It is truly outstanding - and exceeds the collections of virtually all other DL competitors.

As for the best sources - it somewhat depends on your field. in business I look for ABI-INFORM and Business Source Premier (via Ebscohost). In other fields, other sources will be more relevant.

In looking at databases, note that some include full-text - but others have abstracts only.

Finally, I find that Google's Scholar product is somewhat useful.

A point to note - the Internet is both a good and bad thing when it comes to research. Yes, a lot is available on the Internet. But most of it comes without editing or reviewing. There is a lot of garbage of little value on the 'net. Further, the most valuable sources are locked up in library databases that cost to access.

A good library - including the help of good librarians - is invaluable in a PhD Program.

Regards - Andy

 

Re: Re: On-Line Resources for Research

Good point Andy. I think you would need a good IRL library in addition to the virtual libraries. You may be able to get borrowing priviledges at a local research institution, or at a university if you're an alumni etc.

 

Re: Field of Study

The old paper-and-print education database of my day (light-years ago), called ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) is now ERIC Online www.eric.ed.gov .

 

Other sources

Consider www.questia.com

I use it for my doctoral work along with my school's available databases (most psychological and others).

 

Merci Everyone!

Hi Gang:

Thanks so much for your swift and comprehensive response to my call for sources - much appreciated. I hope to begin studying my Doctorate in Education from UNISA this fall. All the best!

Ian