Doing Good ResearchAn Overview

Master of Public Administration ProgramFall 2010

FacultyLarry Geri

Doreen SwetkisLee Lyttle

OverviewWhen doing research remember there are…

1. Many Dimensions of Public Policy Issues

2. Information comes from many sources

3. Different types of media for different purposes

4. Good Starting Places

5. Ways to get specific ‘how-to’ help when you are ready to start

Many Dimensions of Public Policy Issues

Legal, Environmental, Political, Scientific, Cultural, Historical, Artistic, etc.

Think carefully about what you are focusing on in your area of research.

Information from Many Sources

All Sources are not accurate, authoritative, or reliable

Pay close attention to the value and drawbacks of your sources

The InternetEver-changing and largely unmediated

LibrariesIt not just a storehouse of dusty books, to meet people, or to sleep.

A place with millions of points of view

The location of many Peer-reviewed sources (Sources that include processes to establish accuracy and fairness in

academic publishing)

Word of Mouth

Organize Your Approach to ResearchDifferent types of media for different purposes

Looking for…

• A succinct overview of a current issue in the general public domain (Newspapers, Magazines, TV News and Documentaries, radio)

• Opinions and a broad range of Points of View (Surveys, op-ed columns, blogs, tweets, e-mails, social networks)

• Concise scholarly treatises and targeted studies of your topic (Journal articles, conference papers, reports)

• In-depth research or exploration of your research area (Non fiction books, book chapters, threaded scholarly articles)

• Investigation of how the issue plays out in life, emotional responses, and the social context(Fiction literature)

• Writing and Reporting Helpers (Encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, biographies, maps, etc.)

Good Starting Places for Scholarly Material

Multidisciplinary DatabasesMultidisciplinary Databases

• Academic Search CompleteAcademic Search Complete is huge and is huge and broad in coverage of journals and magazines. You broad in coverage of journals and magazines. You can screen non-scholarly resources out of your can screen non-scholarly resources out of your search if you wish. Many public policy journals search if you wish. Many public policy journals appear here.appear here.

• EBSCO includes several different very good includes several different very good databases. databases.

• JSTOR includes only includes only the premier, central academic premier, central academic journals in full text.journals in full text.

Special Interest Databases

Legal • Westlaw is a premier legal database to look up the law is a premier legal database to look up the law

and court cases in full text at all levels of government and court cases in full text at all levels of government and across the nation.and across the nation.

• Access Washington for Washington State datafor Washington State data

• USA.gov for US Governmental data for US Governmental data

Environmental• Environment Complete provides research and public

policy discussions about environmental issues.

Economics and Social Sciences• Social Science Full Text and SocIndex These databases and SocIndex These databases

focus on academic journals in the social sciences and focus on academic journals in the social sciences and sociology, including lots of public policy and social sociology, including lots of public policy and social justice issues.justice issues.

Health

• Health source provides nearly 550 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong.

Educational

• ERIC is the main index for research in the field of education. Almost any scholar or professional doing any kind of research in the field of education will start here.

Psychology

• PsycInfo The most authoritative and thorough source for the profession of psychology and the research done in that field.

Non-Mainstream Databases

• Alternative Press Index tracks news, reviews and features spanning punk, metal, hardcore, pop-punk and everything in between.

• Alt-HealthWatch Alternative medicine. 170 full-text journals, plus reports, proceedings, pamphlets, and book excerpts.

• Ethnic Newswatch Collects full-text news and commentary publications from rather than about various US ethnic groups. Consider this resource to help counterbalance the mainstream press.

• Left Index serves to provide the perspective of the political left.

As You Search…

Be flexible with your keywords. Have some synonyms! Your words or phrases may not be the ones used by the authors of the articles, or the database companies.

Save and organize your notes Write down entire useful citations when you first see them.

Remember…

• Finding relevant and reliable Finding relevant and reliable information requires critical information requires critical thinking and organizationthinking and organization

• It is a practiced skill!It is a practiced skill!

• Simple ‘Google/Yahoo/Bing’ Simple ‘Google/Yahoo/Bing’ searching won’t get you searching won’t get you everything you need… but they everything you need… but they do have their place in your do have their place in your research process.research process.

For Strategies on Searching Your Specific Topic

andOne-on-One Help

Visit the Library Reference Deskor

Liza Rognas, Reference Librarian at 867- 5851

orLee Lyttle, Office Hours in Lab I Room 3011

Call for an appointment 876-6678