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GRO 620 - Research Methods

Collaboratories: Information about places for groups to study in the library

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Specialized books such as the following titles can provide background information on your topic or help you with definitions of words you may not understand. Bibliographies at the end of each article may refer you to other useful sources.

Dictionary of Gerontology
Diana K. Harris, ed., 1988
Location: ref HQ1061 .H338

Encyclopedia of Aging
David J. Ekerdt, ed. 2002. 4 vol.
Also in print. Location: ref HQ 1061 .E534

Encyclopedia of Gerontology

James E. Birren,  2nd ed., 2007. 2 vol.

Location: RC952.5 .E58

The Graying of America: An encyclopedia of aging, health, mind, and behavior
Kausler and Kausler, ed. 2nd ed. 2001
Location: ref HQ1064 .U5 K39

Encyclopedia of Aging: a comprehensive resource in gerontology and geriatrics
Richard Schulz, ed., 4th ed, 2006. 2 vol.
Location: ref HQ1061 .E53

Subject Databases for Locating Journals

Databases are online subject guides to magazines, journals, newspapers, and other materials. For more choices than those listed below, go to the University Libraries home page, then click on Databases. Click on the starting letter of the database or click on a department name.

Tips:
-When searching your topic remember to try a variety of subject headings for the same concept.
-Click here for tips on using the search connectors AND, OR, and NOT in your search strategy.

-What Are Scholarly Journals? Click on this line for further information.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources (U. of Calif. at Berkeley website with definitions, examples)  
Primary vs. Secondary Sources (Bowling Green State U. website with definitions, examples)

REMEMBER: To get to the full text of the journal article you must go through the Library's web pages. We have paid for access to the journals. You cannot go to the publisher's page to get an article. Use Journal Finder if you have the name of the journal.

PsycINFO (via EBSCOhost)

• Abstracts (no full text) for over 1300 periodicals including all of the core gerontology journals, book chapters and books in psychology, mental health and related disciplines.
• Large number of foreign language titles. The Library owns or has access to many of the core, English-language titles, including a large number of full text journals.
• 1887 to present.

PsycArticles

• Full text of about 50 journals from the American Psychological Assn, Canadian Psychological Assn, and Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Covers basic, applied, clinical, and theoretical research. These journals are indexed in PsycINFO listed above.
• 1988 to present but varies by title.

EBSCO Databases

This is a cluster of over a dozen databases from the same vendor (publisher). Depending on your topic you may want to choose one or more of these such as those databases listed immediately below. Just check the box in front of each database name you want to include. Then click on the box saying "Continue."

AgeLine

• Covers the study of aging in psychological, health-related, social, & economic contexts.
• Topics include theories of aging, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, elder care, Alzheimer's, health care costs and policies, financial and retirement planning, fitness, nutrition, and more.
• Indexes/abstracts journal articles, books and book chapters, government documents, and reports.
• No full text.
• 1978 to present.

Academic Search Premier

• Abstracts for over 8,000 scholarly journals, more than half of them full-text and most peer-reviewed, covering the social sciences including sociology, psychology, family studies and gerontology.
• Eight major gerontology journals are available in full-text.
• Dates of coverage vary by title; full text mainly from 1990 with 100 titles back to 1975.

Health Source, Nursing/Academic Edition

• Provides full text for approx. 600 scholarly journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also contains indexing and abstracts for an additional 250 journals.

• 1984 to present but varies by title

CINAHL which is the nursing and allied health database for topics such as patient care, long-term care, etc.

ERIC for educational topics such as continuing education.

Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)

• This large general and interdisciplinary database covers a wide range of current events, news, and scholarly materials from over 8,000 journals and magazines including full text from over half of them.
• Most materials available in UNCG libraries so this is a good starting place for information.
• 1980 to present; full text varies by title.

ProQuest Research Library

• Mix of 2600 scholarly and popular journals, two-thirds full-text, from a variety of subject disciplines.
• Includes eight full-text titles in gerontology.
• 1971 to present; full text coverage varies by title.

Web of Science

• Indexes more than 8,100 peer-reviewed science and social science journals cover-to-cover, providing complete bibliographic data, full-length author abstracts, and cited references.
• The citation part of the database contains the references cited by the authors of the journal articles they cover. You can use these cited references as search terms. A cited reference search enables you to use a published work that you know to find more recent works that cite it.
• This database indexes articles, bibliographies, book reviews, editorials, letters, meeting abstracts, notes, review papers, reviews of software, and more.
• Includes Social Sciences Citation Index and Science Citation Index.
• 1956 to date.

Humanities and Social Science Retrospective

• Indexes the core scholarly, English-language journals published between 1907 and 1984.
• Includes citations to more than 1 million articles, including book reviews.
• Continued by Social Sciences Index.

SocIndex with Full Text (SIFT) (EBSCO)

• Offers comprehensive coverage of sociology, encompassing all sub-disciplines and closely related areas of study. These include criminology & criminal justice, demography, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, marriage & family, political sociology, religion, rural & urban sociology, social development, social psychology, social structure, social work, socio-cultural anthropology, sociological history, sociological research, sociological theory, substance abuse & other addictions, violence and many others.
• Covers articles from over 4,000 journals and the full text of more than 700 books and thousands of conference papers
• Abstracts of some of the core journals date as far back as 1895.

Sociological Abstracts

• Abstracts for over 2,000 journals, plus books, conference papers, and other materials in sociology, social psychology, community development, feminist studies and gerontology. International in scope. Many foreign language titles.
• Major journals in these fields available in Jackson library.
• Includes book reviews.
• 1963 to present.

Family & Society Studies Worldwide

• Over 500,000 bibliographic records and abstracts drawn from over 1,000 professional journals as well as books, popular literature, conference papers, and government reports.
• Includes research, policy and practice literature in the fields of family science, human ecology and human development including gerontology.
• Considerable Australian material. Limited amount of these materials available in Jackson library.
• 1970 to present.

Medline

• Indexes and abstracts articles from more that 3200 medical, health, and nutrition journals.  UNCG offers several versions of this database.
• This database covers geriatrics, that is, the physical aspects of aging. It would be useful for topics with a medical slant including diet, prescription drugs, patient care, Alzheimer's, and progressive diseases such as cancer.
• Years of coverage vary; PubMed covers 1966-present and is updated daily.

Social Work Abstracts

• Contains over 35,000 abstracts (no full text) of periodical articles and dissertations on social work and related disciplines such as child and family welfare, sociology, crime and delinquency, and community health.
• 1977 to present.

Looking for the full text of the article? Go to Journal Finder and enter the name of the journal. Instructions are below.

Print Index

Using Journal Finder

• Return to the Library's home page and click on Journal Finder.
• Enter the journal name (not the article title) such as Journal of Aging and Health in the box and press the Enter key or click Search.
• If the title appears, click on the icon for the method of access you want.
  • Click on the computer icon to find full text online access to some articles.
    • The database(s) and dates for full text are displayed.
    • Choose a database and follow any instructions for finding specific journal titles.
  • Click on the book icon to locate print issues of the journal in the Library.
    • The record shown will provide the holdings and location of the journal.
    • Older years of journals are either bound and shelved by call number with the book collection in the stacks or are on microfilm arranged by film number in the microforms area on 2nd Floor Main.
    • Current issues are available on the Jackson Study Lounge shelves on 1st Floor Main.
  • Click on the envelope icon for mail or electronic delivery of the article.      
  • Click on the car icon to check whether other libraries own this title.  

Useful Websites

APA, MLA, Turabian Style Information

Example:

Electronic copy of a (fictitious) article retrieved from a database such as InfoTrac, Science Direct, ProQuest, or Academic Search:

Smith, W. C., Jones, M. A., Cramer, S. H., Gaines, E. D., & White, L.A. (1993). Role of early

       supervisory experience in supervisor performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78 (5), 443-449.

       Retrieved October 23, 2000, from PsycARTICLES database.

**Remember to cite the source where you actually found the text of the article, not the database you used to find the citation**

Government Information on Aging--U.S. and N.C. Resources on Aging
Federal, state, and local websites with a variety of information for the elderly and for those working with them. Covers topics from Alzheimer's Disease to Medicaid to contact information for local agencies offering assistance.

National Institute on Aging
Part of the National Institutes of Health this agency seeks to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people. Free, online publications include topics such as alcohol abuse, older drivers, safety, and crimes against the elderly.

UNC Institute on Aging
Established in February 2000, the UNC Institute on Aging Information Center is a central source of aging-related information in North Carolina. The Information Center's resources are available to researchers, health professionals, government officials, and others across the state. They have a specialized library of resources and can provide assistance to those seeking information about aging.

U.S. Administration on Aging
Excellent web site from the federal agency responsible for disseminating information for and about the elderly. Check out the sections labeled Press Room, Statistics, Fact Sheets and so on for full text documents from helpful hints to agency budgets to the text of laws affecting seniors.

Alzheimer Research Forum
The Alzheimer Research Forum, an independent, non-profit organization, is a "scientific community dedicated to understanding Alzheimer's disease and related disorders." The site includes up-to-date information in the form of research news, papers of the week, journal article abstracts, expert commentaries, job and grant resources, drug and conference news, and more.

Alzheimer's Association
This is the largest national voluntary health organization supporting Alzheimer's research and care. On this site you will find information about the disease, the Association's programs and services, and their advocacy efforts.

Healthfinder
Healthfinder is a four-part free guide to reliable consumer health and human services information, developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthfinder can lead you to selected online publications, clearinghouses, databases, Web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public. An excellent starting point for locating information.

Basic Library Services for Graduate Students

Interlibrary Loan                                 
Borrowing Materials from UNCG or other libraries
Photocopying

Page Author: Nancy Ryckman
Gerontology Librarian