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Family Science 188 - Hill

Helpful links and search tips for FSID 188 - Intimate Relationships (Dr. Toni Hill's classes)

Library Search

 

Subject-Specific Article Databases

What is a peer reviewed journal?

Peer-reviewed journals (also called "scholarly" or "academic" journals) contain original research articles within a specific subject domain.

These articles are reviewed by other experts before publication and share many or all of these qualities:

  • List authors' names, email addresses, and affiliations (e.g. Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney)
  • Use section headers (these may vary): Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion
  • Include tables or figures of statistical data
  • Cite references to other quality sources

Here are two examples:

NOTE: Some peer-reviewed journals will include literature reviews, book reviews, and opinion essays. None of these present original research however!

This table summarizes the differences between peer-reviewed journals and other periodicals.

Chart presenting comparison between different types of periodicals

If you have further questions, please ask a librarian!

Search Tips

These tips also appear in Lesson 1 of the Library Research Tutorial, and pertain to the "Advanced Search" feature of Library Search, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts.

  AND OR
How it works: Search results contain both Term #1 and Term #2 Search results contain either Term #1 or Term #2 (or both)
Effects on search results: Narrows /
Fewer results
Broadens /
More results
Examples with diagrams:

Peas AND Carrots

Results = the middle area overlapped by both circles
and

Peas OR Carrots

Results = the entire area
of both circles
Or

 

Using an asterisk wildcard (*) at the end of a partial word will broaden search results by including multiple word endings.

When searching for a specific phrase (two or more words together), adding quotation marks around that phrase will typically narrow your search results.

For example:

  • Using child* will search for all variations of the word child, including children, children's, or childhood.
  • A search on "sexual strategies theory" -- with the quotation marks included -- will retrieve only those records containing these three words together in this exact order.

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Rochelle Reeves
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308-865-8276