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Logan Library

Research Guide

Tips, tools, and services to help you find, evaluate, and use library resources in your research and class assignments.

What is Scholarly Research?

Scholarly research is an inquiry process requiring critical thought, analysis, and evaluation. It is not just fact retrieval. The goal of scholarly research is to increase the stock of knowledge and deepen the understanding of a specific topic, phenomenon, or problem in a creative and systematic way.

It is a structured process that contributes to

  1. Advancing Knowledge

The most fundamental goal is the discovery of new knowledge. This can take two main forms:

  • Basic (or Pure) Research: Driven primarily by curiosity and the desire to know. The goal is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a subject, theory, or concept without a specific immediate application in mind (e.g., studying the molecular structure of a virus).
  • Applied Research: Aimed at gaining knowledge to solve a specific, recognized problem or need. The findings are intended for practical application to improve conditions, products, or processes (e.g., developing a new vaccine based on basic viral research).
  1. Validation and Refinement

Scholarly research doesn't just create new knowledge; it also interacts with existing knowledge:

  • Testing and Validation: It systematically tests the validity of existing theories, hypotheses, and instruments using rigorous, evidence-based methodologies.
  • Revision of Accepted Theories: It provides new facts or data that may lead to the revision or refinement of previously accepted laws and theories, thereby correcting or improving the collective understanding in a field.
  1.  Creating a Public Record

Through scholarly publishing (like academic journals and books), the research is made public to allow for:

  • Scrutiny and Reproducibility: The methodology and results are subject to peer review by other experts, ensuring the work meets high standards of quality, rigor, and ethics. This process also allows other researchers to replicate the study, which is a hallmark of scientific truth.
  • Contribution to the Scholarly Conversation: It provides a platform for scholars to "speak" directly to one another, build upon previous findings, and foster a collective, cumulative body of knowledge that serves as the foundation for future discoveries.

 

 

 

 

The Scholarly Landscape: Differentiating Your Sources

Before starting a search, you must be able to recognize what you are looking for. Not all sources are equal in academic research. The library databases contain different source types and it’s important to understand the hierarchy of information and why peer review is the benchmark for scholarly work. 

There are three main source types: Popular, Trade, and Scholarly.

  • Popular Sources (e.g., magazines such as Time) are created by professional writers for a general audience, use non-technical language, and rarely cite sources. Their content is typically not evaluated by experts.
  • Trade Sources (e.g., industry magazines such as HR Magazine) are created by professionals for practitioners in a specific field, often use specialized jargon, and may or may not cite sources.
  • Scholarly Sources (e.g., journals, such as Cell or Nursing) are created by subject experts for an academic audience, use specialized disciplinary jargon, always cite sources, and crucially, are reviewed and critically evaluated by subject experts (peer review).

What is Peer Review? Peer review is a process where research is vetted by other experts in the field before publication, which is a hallmark of scholarly quality.

Developing An Effective Search Strategy

Effective research begins with identifying comprehensive keywords and then translating those concepts into functional search strings. Boolean operators and search syntax can be used to refine database searches.

Mastering Boolean Logic: Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are specific words and symbols that refine search parameters. They are the cornerstone of efficient database searching.

  • AND – Narrows the search resulting in fewer results. It requires the results to contain all the linked concepts.
  • OR – Broadens the search resulting in a greater number of results. It requires the results to contain at least one of the linked terms.
  • NOT – Excludes the following term and removes irrelevant results from the search set.

Boolean operators connecting the search terms can be visualized using these Venn diagrams.

A typical database search interface uses multiple search boxes to help researchers combine terms efficiently. A screenshot of this interface would show several input fields for keywords, with drop-down menus positioned between them. These drop-down menus allow you to select the Boolean operators AND, OR or NOT, enabling you to construct complex search strings (e.g., (Query 1) AND (Query 2)) without needing to manually type the operator into a single search box.

In addition to Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), library databases also allow you to refine your searches using quotation marks for phrase searching and truncation symbols or wildcards.

Key Search Techniques with Examples

Quotation Marks (" ") (Phrase Searching):

  • Purpose: Use quotation marks to search for an exact, specific phrase, forcing the database to treat the words as a single unit.
  • Example: Searching for "economic development" will only return results where those two words appear together in that exact order, unlike an unquoted search which treats them as two separate keywords.

Truncation (*):

  • Purpose: Use a truncation symbol (most commonly an asterisk * at the root of a word to search for all variations and endings of that word.
  • Example: Searching for teen* will retrieve results containing teen, teens, teenager, and teenagers. (Note: The specific symbol for truncation can vary by database)