 |
 |
 |
   |
(310) 243-3715 |
||
 |
   |
SUBJECT RESEARCH GUIDE | |
| THEORIES OF GERONTOLOGY: BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL & SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF AGING |
I. When to use Books, when to use Journals, and when to use Internet
A. If a broad overview or introduction to a subject is desired, a book or maybe
even an encyclopedia may be the best place to start, rather than turning
immediately to journals. However, most books will generally not have the
very latest information on a topic, in which case one must use journals.
B. Journal articles tend to deal with narrower, more specific aspects of a topic
and/or may present research findings. Journal articles are a necessary
adjunct to books in order to obtain the most recent information about a
topic.
C. Internet is also an information resource which is quickly growing in
importance. Information is often very current. However, be careful since
anyone can post anything on the Internet. Make sure that whatever
Internet information you may use is from an authoritative, reputable source.
II. General Call Number area for Gerontology is HQ1060 – HQ1064
Geriatrics, Aged – Diseases is RC952 – RC953
Aging, Physiological Aspects is QP36
III. OPAC for Books
A. Books are listed in the OPAC computers and can be retrieved by author,
title, and subject.
1. Primary Subject Headings are:
Gerontology (Gerontology in general)
Geriatrics (medical aspects of the Aged)
Aged (i.e. about the Aged)
Aging (i.e. the process of Aging)
-- Physiological Aspects
-- Psychological Aspects
-- Social Aspects
B. Reference Books
1. Encyclopedia of Aging (Ref HQ1061 E53 1995)
2. Graying of America--an Encyclopedia of Aging, Health, Mind &
Behavior (Ref HQ1064 U5 K39 1996)
3. Dictionary of Gerontology (Ref HQ1061 H338 1988)
4. Statistical Record of Older Americans (Ref HQ1064 U5 S685 1994)
5. Older American Almanac (Ref HQ1064 U5 O416 1994)
IV. Some good journals w/coverage of Gerontology and Aging
1. The Gerontologist (Gerontological Society of America)
2. Generations (American Society on Aging)
3. Psychology and Aging (American Psychological Association)
4. International Journal of Aging and Human Development
5. Ageing and Society (British Society of Gerontology)
6. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
V. How to find Journal Articles
This is basically a two step process:
A. Find the journal article citations/references in Journal Article Indexes
B. Locate the full text of the articles (print copy, microfilm, online version)
1. Increasingly, the full-text of the article is now being included along
with the citation
VI. Journal Article Indexes
Found mainly on Internet computers, with a few also on CD-ROM computers
A. The Journal Article Indexes are simply computerized indexes of
journal articles which allow you to retrieve lists of articles about the subject
you are researching. i.e. type in the subject and the computer will give you
a list of articles about the subject.
B. The Library has about 30 different Journal Article Indexes, most dealing
with a specific subject area, though a few are general indexes covering
all subjects .
C. Keep in mind that numerous Journal Article indexes may give only a
citation and sometimes an abstract of the article and often may not contain
the full text of the article.
1. However, there are an increasing number of Journal Article Indexes
which include the full text along with the citation.
a. Most full text on-line journals do not go back more than about 10
years and many only go back a few years.
2. In those cases where the index only gives a citation, it will be necessary
to undertake an additional separate step in order to find the full text of
the article. (This will be explained later in Section VII).
a. The full text may be found:
-- printed hard-copy version
-- microfilm
-- electronic online version accompanying the citation
D. Sociological Abstracts (partial full-text)
1. Sociology and related social sciences with some full-text journals.
2. Try SUBJECT search first
a. If more articles are needed, then try ALL FIELDS search
E. PsychINFO (partial full-text)
1. Psychology and related areas; full-text articles for selected journals
2. Try SUBJECT search first
a. If more articles are needed, then try ALL FIELDS search
F. Cinahl (partial full-text)
1. Indexes 1200 nursing and allied health journals; includes 250 full-text
journals
G. Academic Search Premier (full-text and citations only)
1. General purpose index which covers about 3200 English language
journals. Useful because it contains a large percentage of Full Text
articles.
VII. How to find journal articles when full text was not included with
citations found in Journal Article Indexes
1. Full Text vs. Citation
More and more full-text databases are becoming available via the Internet
2. How to locate full text for articles listed in your citations
A. Be sure to look up the title of the journal, not the title of the article.
1. In Full-Text Journals (http://library.csudh.edu/) List look up by Title
the name of the journal and then examine the holdings information
carefully to determine where the specific volume you are looking for
can be found
a. Be sure to look up the Title of the Journal, not the Title of the
article.
b. Be sure to distinguish whether the particular volume of the journal
you are looking for is on the current shelves, on microfilm, in the
book stacks, or is available electronically online.
VIII. Internet
A. Internet Subject Guide/CyberSpace Reference Library
1. Attempt by CSUDH librarians to provide a guide to reliable, accurate
information resources available on the Internet
-- see particularly "Nursing and Health Science Resources"
B. National Institute on Aging (http://www.nia.nih.gov/)
C. Search Internet for AGING THEORIES with a Search Engine
(e,g, Google)
IX. Interlibrary Loan
A. CSUDH does not always own the journals cited in the Internet
Databases.
1. Can use Inter-Library Loan to obtain articles in journals not owned by
CSUDH. Since ILL takes about 2 weeks don't wait until the last minute
to start your research.
X. Citing your Sources
A. Library Home Page à Library Instruction à Citing Your Sources
(http://library.csudh.edu/LibInstrInfo.htm)
J. Broude 9/17/01