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NCR NCR — Negotiation, Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding Program (all 400 and 500 courses)

Roundtable Discussion

Contact Information

Carol Dales
cdales@csudh.edu
(310)-243-2088
LIB SOUTH 2037K

Navigation

Getting Started

Finding Journal Articles

Useful Books and Ebooks

Thesaurus

Finding a Specific Journal Article

Interlibrary Loan

The Internet

Citing your Sources

Writing a Literature Review

Summary of Searching (applies to most databases)

Tips for Using JSTOR

Getting Started
  • To borrow books, take your CSUDH photo ID with a current sticker to the Library Circulation Department on the 2nd floor of the library.
  • Before borrowing books, read the regulations on the Circulation Department page.
  • Use the Library's ToroFind catalog to search for books by author, title or subject.
    In addition to finding materials available in the CSUDH Library, you will find links that enable you to request books directly from other libraries. (Note: if you do not come to campus for classes, you will be able to borrow our books through Interlibrary Loan at your nearest public library).
  • Use the   Search All CSU Libraries Catalog if the CSUDH Library does not has the book you need and Search Worldcat if the CSUDH library does not have the book you need. Worldcat include journals and books from 70000 libraries Worldwide buttons to locate books to request through Interlibrary Loan.

 


Finding Journal Articles

          Two things you need to use CSUDH journal article databases off campus:

    1. You must already be registered as a CSUDH Library user. This should happen automatically when you register for classes, but please let us know if you think you may not yet be registered as a Library user.
    2. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software (latest version) installed. Many articles are available only in .pdf (portable document format) format, and you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print them. Get the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html .
    3. Click on a link below to access the database of your choice or, to see all available CSUDH Library databases, use our complete list of Journal Article Indexes.


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  • If you need help logging in to CSUDH databases, click here.
  • For a review of how to use the databases to find journal articles, click here.
    To limit your results to peer reviewed articles, look for the words "scholarly" and/or "peer reviewed" and place a check in the box beside these words.
  • To find out whether a specific journal observes the peer review process, check its title in Ulrichs Periodical Directory.
  • To find journal articles when you don't already have a specific citation or reference to an article, try one of the journal article databases listed below.

    • Academic Search Premier: Multi-disciplinary database with full text for more than 4,650 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed journals; often used as a starting point since it covers a wide range of subject areas.
    • Business Source Premier: Business research database with full text for more than 8,800 publications, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications; covers workplace and labor issues; good source for research on conflict and dispute resolution in business venues.
    • PsycINFO: Comprehensive database covering a wide range of related fields, including articles on conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation in a variety of contexts.
    • Ebsco Databases: Use this link when you want easy access to databases in multiple subject areas (e.g.: SocINDEX for sociology, PsycINFO for psychology, ERIC for education, or Business Source Premier for work-related topics ).
    • LEXIS-NEXIS: Good general business and news database; also use for law bulletins, reviews and journals, treaties and international agreements (all content appears in HTML plain text format only). Note: this database can be tricky to use -check with a librarian).
    • JSTOR: Contains full text for long back runs of scholarly journals in fields of political science, history and international relations, including Journal of Conflict Resolution (1957-2007) and Journal of Peace Research (1964-2007).
    • Proquest Newspapers: locate full text newspaper and magazine articles in 1500 worldwide business periodicals; human resources, finance, management, computers, and more; also links to 300+ U.S. & international newspapers.
    • Sage Online: good for full text of recent (past 5 years) scholarly journals such as Journal of Conflict Resolution and Journal of Peace Research.

Useful Books and Ebooks

 Try the following search in the library's online catalog and you will see a list of books.

  • Go to the library's online catalog
  • In the drop-down menu under "Find a Book Now", select "Search by Subject".
  • In the text area to the right, type in Conflict Management. 
  • For a list of general conflict management books, click the Conflict Management  link.
  • Once you have a list of books on the screen, you can sort your results with the drop-down "System Sorted" menu at the right.
  • Select "Sort by year - newest to oldest" and click the "Sort" button to see a list of books with the most recent books first.
  • For a list of other similar subjects and subsets, click the  Conflict Management -- 2 Related Subjects link, or look above and below the Conflict Mangement heading.
  • Try searching for Conflict Resolution as a subject and note how you are reminded that the correct subject heading is Conflict Management.

Regardless of the topic you search, many of the newest books on your subject will be ebooks: books that have been scanned in and which you can access from home using the library website.

 


Thesaurus
  • Locate a Thesaurus button or link on the screen (it may be called "Subject Headings" or "Subject Index", depending on the database you are using.)
  • Type a word or phrase for which you would like to identify a subject heading into the appropriate box.
  • Sometimes you can click on the suggested search term to see a note that defines the term as it is used in the database, as well as a list of narrower, broader and related terms.
  • Either copy down useful subject headings or cut and paste them into the search screen where you are working.
  • Note: JSTOR does not have a thesaurus, subject guide or comparable tools.

Finding a Specific Journal Article

If you already have a reference or citation to a specific journal article (e.g.: from an assigned reading list in your class syllabus, or from a list of references at the end of a book chapter or article), find out if the Library subscribes to the journal you need or owns the back issue you need by using the CSUDH Journals List. This list includes both print and online journals (the CSUDH Library subscribes to over 25,000 journals online).

For more detailed help finding a known article, visit the Find a Specific Article Online tutorial at http://library.csudh.edu/info/guides/FindSpecificArticle.shtml.


Interlibrary Loan

If the CSUDH Library does NOT own in any form a specific journal, magazine or book that you need:

  • use the online ILL form at http://library.csudh.edu/services/ILL/ to submit an electronic request.
    A print or electronic copy of that book or article will be obtained from another library, but may take as long as 7 to 14 days or more to arrive. (Note: if you do not come to CSUDH campus for classes, please arrange interlibrary loans for books, whether from CSUDH library or other libraries, through your nearest public library)
  • go to the Library Online Catalogs and Information page at
    http://library.csudh.edu/cyberlib/libraries.htm to look for holdings at other academic libraries you can visit in person (such as other CSU Campus Libraries).

The Internet

Google is still an outstanding search engine, but unless you know exactly what you are doing, it will lead you to millions of web pages on sociology research and its hundreds of subtopics.

Three tips:

  • Try Google's Advanced Search page to refine your search.
  • When using information from the web for projects and research papers, remember to evaluate the quality and reliability of the information. For evaluation criteria, try Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages (Cornell University Library).
  • Google Scholar is a good place to try if you are uncertain which Library databases to try for your topic or if you have already tried Library databases and come up empty-handed. It lets you search some scholarly literature, including many peer reviewed articles, but you may not be able to freely access the full text of articles unless you use the Library version of Google Scholar.  Be sure to use the link to Google Scholar in the A-Z list of  databases on the Library home page so your search will contain links to CSUDH full text articles.

More Websites Selected and Evaluated by Librarians:


Citing your Sources

 Have you ever had to ask yourself "Where on earth did I find this??"
It is much more difficult (sometimes impossible!) to retrace your steps than to use note cards or software as you are working to keep track of sources of information you use.

When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will almost always be asked to provide a bibliography of the materials that you used. Check a print or online citation guide in advance so you'll know what information about each information source to record before you begin your research.

APA Formatting and Style Guide, created and maintained by Purdue University, is a complete and authoritative guide to the most recent APA format rules as laid out in the 6th (newest) edition of the APA Manual.


 


Writing a Literature Review
What is a literature review?

It is an account of what has been published on a topic by recognized scholars and researchers, and is frequently a required part of the introduction to an essay, research report or thesis.
The literature review should communicate to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
As you plan, let yourself be guided by your own research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis.
What are the characteristics of a good literature review?

The literature review is far more than a descriptive list of resources you found on a topic. It should:
    • be organized into sections that present themes or identify trends and also relate to your research question
    • synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
    • identify areas of controversy in the literature
    • formulate questions that need further research.
How can I choose what to include?

Ask yourself these questions about each book or article you include:
  • Has the author stated a problem or issue? Is it clearly defined?
  • Is the significance (scope, urgency, relevance) of the problem clearly established?
  • Does the author evaluate the literature relevant to the problem or issue?
  • Does the author include literature representing positions she or he does not agree with?
  • If the article or book is about a research study, is the study well designed and executed?
  • Does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem or issue?
  • How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am proposing? 
     

Summary of Searching (applies to most databases)
  • Enter your search terms.
  • Focus your search by choosing a Field Code from the All Fields drop-list on each line you use.e.g.: to search for the subject "rape", enter it in the Find field, and select SU-Subject.
  • Enter additional search terms in the optional search fields. Use the * (truncation symbol) and the? (wild card) symbol as required.
  • Connect multiple search terms with connector words ( AND , OR , NOT ) to create a very broad or a very narrow search.Tip : Put all OR search terms that belong together (e.g. urban OR city or OR  town OR village) into the same Find box on one line.
  • Select other appropriate search limiters and "broadeners" (usually provided with check boxes just below boxes where you enter your search terms).

Tips for Using JSTOR
  • if you want only journal articles, check beside "Articles" (below "Narrow by...")  to eliminate reviews and opinion pieces.
  • Unless you want to search journals from all disciplines, remember to select from "Narrow by discipline and/or publication title" before you click Search.
  • default search is Full-Text; JSTOR has no subject headings or thesaurus, but you can limit to Abstract, Title, Caption or Author to refine your results (avoid "Abstract" as most articles don't have abstracts). 
  • Truncation : search for the singular and plural forms of a word by placing & (the ampersand on your keyboard, made by typing Shift 7) at the end of the singular form.
  • Proximity Operators : find terms within a specific number of words of each other using double quotes around the two words followed immediately by tilde ( ~ ) as a proximity operator and a numeral. E.g.: to search for an item with the terms divorce and mediation within ten words of each other: e.g.: "divorce mediation"~10 . Use this tip to achieve more precise results when searching the full text of long articles.
  • Relevance of Terms : increase the importance of any term in your search by using the caret symbol ( ^ ) followed by a number ("the boost factor"). e.g: example, the query: mediation^3 divorce gives instances of the word mediation in a document three times more weight than the word divorce.
  • All articles are in .pdf format and require that a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader be installed on your computer (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html )
  • use the Print /Save icons on top toolbar of Adobe Acrobat Reader, closest to the article full text (using Browser File /Save /Print menu commands produces flawed copies)
  • Citing JSTOR articles: the citation is on the cover page of every article you print; follow APA guidelines.