IEE 594
Conference and Workshop

Library Session #2

Outline of Today's Class:

Components of a Literature Review
Advanced Search Strategies
Cited Reference Searching
Staying Current via Alerts

Your Librarian:

Linda Shackle
Coordinator for Science & Engineering Services

Noble Science & Engineering Library

480-965-7601
linda.shackle@asu.edu

Components of a Literature Review

For a dissertation or theses, the literature review must be:

Comprehensive
Systematic
Explicit
Reproducible

Steps for a comprehensive search include:

Searching multiple indexing databases that cover your topic.
Examining your search results for additional or alternative terminology and then redoing the search (repeating this step as many times as necessary).
Using the bibliographies/reference lists from the documents you found to retrieve resources/data used by the authors.
Using cited reference searching to track an important work forward in time.
Using database and journal alerting services to keep track of the latest research.

Advanced Search Strategies

It's better to do a broad search that pulls out too many items then it is to start out with a narrow search that pulls out too few.
- You can always trim down a broad search by adding another concept. However, a narrow search that pulls out a few good articles can mislead you into thinking that you've found everything, when in reality, you haven't. .
- Limit to two or three concepts; searches with four or more concepts usually result in a small (or empty) results set.
- Eliminate unnecessary concepts from the search. Image a journal article with a title that has all of your concepts minus one; if the article would still be of interest to you without that concept in the title, then you probably don't need to have that concept in the search.

Use truncation (wildcard symbol, usually "*", sometimes "?" or "$" ) when necessary to pull out variant forms of your keywords.

ABI/Inform
Two truncation symbols are available "*" and "?". The symbol * is used at the end of a word to find all forms of that word. The symbol ? is used to replace a single character, either inside the word or the end of the word; ? cannot be used to begin a word. Left-hand truncation is not available.

Examples:

manufactur* will find:	manufacture? will find:	wom?n will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufacturers manufactured manufacturing	manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufactured	woman women

EI Compendex
Compendex has an autostemming feature that automatically performs truncation on keywords.

Two truncation symbols are available "*" and "?". The "*" is used to replace zero, one, or multiple characters and can be used at the beginning, middle or end of a word. The "?" is used to replace a single character. Note: Using truncation symbols turns off the autostemming feature.

Examples:

manufactur* will find:	h*emoglobin will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufacturers manufactured manufacturing	hemoglobin haemoglobin hemidemiphosphorylmontotremoglobin
manufacture? will find:	wom?n will find:	t??th will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufactured	woman women	tooth teeth

MathSciNet
MathSciNet automatically searches for the exact word and pural/singular forms.

One truncation symbol is available, "*", which may be located either at the end of the word or in the middle. Left-hand truncation is not available.

Examples:

manufactur* will find:	wom*n will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufacturers manufactured manufacturing	woman women

PsycInfo
Two truncation symbols are available "*" and "?". The "*" is used to replace zero, one, or multiple characters and can be used in the middle or at the end of a word. The ? is used to replace a single character in the middle or end of a word; more than one ? can be used. Left-hand truncation is not available.

Examples:

manufactur* will find:	sul*fur will find:	manufacture? will find:	wom?n will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufacturers manufactured manufacturing	sulfur sulphur	manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufactured	woman women

Web of Science
Three truncation symbols are available: "*", "?" and "$". The ? is used to replace a single character in the middle or end of a word; the $ is used to replace zero or one characters in the middel or end of a word.

Examples:

manufactur* will find:	sul*fur will find:	manufacture? will find:	wom?n will find:	vapo$r will find:
manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufacturers manufactured manufacturing	sulfur sulphur	manufacture manufactures manufacturer manufactured	woman women	vapor vapour

Consider the OPPOSITE of your topic.

Examples:
- safety vs. accident prevention or hazards or toxicity
- stability vs. instability or unstable or degradation
- remediation vs. contamination or pollution
- regulatory compliance vs concompliance or self regulation
Adapt your search to the terminology preferred by the database you're searching. If the database provides a thesaurus, use it to find appropriate terminology. Also, examine the search results and look for terms labeled as controlled vocabulary, descriptor, subject, or subject heading.
- ABI/Inform
  - Look above the search results to see the "Suggested Topics" -- this box will give you clues to the preferred terminology for your topic.
  - From the results list, click on the titles of interesting articles and look at the "Find More Documents Like This" box (at the right of the screen) for the subjects. Note: It may take up to a month before subjects appear on a record.
- EI Compendex
  - From any screen within EI Compendex, click on the "Thesaurus" tab in the upper right of the screen:
    - Enter your keyword and click on the "Submit" button
    - Click on the appropriate word in the results to see broader terms, related terms, and/or terminology that should be used instead of the keyword.
  - On the results list, scroll the page down until you can see the "Controlled Vocabulary" listings in the right-hand column. The terms will be arranged according to the number of records having that term with the highest on top.
  - From the results list, click on the "Detailed" link at the bottom of each item of interest; scroll the detailed entry screen down to the sections labeled "EI Main Heading" and "EI Controlled Terms".
  - The terms within the "Uncontrolled Terms" category are the author's keywords and are not the preferred terminology to use in your search strategy.
  - The terms in the "EI Classification Codes" are not preferred terminology, however, you may use the Classification Code number in your search to limit results to a broad category. This technique is helpful if the words in your search strategy have several meanings; by ANDing in a classification code you are able to restrict the results to a certain aspect of engineering. Be careful using this technique - it is very easy to lose important citations if you pick the wrong, or too narrow, category.
- MathSciNet
  MathSciNet does not use subject headings or controlled vocabulary; instead, they use a hierarchical numerical system called the Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC). You may use the MSC number in your search to instead of using words to describe a concept or you may use the number to limit your search limit results to a specif category. Be careful using these techniques - it is very easy to lose important citations if you pick the wrong, or too narrow, category. Click on "Free Tools" in the upper right of the screen and then select "Search MSC" to see the outline for category.
- PsycInfo
  - From any screen within PsycInfo, click on the "Search Tools" tab on the top of the screen:
    - Within "Search Tools", click on the "Thesaurus" tab
    - In the "Browse Thesaurus" search box enter your keyword and select "Hierarchy" as the display, click on "Go" button
    - A description of the term, plus broader terms, related terms, and/or terminology that should be used instead of the keyword are displayed
  - On the results list look in the right hand column next to the entry for the descriptors assigned to that article.
- Web of Science
  - Web of Science does not assign subject headings.
Don't use the NOT operator to eliminate a concept from your search. Injudicious use of the NOT operator will cause you to miss many good references. If your search results contain a lot of junk in addition to what you want, try one of the following techniques:
- Use the AND operator to include a concept that will get just what you want (while eliminating what you don't)
- Redo your search strategy to exclude the keyword that is causing the false drops
- Instead of using a keyword, use a controlled vocabulary term (or subject heading, or descriptor) and limit that term to that field (controlled vocabulary, subject heading, descriptor)
Use multiple literature databases for searching; each database covers different publications and uses different terminology and indexing that can effect results.

Cited Reference Searching

If you have an older article (at least several years old) that is important in your field, you may want to see who has cited that article. More recent articles who have cited the older article may be on the same topic but could be difficult or impossible to find via subject searching because of variations in terminology. Or, the more recent articles may show how the research and/or technology in the older article has been applied to new areas.

Use the Web of Science database to find articles that cite your older article. Follow the instructions at the "Citation Searching in the Web of Science Database" web page.

MathSciNet also provides some citation statistics; use either the author citation or the journal citation tabs at the top. Note: do not compare "apples with oranges" --- MathSciNet and Web of Science generate their citation statistics from different sources so the citation counts are not compatible; compare MathSciNet stats only with other MathSciNet stats, do not compare MathSciNet stats with Web of Science stats.

ABI/Inform, EI Compendex and PsycInfo do not provide citation statistics.

Staying Current with Alerts

When you have finished your literature review, you'll need to keep up-to-date on the literature being published while you are doing your research and writing your dissertation/thesis. Most indexing databases and journals have "alert" features or RSS feeds that you can use to stay current on your topic.

Databases:

ABI/Inform
ABI/Inform will run a saved search strategy against the new items added to the database; you decide the frequency - daily, weekly, monthly or every 3 months. RSS feeds are available for a set of predetermined subjects.
- To set up an alert:
  - Perform the search
  - Click on the "Set Up An Alert" link at the top of the results list
  - Fill out the Search Alert form and click the "Save" button at the bottom
  - Note: you cannot delete an alert once you click on "Save", however when you fill out the form you are required to put in a "stop time" for the alerts. As the alerts are easily renewable, it is recommended that you select no more than a month at first for the stop time to determine if the alerts will be of value.
- To get an RSS feed script:
  - Click on the "Business RSS Feeds" link in the upper right of the screen
  - Select from the list to see the script needed for your RSS reader
EI Compendex
Compendex will remember your searches so that you don't have to input them every time you return to the database. Compendex will also run a saved search strategy each week against the new items added to the database and send you an email or RSS feed with the search results.
- To save a search (you may save up to 125 searches):
  - Perform the search
  - Click on " Search History" link in the upper right of the screen
  - Click on the "Save" button next to the search query you wish to save
  - You will be asked to log-in to your account. (If you don't already have an account, click on the "Register Now" link.)
- To create an e-mail Alert for a search (you may create up to 125 e-mail alerts):
  - Perform the search (if you have already saved the search, skip this step)
  - Click on the Search History link in the upper right of the screen
  - Check the e-mail Alert checkbox next to the "Save" button.
  - Each week you'll be sent an email with the search results
- To get a RSS feed script:
  - Perform the search
  - Click on the orange "RSS" button directly above the results list
  - A pop up window will be displayed that contains the link that you will need to copy and paste into your RSS reader.
  - Each week your RSS reader will be sent the search results (up to 400 titles). The display will consist of the just the title of each record with a link to the database for more info; you must be on campus for the links to work.
MathSciNet
MathSciNet provides RSS feeds for journal issues only. Also, under "Free Tools" in the upper right there are "Current Publications" and "Current Journals" search options in which you can browse through recent items added to the database.
- To get a RSS feed script:
  - Perform a search in the Publications section of the database by changing the first search term box from "author" to "journal" and entering in the title of the journal.
  - On any of the citations in the results list, click on the journal title
  - Click on the preferred RSS feed button to see the script
PsycInfo
PsycInfo will remember your searches so that you don't have to input them every time you return to the database. PsycInfo will also run a saved search strategy each week against the new items added to the database and send you an email or RSS feed with the search results.
- To save a search strategy:
  - Perform the search
  - Click on the "Search History" link in the upper right of the screen
  - Click on the "Save or Alert" link on the appropriate search statement listed in your history
  - Login if you haven't already done so (If you don't already have an account, click on the "Register" link.)
  - Fill out form, including the selection of either email or RSS feed
  - Click on the "GO" button in the bottom right
Web of Science
Web of Science will run a saved search strategy against the new items added to the database; you decide the frequency, either weekly or monthly. Web of Science will also notify you if a specific article has been cited recently; the notification may be either email or RSS feed.
- To save a search strategy:
  - Perform the search
  - Click on the "Search History" button at the top of the results list
  - Click on the "Save History" button near the top right of your Search History list
  - Login if you haven't already done so (If you don't already have an account, click on the "Register for more features" link.)
  - Fill out the form and click on the "Save" button in the lower left
- To set up an email Citation Alert:
  - Find the entry for your citation
  - Click on the title to display the full record
  - Click on the "Create Citation Alert" button in the right column
  - Login if you haven't already done so (If you don't already have an account, click on the "Register for more features" link.)
  - Click on the "Done" button to confirm.
- To get a RSS feed script for a Citation Alert:
  - Follow the same steps above for setting up an email citation alert
  - After the citation alert has been created, click on the orange "XML" button to get the text for your RSS reader.
- To delete an alert or saved search:
  - On the green bar at the top of the screen, change "Web of Science" to "Citation Alerts" or "Saved Searches"
  - Click on the "GO" button to the right
  - Login if you haven't already done so
  - Follow instructions on the screen

Journals

Most journals will alert you when a new issue is published so you can review the table of contents. To see if a journal alert is available:

Start with the ASU Libraries' Journal Lookup page
Type in the title of the journal in the search box
Select a link that has the current issues available but do not select a link that indicates "search for articles"
Follow the link to the journal site and see if an alert is available
If no there is no link to the current issues, search Google (put the journal title in " ") to find the publisher's site for the journal and see if an alerting service is available
If the only links to the current issues are labeled "search for articles", contact the librarian for help setting up an alert in the one of the databases above.

If you use "MyASU", some journal RSS feeds are available via that avenue (at this time the number of available titles is very small). Click on "Add Stuff" and put the journal name in the search box at the top of the screen; click on the "Add It Now" button, and then click on the "Back to homepage" link at the top left of the screen.

Page last modified: December 12, 2007