soci 310
library research workshop
Winter 2025 - for Alejandro Herdandez
TO FIND THESE SLIDES & MORE:
Google: soci 310 concordia library
your subject librarian: susie.breier@concordia.ca
ZOOM office hours most Tuesdays 3-5, or by appointment
Text
ZOOM & H-1132 office hours: most Tuesdays
3:30-5:30 pm
OR by appointment
AskUs Desk
Webster LB building:
most Fridays 3-5
pronouns: she/her/elle
YOUR ASSIGNMENTS:
where does the
library come in?
-
literature review: 12 peer-reviewed items
...after selecting a research topic, team members will need to identify and read some peer‐reviewed research to see what other researchers have already discovered about that topic.
-
auto-ethonography: 4 peer-reviewed items
...It is always a good practice not only to read and identify the content of peer‐reviewed research, but also index it ‘on‐the‐go,’ making use of citation software.
-
use apa citation style FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS
OUR assignment-based Agenda for today...
BUT FIRST:
NEED ASSISTANCE WITH ANYthing related to library research?
ask questions - GET HELP:
at the AskUs desk
via chat
via email
by phone
Need assistance beyond a quick chat,
and have a bit of time to plan?
your subject librarian: susie.breier@concordia.ca
ZOOM office hours most Tuesdays 3-5, or by appointment
Text
ZOOM & H-1132 office hours: most Tuesdays
3:30-5:30 pm
OR by appointment
AskUs Desk
Webster LB building:
most Fridays 3-5
pronouns: she/her/elle
you CAN also find me this way:
under sociology see:
assignment-based Agenda
also good to cover
finding research
related to your topic
where doyou search for
academic/peer-reviewed research on topic?
tell your classmates
Search for specific library books, ebooks, articles and films
but go beyond sofia to search for topics
use your
soci 310 LIBRARY tips page
Reminder:
see the first section:
Google: soci 310 concordia library
Back View Of Man In Hoodie Walking On Pedestrian Lane Beside Yellow Building by Scopio from NounProject.com
my topic:
reasons for (not) walking
my tentative research question:
What factors affect university students' decisions about walking outdoors in their neighbourhood and how do these factors relate to race, racism or socioeconomic inequities?
hAVE YOUR SAY:
better KEYWORDS AND results
socindex search
2025
...more examples
*see also: search tips & strategies
...interesting results might include:
now how can you access / download articles you found?
GOOGLE SCHOLAR
google scholar "CITED BY":
once you have found a relevant article, use
"cited by" to find more recent related material
1
2
3
google scholar findit@concordia TIP:
peer-reviewed articles checklist
In many Library Databases you can use a checkbox:
test yourself - which one(s) is/ARE peer-reviewed?
find at least 3 reasons
This blog entry reports on an interesting study which involved many academics, but it is NOT an academic/scholarly/ peer-reviewed article. Scholars are discussing their in-progress study, but they are not framing it within other academic research, nor presenting fully on their methodology or theoretical frameworks.
There is no bibliography!
This IS an academic/scholarly/
peer-reviewed article. Important clues: published in an peer-reviewed journal, academic language, distinct sections. The scholars outline their research questions and describe how they will answer them in their review and arguments.
Long bibliography of references.
still not quite getting it?
VIDEO: peer-review in 3 minutes
entering your keywords
SEARCH STRATEGIES
| TIP | WHAT IT DOES | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
|
AND |
Combines concepts. Limits how many results your search produces |
police AND violence |
|
OR |
Allows for synonyms or alternative terms. Increases the number or results your search produces. |
violence OR brutality |
|
* |
Near the end of a word, retrieves all words that start with the letters entered. Increases the number of results a search produces | Canad* (retrieves Canada, Canadian) |
| “ ” | For two words or more, search for an exact phrase only, rather than each keyword separately. Limits how many results your search produces | “systemic racism” (retrieves systemic racism, but not systemic oppression related to racism) |
search tips & tricks
standard library article databases
Google Scholar
- use OR for alternative terms/ideas/synonyms
- use quotation marks " "
for phrases
- DON'T use AND (it is implied)
- DON'T use * ( happens automatically)
library databases
(ebsco, etc)
- use OR for alternative terms/ideas/synonyms
- use quotation marks " "
for phrases
- use AND to combine concepts
- use * to substitute word endings
SEARCH EXAMPLES:
("police brutality" OR "police violence" OR "police shootings")
AND
(racis* OR discrimination OR bias or profiling)
AND
(defund OR aboli* OR reform)
in library article databases:
in google scholar:
("police brutality" OR "police violence" OR "police shootings") (racism OR discrimination OR bias OR profiling) (defund OR abolition OR reform)
handout to download:
example of a keyword
combination in socindex
(YouTube, 7 mins)
Developing your search strategy: VIDEO
search strategy test yourself
from our Library Research Skills Tutorial:
what about
THAT literature review?
Most peer-reviewed articles include a literature review within their text, even when it is not separately labeled as such
this paragraph is part of a literature review:
You can also consult literature review journals. Articles in these journals consist of long and comprehensive literature reviews, with tons of useful references.
examples of literature review journals:
example of ARTICLE in Sociology Compass:
ARTICLE in Annual Review of Sociology:
SEARCH these lit review journals
referencing &
citationS
FROM YOUR assignment guidelines:
For all your assignments, you need to use the APA citation style.
typical examples:
in-text citations (APA style)
Hakkinen and Akrami (2014) found that “individuals are receptive to climate change communications, regardless of ideological position” (p. 65).
Research shows that people from any ideological background are open to hearing about climate change (Hakkinen & Akrami, 2014).
typical examples:
Bibliography (APA style)
see this sample paper with a reference list on p. 17
What about
automatic citation tools
instead of style guides ?
automatic citation tools
Quick Citation Generators
(for example MyBib, Citation Machine, or those provided within databases like EBSCO, Google Scholar, Sofia)
* Make sure to double check your generated citations - they are not always correct! Use the Library's APA citation style guides to make sure all the required elements of the citation are present and correctly formatted.
automatic citation tools
...It is always a good practice not only to read and identify the content of peer‐reviewed research, but also index it ‘on‐the‐go,’ making use of citation software.
FROM YOUR assignment guidelines:
Note that you can also use citation software to share citations on your topic with your group.
Concordia Library provides support for Zotero.
automatic citation tools
Citation Management SOFTWARE
(for example RefWorks, Mendeley, EndNote, Zotero....)
Accessing resources
at concordia & beyond
Search for library books, ebooks, articles and films
what if the library doesn't have it ONLINE?
request a book and pick it up later....
or use the call number and locate button to find it
what if the library DOESN'T have it at all?
search for it in any library worldwide:
... and simply request it!
but you
CAN'T borrow
ONLINE
books
from
other
libraries
what about ai for research and lit reviews??
get some context &
learn the basics
-
ChatGPT & Generative AI
a Concordia Library Quick Things for Digital Knowledge guide
try out some tools
-
AI-based research tools (Oxy Library)
- AI-Based Literature Review Tools (TAMU Libraries)
EVALUATE:
how sociological, current and relevant are your results? Compare with results from SOCindex, Google Scholar, Sofia