Skip to Main Content

FYS Fixing Broken Minds?: Types of Information

Return to FYS / AES Research Hub

           

TIP: Clicking this icon will take you back to the Research Hub.

How to...

 WorldCat@SU is the library's online catalog. Use it to identify printed and electronic books that we own as well as videos, CD's, DVD's, and more. A search by title in the online catalog yields over many titles on mental health and wellness.   If you find an item that we don't own that you need for your research, use Get it! and we will get the item from a library that does own it. 

 A few examples of select subject headings relevant to this class are below. Each is a live link directly into the online catalog. Always ask a librarian for help if you are not finding what you need--it may simply be a matter of using the right vocabulary.

Searching for both the abbreviation and the complete word or phrase will help ensure you are finding all of the relevant results. You can do this by connecting the terms with OR.  Example: If you are looking for information on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), you would search for: Cognitive Behavior Therapy OR CBT

Many of the subject headings listed below may also work in the listed databases as keyword searches. Every database develops its own list of subjects to use. Do a keyword search and compare your results with the subject headings (also called descriptors) in the records you find. They might provide you with better ways to do your search again.

Another way to find articles is to use a database

WorldCat@SU only finds a fraction of the articles available through our databases. Databases allow you to search specifically for articles. Not only do databases find more articles, they provide more precise search tools than WorldCat, yielding better results.

THE RESEARCH HUB: Scholarly, Popular, and Trade Publications - how to tell which is which

THE RESEARCH HUB: Databases & Articles: What are their functions?

THE RESEARCH HUB: Get it! Interlibrary Loan

THE RESEARCH HUB:  How to Organize Your Research

STEPS TO FIND ARTICLES
Use WorldCat@SU 

The quickest way to find the article is to type the full title in the single search box on the library homepage.  WorldCat@SU will search multiple databases at the same time, presenting you with the article title.  Example:  Side Effects of Electroconvulsive  Therapy.

Find Specific Journal title The Find the Journal by Title TAB allows you to search for full-text journals, as well as browse for titles by disciplines.  Type the title of the journal in the search box, then look down the results page until you locate the correct title.  For example, Animal Cognition.  Now you will  see links to databases which contain full-text articles. Example:  Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Search database to find the full-text article Once you have located an article via searching a library database, check to see if there is a link to a PDF full-text or HTML page with full-text.  You can also check the WorldCat@SU to see if the journal is available in print.  If the article in not online AND the journal is not available in print, then use GET IT!

Use GET IT! 

 

If articles is not available at Smith Library Center, you have another option to getting it.  Use GET IT, our interlibrary loan service.  You will need to set up an account the first time you use it and log in thereafter.
Recommended Databases View the full list of databases by title.    You may also select databases by subject  and by type. 
Academic Search Complete

A scholarly, multi-disciplinary database providing indexing and abstracts for thousands of journals and other publications. Academic Search Complete includes full-text access to peer-reviewed journals, as well as indexing and abstracts for magazines, monographs, reports, and conference proceedings. A good starting place for research; includes many medical disciplines.

Consumer Health Complete A library database with a variety of resources including magazines, books, videos, evidence-based care reports, and pamphlets, and it provides health information geared toward consumers. Topics covered include everything from diseases to sports medicine.
Health Source: Nursing / Health Academic Addition Journal articles focusing on many medical disciplines. It also features the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide.
Gale in Context:  Opposing Viewpoints

A resource that brings together academic articles, audio, videos, opinion essays and primary sources about contemporary controversies and hot topics. Whether you need a balanced view or support for your position, Opposing Viewpoints is the first place to go when you're researching a controversial or contentious issue. Browse Issues |   Example: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Gale in Context: Science An online resource that provides contextual information on hundreds of today's most significant science topics. Browse many topics, including mental disorders.
Gale Onefile: Health and Medicine This database integrates articles from a wide range of full-text nursing and allied health journals, magazines, newsletters and select consumer health information sources with full-text reference works and health-related multimedia.  Topic Finder finds new topics or keywords and discovers the new connections.
Streaming Video Databases Films on Demand & Alexander Street Video Provides scholarly coverage in a variety of disciplines. Users can create playlists and create clips that can be embedded into other documents.
E-books (Ebcohost) A database that contains all of the full text eBooks that SLC purchases from EBSCO, covering many health topics.

Tip:  The ending of the URL address may help you identify the sponsor.  All of the sources on this web page are freely accessible.  You will see that I have selected some commercial sites (.com)some non-profit organizations (.org), some government departments/agencies (.gov) and some informational/education sites (edu.).

 

Types of Information Sources

You will find information in different kinds of publications, places, and resources. Here are some of the main kinds of information sources you will use:

Books and Ebooks (Worldcat)

Provide broad, foundational coverage of a topic, usually with an in-depth analysis.This might include textbooks, more-detailed monographs.

Reference Sources, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks (Credo Reference Online)

Offer introductory overviews. You can find background information to help you select a topic and place it in the broader context of the discipline.

Scholarly Peer-Reviewed Articles (in JSTOR)

Contain articles written and reviewed by experts in the discipline. Topics are usually more narrowly focused.

Newspapers

Where you go for current information and topical comments, as well as for primary research information. Available in print and online and one of the first mediums to report on an event.  We subscribe to multiple newspaper databases online.

Popular Magazines (in Academic Search Complete)

Are written for general audiences and are meant to entertain, inform, or present an opinion. Authors are usually employed by the magazine.

Streaming Video databases

Available through the library and provide scholarly coverage in a variety of disciplines. Users can create playlists and create clips that can be embedded into other documents.

Websites

Provide ready access to information of all kinds. They often provide valuable information, but you must carefully evaluate the credibility and reliability of web sources.  For example, the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists website.

Conference proceedings

These are a collection of papers reporting on presentations or posters delivered at conferences, seminars or workshops.

Reports

Reports are produced by agencies and departments on specific topics or issues. These agencies can include Government departments, research establishments, charitable foundations and more.

Manuscripts and Special Collections

Manuscripts and archives are unique items which were created or collected by a person or organization in the course of their ordinary business, and retained by them as evidence of their activities, or because of the information they contain.

IF YOU NEED, then try this source.

Types of Information

Knowing what type of information you need will help you decide which sources to use.

There are four types of information:

Factual

Factual information is information that solely deals with facts. It is short and non-explanatory. The best place to find factual information is in reference books such as encyclopedias and almanacs. You can also find it in governmental statistics such as the U.S. National Institute for Mental Health.

Example:  Guadalupe Peak  is the highest point in Texas.

Analytical

Analytical information is the interpretation of factual information. What does the factual information mean? What does it imply? This is the type of information that researchers generate in their studies. Analytical information is mostly found in books and journals.

Example: Based on crash statistics, Texas State Police designated the road as dangerous.

Subjective

Subjective information is information from only one point of view. Opinions are subjective. You can find subjective information almost anywhere factual information isn't. It is in books, journals, websites and book reviews.

Example: I hate Texas' hot, humid summers!

Objective

Objective information is information that is understood from multiple viewpoints and presents all sides of an argument. Reference books are a good place to find objective information. Newspapers that have balanced and fair reporting are also objective. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is a  great objective databases.

Example: While many people don't like Texas summers, some look forward to the season so they can travel.

Scholarly Resources Provide (academic journals)

Most of the time you will be asked to use scholarly or academic resources for your class. Therefore, it is important that you can tell the difference between a scholarly resource and a popular one. Many article databases allow you to limit your results to scholarly sources.

Scholarly resources provide:

  • Information that has been evaluated by experts in the field
  • Scholarly analysis, description or evaluation of events and ideas
  • Primary sources of information about the views of a scholarly community
  • Text is dense and looks serious
  • Written for scholars, students, and the well-educated public
  • Written by scholars, professional practitioners
  • Content includes in depth analysis or extensive overview of a topic
  • Content is only published after review by credible scholars in the discipline (peer review)
  • There are many citations and use of technical language
  • Examples include American Journal of Sociology, Philosophy and Literature, and Nursing Ethics

Popular Resource Provide (popular magazines)

Popular resources provide:

  • Primary information about culture and society
  • General information and commentary about political, economic and cultural events
  • Current statistical information of general interest
  • Popular opinions and beliefs
  • Will often have exciting pictures, many advertisements, glossy cover
  • Will be written for a general audience
  • Written by journalists, professional and amateur writers 
  • Content will be simple discussions of news, entertainment or other popular subjects 
  • Are reviewed by publications editors
  • Have few or no citations
  • Language is simple
  • Titles include  Psychology Today, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Consumer Reports

Credit:  This page was the result of another fine librarian at another university.  At this moment I cannot find the url.  As soon as I can credit the source, I will.  

The four common systems of documentation are:  MLA, used in English and the humanities; APA, used in psychology and the social sciences; Chicago, used primarily in history; and CBE, used in the sciences.