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PSYC 372: Animal Behavior

Research Guide for PSYC 372

Access Library Resources Online

Trying to access library resources online? Follow the instructions on the Online Access to Library Resources page to access library databases, articles, and ebooks, both on-campus and off-campus.

Mardigian Search (searches all the library's databases at once)

Advanced Search

Search FAQs

Check out the library's self-paced tutorial, How do I search library databases?to learn the basics of database searches.

1. What is Mardigian Search and why should I use it?

  • Mardigian Search is the library's Discovery search box, which looks through all of the library's databases at once.
  • Mardigian Search is great for:
    • finding out what's been studied in your research area
    • finding sources about interdisciplinary topics

2. How do I find information that answers the Whale Evolution Essay questions?

  • Use the Whale Evolution exhibit and the three articles in the essay instructions document in Canvas as the basis for answering the essay questions
  • Find peer-reviewed articles that help you learn more about specific aspects of cetacean or canine evolution that you'd like to explore in more depth.
    • Peer-reviewed articles are about studies on very specific areas of research, so these will help you learn more about specific aspects of cetacean or canine evolution.
    • For example, if you want to learn more about limb loss during whale evolution, search for cetacea limb evolution

3. How do I find articles about my species for the Zoo Observation?

  • Use the species name as your search word(s)
  • Example search: warthog

4. Once I've identified specific behaviors for my species in my first zoo observation, how do I search for those behaviors?

  • Add the specific behavior, or a category of behavior, one at a time to your search
  • Example searcheswarthog nesting   warthog sociality

5. I'm looking for a specific article or book. How do I find out if the library has it?

  • Enter the title into the search box, removing all punctuation

6. How do I focus my search hits to current, peer-reviewed journal articles? 

  • Use options in the Refine Results sidebar of your list of search hits to focus them to current, peer-reviewed journal articles: 
  • Peer-reviewed articles:
    • Click on Peer Review 
    • Under Content Type, click on Journal article
  • Current/Recent articles:
    • Under Publication Date, move the scroll bar over to 2008 to present
  • Click on See more... under Subjects to identify more specific subjects of research for your species

7. I have too many irrelevant search hits. How do I focus them?

  • Under Discipline, click on relevant disciplines to focus your search results to those disciplines
  • Under Subject Terms, click on the subjects that interest you to focus your search results to your specific research areas of interest
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags (subjects) 
    • Click on Preview below the article description
    • Look at its assigned Subjects/tags 
    • Add any relevant tags (words) to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research topics and search for books and articles for them

78. How do I know my search words match the tags assigned to articles about my research question?

  • As you scroll through the search hits, look at the Subjects (tags) assigned to the relevant articles you find, and see if they match your search words 
  • Subjects (tags) also help you identify the specific issues around your topic so you can give it direction and develop it into a focused research question

9. How do I preview the abstract/summary of articles in the list of search hits?

  • Click on Preview below the article description

10. How do I access the article so I can read the whole thing?

  • Click on Full Text Online
  • Look for pdf Full Text or HTML Full Text links

10. I can't find anything on my topic. What do I do?

  • The search words you're using to describe your topic may not match the tags that have been assigned to books and articles on that topic
    • Look through the Subject terms in the Refine Your Search sidebar and check the boxes beside the topic areas that interest you
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags/subjects
    • Add any relevant tags to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research questions and search for articles about your specific research questions 
  • There may not be research tying your main ideas together yet
    • Try searching for your main ideas separately and linking their findings together
  • If you've found one article that's relevant for your topic, look through the sources in its References list to see if any of them are also relevant to your research

Find specific journals

Use Find a Specific Journal by Title to search for  journals (such as Animal Behavior):

Find A Specific Journal by Title

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