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WGST/PSYC 405/505 / SOC/CRJ 443/543: Gender Roles (Deward)

Research Guide for Gender Roles course

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
  • Check out the library's self-paced tutorial What are library databases and why should I use them? for more information

2. How do I search for my topic?

  • Identify the keywords of your topic and use those as your search words
  • Each article has tags assigned to it, words or shorts phrases that make them searchable - you want your search words to match those tags
  • Words like factors, effects, issues, relationships are usually not used as tags - don't include them as search words

Example: You are looking at paternity leave policies, focusing on how paternity leave policies affect families

  • Search: "paternity leave" famil*
  • Put a phrase in quotation marks to search for its words together, not as separate words
    • "paternity leave" searches for paternity leave as a phrase, not separate words
  • Add an asterisk * to the end of a word stem to search for all words that begin with that word stem
    • famil* searches for family, families,and familial

3. 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

4. How do I focus my search results to articles published in peer-reviewed journals in the last 10 years that are relevant to this course?

  • Use the options under Refine Your Search to focus your search hits
  • Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
    • Check Peer Review
    • Check Journal article under Content Type
  • Click on 10 Years under Publication Date
  • Under Discipline check the following disciplines (relevant to this course):
    • law
    • psychology
    • social sciences (general)
    • social welfare and social work
    • sociology and social history
    • women's studies

5. How do I focus the search hits to current event news sources?

  • Use the options under Refine Your Search to focus your search hits
  • News Sources:
    • Check Newspaper Article and/or Magazine Article under Content Type
  • Current Events:
    • Click on the pencil icon under Publication Date 
    • Set the date range to the last two months

6. I have a lot of irrelevant articles in my list of search hits. How do I focus them to my discipline and interest areas?

  • Use the options under Refine Your Search to focus your search hits
  • Under Subject Terms check 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 Quick Look below the article title
    • Look at its assigned Subjects (tags) 
    • Add any relevant Subjects to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research topics and search for books and articles for them

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

  • Click on Quick Look below the article title

8. 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

9. 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 subject terms that interest you
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned 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
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