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Women & Gender Studies

WGST 2700 Feminist Approaches to Research

Keep in Mind

Consider the context of the ideas you are searching and don’t assume the words you are using are the words other authors are using.
Questions: Has this always been the accepted terminology? Are different terms used in different locations, time periods, disciplines?
Accepted terminology changes over time and geographic space. If your project will examine ideas from a historical period using the terms that were used in that period will get you the relevant results. Unfortunately, this may mean including search terms that are not only outdated, but harmful in current contexts. (See the Statement on Harmful Language in Catalogue Records and Resource Descriptions for more info).
Similar ideas can exist in different places under different terms. If your project is not bound to one location, time period, or discipline add related terms to your search.

There is no one “correct” way to find information, but some tools that are better than others. Match what you need to where you search to become an effective and efficient researcher.
Questions: What tools specialize in scholarly, academic sources? What tools can find information published by folks who are doing the work, not just studying it?
Library Databases
The Library pays subscriptions to databases of journals that have the most current research from scholars and academics. Most of these sources can’t be viewed in full for free elsewhere, so save time by starting with these tools if that’s the kind of information you need.
Web Search Engines (ex. Google)
As the title suggests, these tools search what is openly published on the internet. Open means public and free (no accounts, no log-ins, no fees). These tools can’t locate things that are behind a log-in, that require payment to access, or content that is dynamic (such as search results from other tools).
If the information you are looking for are publicly published reports, policies, or other information about groups and organizations then search engines are the right tools for the job.

 
Common generative AI tools are not good for discovering sources at this time. The way they work is to imitate, or predict, language patterns across a vast array of information. That means they are very good at making things up, but not very good at identifying or providing credit to any of the individual sources they were trained on.
 
The scope of information they are trained on includes every public and free source type from reddit posts to Open Access journal articles (the public and free internet) – but importantly, none of the scholarly research that requires payment to access.
 
There are many practical and ethical concerns regarding the information common generative AI tools have been trained on including transparency, authority, accuracy, and replicability to name a few.
 
Some Library search tools have integrated generative AI in order to provide overviews of search results, provide simpler summaries of articles, or suggest further topic connections, among other things.
 
These the generative AI used in these search tools has been trained on the scholarly content of the database and has been trained with specific intent to provide accurate attribution to individual sources. These technologies are still in development and are not infallible. In some databases this may be an “opt in” feature you can choose to turn on, in others there is no option to search without it.
 
Whenever working with generative AI, you are responsible for validating the accuracy of its output, checking that citation information is correct, and ensuring adherence to course policies.

Academic Sources

Including journal articles, books, and e-books

Keep in Mind

The most effective way to use Library search tools, such as databases, requires more than typing a phrase or question into a search box. Knowing a few special search techniques can save you time while using these tools. Check out the search strategy guide to learn more about techniques such as phrase searching, boolean operators, truncation, and more.

Journal Article Databases

Books and E-Books

Applied Sources

including reports, policy documents, and community publications

3 STEPS

1. The first step is to open Home - University of Lethbridge Library - LibGu... and enter your search terms into the search box.

2. Click Search

3. Scroll until you see the "Book/eBook" filter under Content Type and click to check the box. Your results will refresh with the filter applied automatically.

Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/2618190/How-to-locate-books-and-e-books-through-the-UofL-Library-Search?iframeHash=mobilequick-1



Next step

8 STEPS

1. The first step is to open ‪Advanced search‬‎ - ‪EBSCOhost Research Databa... and enter your search terms into the search boxes

2. The database works best when you use different search boxes for different concepts.

3. Scroll down to see filters you can apply before you search.

4. Click Search to see results.

5. If you want to change your filters after running the search click "All Filters" You can add more, or remove those already applied.

6. To remove a filter, click the X next to it.

7. Click Apply to run the search with the new filters.

8. That's it. You're done.

Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/2618194/Basic-searching-in-Gender-Studies-Database--hosted-by-EBSCO--?iframeHash=mobilequick-1



Next step

Your WGST Librarian

Hi, I'm Romany. 

If you have questions about searching, accessing, evaluating, using, or citing information I am here to help. Email me at romany.craig@uleth.ca or book an appointment time (in-person or virtual appointments are available).

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