online help to learn how to enter searches, what truncation symbol to use, how to display results, and how to print or download records.

Internet Search Engines

Once you have identified your keywords and developed appropriate search queries, you then select various search engines in which to input your queries. Search engines are tools designed to scan the Internet for sites and pages, which are then stored in indexes or databases. You search the contents of databases by typing selected keywords in the text box located on the search engine’s home page. The search engine then retrieves documents that match your keywords and displays the results ranked in order of that engine’s relevance.

Comparisons of Search Engines

The three major search engines used today are Google (http://www.google.com), Yahoo! Bing (http://www.bing.com), and Ask.com (http://www.ask.com). A search engine for scholarly or academic links is (http://scholar .google.com). You will find many peer-reviewed articles, books, and so on, as well as how often they are cited in other publications. There are also specialty search engines and virtual libraries in different dis- ciplines, such as the WWW Virtual Library for (http://www .anthropologie.net). You can find listings for a variety of specialty search engines at Search Engine Guide (http://www.searchengineguide.com/search- engines.html). Also available is a website by Teach Thought that displays 100 search engines for academic research (https://www.teachthought.com/ learning/100-search-engines-for-academic-research/). A valuable resource for searching the “Deep Web” (a vast repository of informa- tion not accessible by search engines and directories) may be found on a page on the Online College Blog titled “100 Useful Tips and Tools to Research the Deep Web.” The author provides tips, strategies, and helpful articles and resources for deep searching (http://www.online-college-blog.com/index.php/ features/100-useful-tips-and-tools-to-research-the-deep-web).

Evaluating Websites

Since anyone can post information on the Internet without any oversight or edit- ing or fact checking, it is important that you evaluate any information that you find on the Internet to determine its credibility and authority before using it in your research. Look at the URL to see if it is a personal website, an educational site, a commercial site, or a nonprofit organization site. Look for authorship of the site (Is there an “About Us” link somewhere on the page?) and when the page was last updated. Does the site try to persuade or to sell something, or is it simply

CHAPTER 9 • Reviewing the Literature 119 providing information? Is there any bias that you can detect? Can you validate the information through another source?

Searching Blogs

There are a variety of blog search engines available; however, we found Google Blog Search (https://blog.google/products/search/) to be one of the fastest and one that returns posts right on topic. The main focus of Google Blog Search is on relevance, but posts can also be sorted by date (click on the top right of the results page). In addition, you can keep track of new postings in your areas of interest via RSS feeds—short summaries sent from your favorite websites.

STEP 3: IDENTIFY RELEVANT LITERATURE SOURCES

The best place to begin your search is with the databases and indexes in your academic area. They help you identify and locate research articles and other sources of informa- tion related to your research topic. A detailed description of available secondary sources is beyond the scope of this book. However, as an example, we list some major resources traditionally used by and researchers. To find resources in your specific academic discipline, do a keyword search in your university library’s online catalog for your discipline (e.g., sociology, psychology, anthropology) followed by the word handbook, encyclopedia, bibliography, thesaurus, dictionary, , measures, and so on. Also, consult with librarians at your university library or with faculty in your graduate program for resources they turn to when beginning a new research project. In planning your search strategy, it is important to determine which academic dis- ciplines are conducting research in your topic area. It is more than likely that your research overlaps with other disciplines. For example, in the third research ques- tion in Step 1—“How does language use shape the identity of language-minority students?”—you must decide which academic disciplines might conduct research on this topic. Possibilities include anthropology, psychology, education, communi- cation, and sociology. The following is a list a variety of literature sources:

Selected Multidisciplinary Databases Academic Search Premier (EbscoHost) Communication and Mass Media (EbscoHost) Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) Research Library (ProQuest) Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) OmniFile Full Text Mega (EbscoHost) Selected Anthropology Databases Anthropology Plus (EbscoHost)

120 Part III • Climbing to Base Camp AnthroSource (Wiley) Anthropological Index Online (Royal Anthropological Institute) Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) Selected Education Databases Education Resources Information Center (ERIC, http://eric.ed.gov/) Education Research Complete (EbscoHost) Education Full-Text (H. W. Wilson) ProQuest Education (ProQuest) Selected Psychology Databases PsycArticles (American Psychological Association) PsycInfo (American Psychological Association) Psychology Journals (ProQuest) ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Selected Sociology Databases Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) SocIndex with Full-Text (EbscoHost) Social Sciences Fulltext (EbscoHost) Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Bibliographies, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries Biographical Dictionary of Social and Cultural Anthropology Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science Encyclopedia of Education Encyclopedia of Leadership Handbooks and Reviews of Research Literature Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children Handbook of Research in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders The Handbook of Research on Teaching Handbook of School Psychology Dissertations American Doctoral Dissertations (print) Dissertation Abstracts International (print) Index to Tests Used in Educational Dissertations by Emily Fabiano ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database (ProQuest) Literature Related to Published and Unpublished Measures Published Measures (Reviews of Instruments) ETS TestLink (https://ets.org/test_link/about) Mental Measurement Yearbook Buros (http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp; free searching, but charges to see review—also available full text from vendors such as EbscoHost) PRO-ED Test Review Tests in Print

CHAPTER 9 • Reviewing the Literature 121 Unpublished Measures (Sample Instruments) Assessments A to Z: A collection of 50 Questionnaires, Instruments, and Inventories Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques (vol. 3) Handbook of Organizational Measurement Handbook of Tests and Measurement in Education and the Social Sciences Measures for Clinical Practice Scales for the Measurement of Attitudes These are only a few sources of measurement available. Check with your library and the Internet under your specific academic discipline. Books Ebrary (full-text electronic books available through subscription by your library) Google Book Search (http://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=&btnG=Search+Books) NetLibrary Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page) WorldCat (http://www.worldcat.org; catalog of library holdings worldwide) Grey Literature Grey literature is literature not available through published databases or indexes. It can be in print and electronic formats. These are documents published by governmental agencies, academic institutions, corporations, research centers, professional organizations, and so on. •• Working papers •• Technical reports •• Government documents •• Government documents •• Conference or symposia proceedings •• White papers •• Business documents •• Newsletters •• •• Letters and diaries While these are not scholarly documents, they can provide up-to-date facts and statistics to broaden knowledge about a particular topic. The downside is that they are often difficult to find, and they must be carefully evaluated, as they are not peer reviewed. One way to locate grey literature is to search the agency or institution that produces the literature; another way is to consult a librarian. For a thorough explanation of grey literature and how to find it, refer to Doing a Literature Search by Hart (2004, Chapters 7 and 8). You will also find a selection of web-based resources in grey literature at Grey Literature Network Service (http://www.greynet.org). Existing Literature Review and Systematic Literature Review Articles These articles, including meta-analysis and meta-synthesis, consist solely of a literature review and are invaluable sources of data. They provide a good overview of research that has been conducted by synthesizing findings from individual studies. Many peer-reviewed systematic reviews are available in journals as well as from databases and other electronic sources. The bibliographic references are also very helpful. Additional Useful Sources •• American Educational Research Association (http://www.aera.net) •• U. S. Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov) •• WestEd (http://www.wested.org) •• Regional Educational Laboratories (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs) •• The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) https://nces.ed.gov/FCSM/index.asp •• United States Government Publishing Office (http://www.gpo.gov)

122 Part III • Climbing to Base Camp