Post on 06-Dec-2014
description
Age-friendly communities: information strategies & resources
Elizabeth Yates, Recreation & Leisure
LibrarianWinter 2014
So how do you find the good
stuff?
Today’s outcomes
You will recall strategies for:• Conducting an enviromental scan
using scholarly & grey literature• Critically evaluating information• Finding relevant demographic
information• Getting help with APA style
Niagara Age-Friendly Community Network Assignment
• How the library can help:– Finding
information for environmental scan
– Finding demographic info for Niagara
Christina Saint Marche, Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/ejkfvf
Environmental scan
• Term originated in business and marketing research
• Refers to:– Actively scanning a variety of relevant
information sources (e.g. books, scholarly journal articles, websites, news articles)
– Collecting relevant information on your topic
– Evaluating and synthesizing information from multiple sources
Source: Industry & Market research, Portland State University Library: http://guides.library.pdx.edu/industry
The Research
Path
• Work from background to foreground
BACKGROUND INFO:-overview-key concepts & vocabulary
BOOKS
FOREGROUND:-very specific, timely aspects of topic
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Think like a search engine
>> keywords>> synonyms
Finding background infoURL: http://researchguides.library.brocku.ca/RECL
Image: 'untitled' http://www.flickr.com/photos/11797720@N00/8559607109Found on flickrcc.net
>Find books tab>SuperSearch
>use your keywords here
TIP: Start broad -- add more words as needed
Tips & tricks
1. Use “quotes” to search for an exact phrase e.g. “age friendly”
2. Use * to search for variations of a word ending e.g. plan* (plan, planning, planned)
3. Scroll down: the first results may not be the best
Succeed with SuperSearch
1. Refine your results: select “books & media @ Brock” to get background info
2. Slide the Publication Date to adjust time period
3. Select “Subject” to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic
4. Add another keyword to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic
5. To get a book: note location in library (print books) OR click “read this online” (e-books)
Evaluating info: the CRAAP test
CRAAP
C – CurrencyR – RelevanceA – AuthorityA – AccuracyP -- Purpose
Ask yourself:Currency
>How current is this info?
Relevance>How well does it relate to my
topic?
Authority>Who wrote this? What are the
author’s qualifications? Can anyone add info to this site?
CRAAP, continued
Accuracy> Can the facts be verified? Are
references clearly listed?
Purpose>Why does this information exist?
Like videos? Here you go:
Evaluating websites:http://youtu.be/7w62Wfgfc7w
On the web
Many websites are good sources of info for your topic: see Recreation & Leisure Research Guide > Websites > for ideas
Remember the CRAAP test!
Leisure information network
“LIN's vision is to be recognized as the national knowledge-based digital forum for sharing value-added information regarding individual and community nourishment and well-being through recreation, parks, and healthy living.”
Try searching:1. “age friendly” 2. “age friendly” community
Other strategies
• Municipal websites e.g. Welland > Departments > Recreation and Culture Summary of Parks, Recreation and Culture plan (Vision 2025)
• Community organization websites e.g. Niagara Connects > Niagara Knowledge Exchange
• Niagara Community Observatory
Grey literature
Publications produced outside the traditional scholarly platforms of academic journals and books
Examples:• Reports from organizations• Government reports• Policy documents• Conference proceedings• Working papers
Grey literature can be used for background & foreground info
Strategies for finding grey lit
• Use known sources e.g. Niagara Connects, LIN
• Use Google/Google Scholar – carefully!
Antiques, by bibliojojo: flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/68509201@N08/7360308172
Tips for Google/Google Scholar
• Use advanced search – click • Try exact phrase – e.g. age
friendly• Try any words – for synonym
searching – e.g. city OR community
• Restrict to a geographic region -- e.g. Canada
Scholarly articles
• Found in subject databases such as Leisure and Tourism, SportDISCUS, Web of Science
• Written by researchers who are topic experts
• Your topic is multi-disciplinary > SuperSearch is a good bet
Succeed with SuperSearch
1. Refine your results: select “peer-reviewed journals” to get scholarly articles
2. Slide the Publication Date to adjust time period
3. Select “Subject” to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic
4. Add another keyword to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic
5. To get an article: use the GetIt link
Search tools: combine concepts
Search words AND, OR are powerful tools for retrieving relevant results
Distinct concepts: use AND e.g. “community engagement” AND planning
Similar concepts (synonyms): use OR e.g. recreation OR leisure
home.howstuffworks.com/power-drill.htm
Niagara data
Try the Recreation & Leisure Research Guide> Data & Statistics page:
• Census of Canada & National Household Survey> age, gender, income, etc.
• Info varies depending on geographic level e.g. economic region (Niagara), census tract
Data and statisticsOther useful sources (on research
guide>data and stats page):
• Living in Niagara 2011
• Canada Info Desk > Major Canadian Cities > St. Catharines
• Niagara data - mapped
Tip: data/stats may not be available at the level you want
Help with APA style
Recreation & Leisure Research Guide– Library website > left nav menu
“Research Guides by Program”
• Writing and Citing tab
Getting Help
Chat with us from this widget @ brocku.ca/library
Text us @ 289.271.8777
Search ourQuestion &Answer Bank
brocku.ca/library
Click on the Help Tab to search
topics by Category
Contact me:eyates@brocku.ca 905-688-5550 x4469
Summing up