What Kind of Researcher Are You? Are you... a Googler?... Browser... Reserve Reader... Federated Searcher..? Maybe one or a blend of these types, depending on what you need, where you are, and time on hand.
The Pink Panther is a heroic, moral cartoon cat with pink fur and the manners of an English aristocrat. He only becomes flustered or angry at obtuse or offensive humans who try to disrupt his existence, or at troublesome gadgets, rodents, or insects. In most of his cartoons, he stumbles into a difficult situation and stoically endeavors to make the best of it.
— IMDB, Plot Summary, The Pink Panther Show
In the movies, the Pink Panther is a large and valuable pink diamond which is first shown in the opening film in the series. The diamond is called the "Pink Panther" because the flaw at its centre, when viewed closely, is said to resemble a leaping pink panther. The phrase reappears in the title of the fourth film The Return of the Pink Panther, in which the theft of the diamond is again the centre of the plot. The phrase was used for all the subsequent films in the series, even when the jewel did not figure in the plot. It ultimately appeared in six of the eleven films.
Question: So what does a Pink Panther have to do with the research process?
Image: Pink Panther, Pixabay
Googler
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across a wide variety of publishing formats and disciplines. Google Scholar provides the means to search by author or publication title, and indicates and provides links to works that have cited the documents retrieved.
The About Google Scholar page provides useful guidance on searching, citations, metrics, and other features and capabilities of Scholar.
Tip: Linking Directly to Full Text via Google Scholar
- Start at the Google Scholar search page: http://scholar.google.com/.
- Click on "Settings" in the upper right hand corner.
- Click on "Library Links" in the left hand margin.
- Ensure that your links include Columbia University in the City of New York and Teachers College Library, Columbia University
- Note: You can use the search box to search for other libraries.
- Save your links.
Tip: How to Search Google Scholar
Images: Google Eyes Oobi Hand Puppet, Wikimedia; Large Fishing Net, Flickr
Browser
Maybe you like to look around the stacks in your favorite section, or cherry-pick resources online? Here are some pointers to do so!
Library of Congress Subject Classification
Education Subdivision - Class L
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Browsing Educat, the online catalog
- Click on the Subject tab
- Enter a Library of Congress Subject Heading, e.g. Social Justice
- Once there, you can click on a call number for a record and scroll through to see related titles
The A-Z List of Databases (E-Journals and Databases page) shows all the databases to which Teachers College subscribes. It has brief descriptions of content and coverage.
Research Guides on Learning at the Library form a browsable collection of linked resources arranged at the course, program, and department levels.
Reserve Reader
Read about Course Reserves
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Native Database Searcher
... meaning that you search a single database at a time..
With this technique, you can get utilize the database's thesaurus to help identify key subject terms and thereby construct a targeted search strategy
Example:
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Federated Searcher
Columbia University Quick Search
Search by Provider
Image: Wise Old Owl
Tip:
Start with a single database, e.g. ERIC Ebsco; execute a search; review your results and select what's good.
Then expand out by choosing other databases available through Ebsco.
