ISYS3015Analytical Methods for

Information systems professionals

Week 3 Lecture 1: Finding the literature

The Research Process

Analytical Methods for IS Professionals

March 20th, 2002

The Research Process

• Slides of Powerpoint and additional notes are at

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/subjects/infotech/

The Research Process

• Descriptive research – “finding out”

• Explanatory research – “why something is the way it is”

• Evaluative research – “evaluation of strategies”

The Research Process

• Assoc.Prof Joseph Davis – “interactive process”• What is the question – selecting the research

topic• Conceptual framework – identifying and

defining the key concepts and then exploring the relationship between them

• Data gathering • Data analysis

The Research Process

• Parallels with Descriptive research

• Descriptive research involves an interactive process –

• Create a search strategy, try, review, modify, try, review, modify, complete

The Research Process

• Research topic

• “The Literature”

• Drafting a search strategy

• Electronic databases

• Evaluating the search strategy and citations

• Citing the references

The Research Process

• Selecting the research topic - define the question – know what your research topic is!

• Study it –

• Disembowel it!

• Know it intimately

The Research Process

• Identify key concepts

• Define the key concepts

• Exploring the relationship between the concepts in the question or research topic

The Research Process

• Think

• Talk about it to peers and experts

• Good time management skills – give yourself time for the issues to brew in your mind!

The Research Process

• Example:

• The use of mobile computing in the health care industry

• Key concepts –

• Mobile computing

• Health care industry

The Research Process

• Mobile computing – hand held devices, wireless technology, wireless communication

• Health care industry – Hospitals, ambulances, GPs, patient to carry the device, nursing homes, patient at home?

• Research topic may be further refined!

The Research Process

• “The Literature”

• What is the literature?

• “Previous writing and research is known as the literature.” – Ticehurst, p.59

• Vaste sea of documents

The Research Process

• How does one extract from this massive monolith the documents that will assist you to handle your research topic?

• Index of the literature – electronic database index

• Convert your research topic into a search strategy

The Research Process

Search strategies

• Key concepts –Synonyms

• Plural/singular or both?

• Acronym and/or spelt out – SLA or Service level agreement/s

• Broader terms/narrower terms

The Research Process

• Expressing the relationship between the terms in your search strategy

• Boolean operators

• AND

• OR

• NOT

The Research Process

Example of a Search strategy

• The use of mobile computing in the health care industry

• Strategy 1=mobile computing and health

• Strategy2=mobile computing & health care

• Strategy 2=hand held devices and health care

The Research Process

• Strategy 3= mobile comput* and medic* (truncation?)

• Strategy depends on the capacity of the database in which you wish to enter it.

• Check the HELP screens to see how the database handles the search

The Research Process

• Electronic database – index to the literature

• Indexed the “peer-reviewed” journal literature

• A database may cover a wide subject area – such as Web of Science or ScienceDirect

The Research Process

• May include the research publications of a professional society – ACM Digital Library is an example where the fulltext of the documents is made available.

• May focus on a particular subject area – SOCIOFILE or PsycINFO as given in Ticehurst p. 64

The Research Process

• For a listing of databases check the Library’s page at

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases

• To see if and how to use the database from your home PC, see

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases

The Research Process

• Example –

• Medline

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/

• Searching and reviewing the relevant records gives ideas of other meanings, broader possibilities

The Research Process

• Have a look at the records

• Do they give useful subject terms?

• Do the references point to previously not thought of possibilities?

• Do we see a broader perspective?

• Do we need to narrow the search?

The Research Process

• Searching and working with a search strategy is a Dynamic process –

• Implement the search strategy

• Review the results

• Any relevant references?

• Need to change the search strategy?

The Research Process

• In OVID – Medline, Sociofile, PsycINFO click on Weblink to be taken to the Library catalogue and hopefully the record for the journal title.

• If the journal title is not displayed, search the Library Catalogue by journal title

The Research Process

• Web of Science

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases

• Citation index –

• From 1985-

• Click on “Holdings” to go to Library catalogue

• Search “mobile computing and health care”

The Research Process

• ACM Digital Library• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases• Contains bibliographic information,

abstracts, information, abstracts, reviews, and full-text information, abstracts, reviews, and the full-text for articles published in ACM periodicals and proceedings since 1985.

The Research Process

• Extra words – mobile hosts; • Mobile transaction processing• Wireless LAN• Portable devices• Pen input• Laptop/s• Medical devices which mobile computers???

The Research Process

• Proquest 5000

• http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases/

• Contains a number of databases such as ABI Inform (Ticehurst, p. 63) Proquest Computing

• Search all collections

• Use Search methods - Guided

The Research Process

• Proquest 5000

• Show results with full text availability only

• Show peer reviewed publications

• Extra words – PDAs /Personal digital assistants

The Research Process

Citing online references•  A journal article in electronic form should be

cited as: • Author/s of article. (Year of publication) Title

of article. Journal Title [Online], vol numbering and page numbers. Available PROTOCOL: address and path, (date of visit).

 

The Research Process

• A journal article in a printed journal:

 

• Author/s of article. (Year of publication) Title of article. Journal Title, vol numbering and page numbers.

 

The Research Process• 1. Research topic – analyze

• 2. Search Strategy

• 3. The Literature

• 4. Electronic databases

• 5. Reflection, reviewing references

• 6. Citing the references.