Graduate-Level Research

Citation Styles
Copyright for Graduate Students
Understanding Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
 

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In his book, Writing the Doctoral Dissertation (pp. 61-63), Gordon Davis identifies several sources for identifying your research topic:

• Current events
• Further research suggestions from past dissertations, articles, etc.
• Suggestions for research by authorities in the field
• Expressions of need for research by practitioners in a field or from professional associations
• Unproved or weakly proved assertations by an authority in the field
• Theories and concepts without supporting research
• Different approaches to testing of important results

• Credo Reference
  Provides online access to over 500 reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.) in all subject areas. This is the premier place to look up a quick fact or to search for background information on a research topic.

 

An empirical article is a research article that reports the results of a study that uses data derived from actual observation or experimentation.

Format of Article:

• Abstract – summary of the study
• Introduction – literature review
• Methods – methodology used
• Results – data results/analysis
• Discussion – significance of study
• References – works used/cited

​For empirical articles in ERIC, select Reports -- Research as the Publication Type.
ERIC and PsycINFO databases have limiter tools to narrow results by methodology type (empirical). Few databases have this limiter tool. However, you can use keywords to locate empirical research articles by using the following terms: empirical, methods, methodology, research design, survey, data, results.

Citation searching, also called citation tracking or citation tracing, is searching for scholarly resources through citations instead of keywords. Citation searching works best after you have found several relevant resources.
 
You can find resources by reviewing the reference list of an article or book you’ve determined is relevant to your research. Search for books using WorldCat . Your results list will indicate whether or not the Library owns the book. If the Library does not have the book, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) . For articles, look for the journal title using Find a Journal. 
 
You can also search forward in time by using a tool like Google Scholar . In this case, you search on the title of the resource you already have. In the results, you’ll see the link “Cited by.” Select this link to find works that cite your original research. See How to search by citations: Cited By searching in Google Scholar for more details. Other databases include this feature as well. Look for phrases like "Times Cited in this Database" or "Cited by."

• Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
  Full-text articles in all subject areas. For scholarly articles, click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.  
• Business Source Complete
  Premium full-text content and peer-reviewed business journals covering all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance and more.
• ERIC (EBSCO)
  ERIC is the primary database supporting research in all areas of education, including psychology, administration, and library science.
• Google Scholar
  Searches academic papers and other scholarly literature. Go to Settings and set SCSU as your "Library link" to get full text available through the library.
• APA PsycInfo
  APA PsycInfo is the premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information relating to all aspects of psychology and related fields.
• Science Direct
  Search over 1,200 scholarly journals published by Elsevier. ScienceDirect is multisubject, but specializes in science. Note: We do not have full text access to all journals. 1993 to present for Academic Press journals; 1996 to present for Elsevier journals

After you graduate from SCSU, you can still access scholarly journal articles through ELM (Electronic Library of Minnesota). You may need a barcode or identification number from your local public library to sign into these databases.

ELM: Electronic Library for Minnesota (eLibraryMN)

On the ELM homepage, click All Databases. Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, and several other databases are available for you to search.

If you find an article that isn't available in full text, you may be able to order it through interlibrary loan at your public library.

Advanced Searching on EBSCOhost - Tutorial from EBSCO on Vimeo.

Library databases contain scholarly information that is not usually freely available through Google. Searching the databases can be challenging because they work differently than Google.

• Search by concepts, taking out common words like effect, affect, good, bad, etc.
• Using AND focuses or limits your search (you get fewer results). Using OR broadens or expands your search (you get more results).
• Use * to search for different word endings (child* searches child, child's, children, children's but also childbirth) and plurals.
• Use quotation marks around phrases.
• Try the Advanced Search. Change the "field" you are search using the pull down menu (for example, search for keywords only in the "Title" of an article).

When searching the databases for articles, look for the one of these links to access full text:


If you don't see full text links, click on the Find It! button to view the easiest way to access the article:

If an online full text option is not available, you will either see information about where the physical item is in the library OR be prompted to Sign in to order the item through Interlibrary Loan.

Husky Fetch
Need books from the Library, but don't have time to go search for them in the building? Husky Fetch is the name of our paging service. Just place a hold on the book/s you want through the library catalog, and Husky Fetch will assemble them for you and have them waiting at the Circulation Desk. 

Library Access for Distance Students

Search for Books and More or Books Only

Find books, videos, DVDs, government documents, music scores, and more. To find the items in the library, look for the library location and call number.
 

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Search for Dissertations

Dissertation Abstracts - PQDT Open
Selective index to open access masters theses and dissertations from U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and Europe. Note: This is an open access subset of Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI).
 

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Search Other Libraries

Great River Regional Library (St. Cloud Public Library)
The public library has a wide variety of fiction and popular materials that complement the academic resources at the SCSU library. Students may Apply for a Free Library Card to borrow materials.

• Credo Reference
  Provides online access to over 500 reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.) in all subject areas. This is the premier place to look up a quick fact or to search for background information on a research topic.
• Ebooks Minnesota
  "An online ebook collection for all Minnesotans. The collection covers a wide variety of subjects for readers of all ages, and features content from our state’s independent publishers, including some of our best literature and nonfiction.”
• EBSCO eBook collection
  This eBook collection contains full-text e-books covering a variety of topics. These are the digital versions of books and are available 24/7 from on or off campus. For instructions on how to download eBooks from this site, see https://www.ebscohost.com/ebooks/user-experience/downloading-ebooks
• Open Textbook Library
  Textbooks that have been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. These books have been reviewed by faculty, can be downloaded for no cost, and are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
• Project MUSE eBooks
  Thousands of peer-reviewed digital books from major university presses and scholarly publishers.
• SAGE Reference Online
  Provides access to 90 full-text specialized encyclopedias that offer excellent background information on a topic.
• STATSnetBASE
  Searchable full-text editions of almost 800 CRC and Chapman & Hall texts, handbooks, and tables covering a variety of topics in statistics & probability, with applications in health, business, environmental, biological and physical sciences, and engineering. 

• Films on Demand
  Search for online educational videos from multiple disciplines and subject areas.
• Kanopy (Media Education Foundation)
  Online videos that encourage critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media, with a special focus on representations of gender and race.

Literature Reviews 
From The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina

Write a Literature Review (Includes video tutorials)
From Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries

Write a Literature Review 
Seven Steps to Writing a Literature Review from McLaughlin Library at the University of Guelph. 

Write Place
The Write Place offers one-on-one tutoring at any stage in the writing process. Make an online appointment or visit Webster Hall 117 or University Library 135E. 

As you start your culminating project, use the Dissertation Calculator from the University of Minnesota Libraries to help you stay on track.

Your culminating project will be submitted to the Repository at St. Cloud State University (Institutional Repository). The Repository provides open access to a diverse collection of academic, scholarly, scientific, and creative content produced by faculty, students, and staff at the University. As you progress through your program, watch for more information about preparing and uploading your proposal, draft for committee members, and final copy to the Repository. Your culminating project will also be available through the SCSU library catalog.