If Camosun library does not have a specific article or book that you want, library staff can request it from another library.
Interlibrary loan service is provided to support research and study undertaken at Camosun and is available free to registered students, instructors and staff.
To place a request:
NOTE: There is a limit of 10 ILL requests per student per semester. There are also cost limits for individual items requested should there be a fee attached. Please review our policy should you have any questions.
Use quotation marks around specific phrases to search for exact wording. For example: "restoration ecology"
NOTE: "ecological restoration" will give you different results than "restoration ecology" - try both searches and compare!
The asterisk (*) or star key can be used to search for various word endings. It's a great way to expand your search!
Example: forest* will retrieve articles with the keywords forests OR forestry OR forested etc.
Camosun Library subscribes to dozens of databases that contain articles from magazines, journals, newspapers, and a variety of other sources.
For research in ecology, start with these:
CBCA Complete includes scholarly journal articles, trade publications, dissertations, books, newspapers and magazines.
Journal articles from Elsevier in health & life sciences, physical sciences and social & behavioral sciences. To limit results to Camosun's subscribed content only, first conduct your search, then from the left column, limit to Subscribed journals
Scholarly articles in the social sciences/sciences are written by academics and specialists in the field and include findings from primary/original research. If you don't have time to read a scholarly article from beginning to end, then consider the following approach....
| 1. Read and consider the article title |
Will give you clues about the topic: Does it tell me enough to see if the article reflects my research needs or interests? Does it include: a description? an equation? a process? a theory? a situation? |
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| 2. Scan the headings/sections of the article |
What is included: a literature review? research goals or questions? information on research methods? results, findings or need for further research? |
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| 3. Read the abstract |
This is the summary of the article, usually dense with information. Usually provides: the problem under investigation, characteristics of the participants, the study method, and the findings.
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| 4. Read the first few paragraphs of the Discussion section |
This section may also be called the Conclusion
Ask yourself: is the article still relevant for your research topic? |
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| 5. Read the remaining sections of the article. Suggested order of reading: Introduction, Results, then the Methods section. |
Before you read a section, take the heading and convert into a question. This will set the context for what you will learn in that section. Seek out the answer to this question as you read the section. Results: includes statistical analysis & information concerning any problems i.e. missing data and discussion of any implications. Method: provides participant characteristics, sampling procedures, sample size, and research design.
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| 6. Re-read the abstract and discussion section |
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| 7. Examine the References |
Make note of other relevant studies on the topic and locate these publications through Library databases. It may be that some of the References will include pdf attachments! |
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When you are looking at Journal Articles there are some clues that will help you decide if the article is or isn't an empirical study.
1. Does it review other studies that have been published ?
If yes, is that all the evidence that is used to reach the conclusion presented?
If yes, this is a review article and NOT an empirical study
If no, go to further questions.
2. Does the article use data from another source, e.g. Statistics Canada or other researchers, and analyze that data?
If yes, was other data gathered after the analysis was done?
If no, this is a meta-analysis and is not usually considered an empirical study.
If yes, go to further questions.
3. Does the article have the following sections:
Objectives/Theory - is there a statement of what the authors wanted to investigate or find out?
Methodology - was a study done? If yes:
Does the article include the number (e.g. n=240) and type of population studied (e.g. rats in a maze, military personnel returning from overseas)
Are terms such as: case study, survey, observation, questionnaire, assessment used?
Were those studied in matched groups or randomly selected?
Was there a double blind process? (Assignment to groups or treatments is not known to those doing the study or administering the treatment.)
Results - does it analyze results found in a study, through observation or by experiment.
Conclusion - a bringing together of the results to form a logical conclusion. This may be that the treatment or intervention failed or that the premise of the study was correct.
If you have said yes to most of the above, this is an empirical study.
