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NFS 4601: Literature in NFS

Sciences Librarian

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Suzi Rumohr
She/Her
Contact:
Texas Woman's University Libraries
Rm 102D
P.O. Box 425528
Denton , Texas 76204
Phone/Text/Fax: 940-898-3297

Recommended Resources for NFS 4601

Databases

Below are databases you can use to search for articles related to NFS. 

What is...?

A primary (original) research article describes the methodology and findings of original research or studies. It usually has the following features:

  • A Methods section that describes how the study or experiment was performed.
  • It is written by the person or people who performed the research/experiment.

A secondary (review) article is a synthesis of articles written on a particular topic. It typically has the following features:

  • No original experimentation. Only describes the research that other people have done.
  • Comments on or analyzes the research of others.
  • Often lacks a Methods section.
    • When it does have a Methods section, it only describes how the analyzed articles were found. Which databases were used, when, and which search terms were used, etc.
  • Contains one or more of the following terms near the title:
    • Systematic Review
    • Meta-Analysis
    • Literature Review
  • Has an exceptionally long Works Cited list (More than two pages).

Peer review is a process that some articles must go through before publication. The journal that publishes articles determines whether the articles it receives must go through a peer review process before being accepted for publication.

The peer review process consists of each article being reviewed by experts in the field covered by the journal. For example, if an author submits a research article about nutrition to a nutrition journal, other nutrition experts will be the people reviewing the article. These reviewers ensure that the research methodology used in the study/experiment is sound, thorough, logical, and is not a collection of fake results.

Online reference management software is a tool that helps organize and maintain your collections of citations and references for your research. Citations from articles you find in library database can often be imported into this type of software.

As a TWU student, you have free access to reference management software called RefWorks.