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Library

Research Workshop

EDUC 6002 Winter 2026

Susie Breier

Susie.breier@concordia.ca

bit.ly/3LqkJ0R

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Susie Breier (she/her/elle)�Education Librarian

AskSusie Office Hours �on Zoom �Wednesdays 4:30-6:30 pm

AskUs Desk Fridays 3-5 pm

or by appointment

Email: susie.breier@concordia.ca

FIND ME:

Google: �concordia library education

concordia.ca/library/guides/education�

�

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TODAY

Using the library / getting help
Zotero & reference management
Searching for empirical research articles
Accessing those articles & sources

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USING THE LIBRARY & GETTING HELP

SAMPLE FOOTER TEXT

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USING THE LIBRARY

WHY BOTHER?
WHAT SHOULD EVERY STUDENT KNOW?

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Support for Grad Students

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Getting help in the Library

Ask Us desk, chat, email or phone

FOR QUICK OR GENERAL QUESTIONS

Google: ask concordia library

2) Contact your subject librarian

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH CONSULTATIONS

Icons on this slide are from the noun project

If you have a quick or a general question, you can come to the Ask Us desk in person at one of the libraries. Or you can use chat, email or phone. But if you want to get more in depth or if you have a question that's specifically related to your subject, or if you just want to get advice, or have a more complex consultation, you can contact your subject librarian.

I really want to drive home that no questions are bad questions and that we are here to help, but let me give you a few examples of questions we get frequently to give you an idea of how we can help:

“I need to develop a research data management plan for my dissertation research, where can I start?”

Or “I'm nearly finished with my studies and I want to publish my work what journals should I consider and how can I make my work open access?”

“I need to do a literature review. How can I be sure I'm searching all the important sources?”

Or say you need to find company reports or demographic statistics or patents or geospatial data, archival documents, sound recordings, curriculum materials, chemical properties, anything else – in all these cases, a librarian will be able to help you identify the resources that you need to consult to find the information that you need.

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Susie Breier (she/her/elle)�Education Librarian

AskSusie Office Hours �on Zoom �Wednesdays 4:30-6:30 pm

AskUs Desk Fridays 3-5 pm

or by appointment

Email: susie.breier@concordia.ca

FIND ME:

Google: �concordia library education

concordia.ca/library/guides/education�

�

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ZOTERO

SAMPLE FOOTER TEXT

what is it?
why use it?

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Let’s launch Zotero

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You can create a Collection

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… or a GROUP LIBRARY

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SOME ZOTERO BASICS

ZOTERO instruction SLIDES�

ZOTERO Grad Workshops at Concordia

ZOTERO Group/Shared Libraries

Quick Videos:

MY GROUP LIBRARY for this class: bit.ly/3NBJmIp or zotero.org/groups/6388751/educ_6002

capital i

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TODAY – checklist 1

Using the library / getting help
Zotero & reference management
Searching for empirical research articles
Accessing those articles & sources

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TODAY – checklist 2

Using the library / getting help
Zotero & reference management
Searching for empirical research articles:

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
AI Academic tools�

Accessing those articles & sources

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SEARCHING for ACADEMIC SOURCES in EDUCATION

SAMPLE FOOTER TEXT

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�find peer-reviewed empirical research studies on your topic �

where would YOU search?

TELL YOUR NEIGHBOUR

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
GenAI-based Research Tools

see also the module: Choosing your Search Tool from our Critical Toolkit for Navigating Information

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS - �Sofia

Sofia�

Discovery Tool for Concordia Library - and beyond
use to access known items at Concordia - and beyond
unsophisticated & unsatisfying for advanced searching
can use to search for books

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS 2

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
GenAI-based Research Tools

see also the module: Choosing your Search Tool from our Critical Toolkit for Navigating Information

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS –�Library Databases

2. Library Databases (400+ at Concordia Library):�

by Subject/Discipline. ex: Education Source & ERIC
by Type of souce: scholarly encyclopedias, news, film/video, government publications….
Advanced search options: boolean searching, filters by date, format/source, peer-review; subject indexes; but little or no natural language capabilities
Subsciption-based, ‘legitimate’ search tools with replicable search results
Often no match for Google Scholar for wide-ranging, “needle in a haystack”, very recent searches

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Library databases �& tools

�examples to try:�

Discipline specific article databases:

Education Source (EBSCO)
ERIC (EBSCO)�

Interdisciplinary, citation tracking

Web of Science (ISI)

Reference & review sources

Oxford Research Encyclopedia: Education
Review of Educational Research (journal)
Review of Research in Education (journal)�

Sources about qualitative research:

Research Methods Online (SAGE)

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�How can you zero in on empirical research articles that use qualitative methods?

What about review articles?

there is no one magic search for this , but try keyword searches with lots of synonyms describing possible methods

they can help you identify and evaluate articles using qualitative methods

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Library Databases - USING THEM�sample search - Advanced Search mode

("disciplin* disp*" OR "disproportionat* disciplin*" OR "discipline gap" OR “exclusionary discipline”) �

AND

�(qualitative OR interviews OR “focus group*” OR “case stud*” OR ethnograph* OR observation)

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�Library Databases for Education

FINDING THEM

Concordia Library website:

Subject Guides

Database Finder

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why use Education Databases if they offer fewer results?�

why does it matter where you search?

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS 3

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
GenAI-based Research Tools

see also the module: Choosing your Search Tool from our Critical Toolkit for Navigating Information

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�ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS –�Google Scholar

3. Google Scholar:�

Effective for wide-ranging or “needle in a haystack” searches
“Cited by” feature for snowball searching, finding RECENT sources
No advanced filters such as source type, peer-review
Keyword searching only, no subject indexes
Results not fully replicable, search algorithms and source list hidden
Can set it up to access Concordia online resources

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Comparison�Library Databases vs Google Scholar

("disciplin* disp*" OR "disproportionat* disciplin*" OR "discipline gap" OR “exclusionary discipline”) �

AND

�(qualitative OR interviews OR “focus group*” OR “case stud*” OR ethnograph* OR observation)

("disciplinary disparity" OR “disciplinary disproportionality” OR "discipline gap" OR “exclusionary discipline”)

(qualitative OR interviews OR “focus groups” OR “case study” OR ethnographic OR observation)

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Search strategies: Boolean operators and more

use OR for alternative terms / ideas / synonyms

use quotation marks " " for phrases

DON'T need to use AND (it is implied)

DON'T use * (happens automatically)

use OR for alternative terms / ideas / synonyms

use quotation marks " " for phrases

use AND to combine concepts

use * to substitute word endings

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

LIBRARY DATABASES (EBSCO etc)

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Found some articles?

save them to your Library or Collection:

ZOTERO

Now what do you do with those saved entries in Zotero? How do you create citations and reference lists?

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ACADEMIC RESEARCH TOOLS 4

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
GenAI-based Research Tools

see also the module: Choosing your Search Tool from our Critical Toolkit for Navigating Information

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GenAI based Research Tools

SLIDE SET:

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Search results Perplexity AI tool

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Search results Scite AI tool

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TODAY – checklist 3

Using the library / getting help
Zotero & reference management
Searching for empirical research articles:

Sofia
Library Databases
Google Scholar
AI Academic tools�

Accessing those articles & sources

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ACCESSING STUFF

SAMPLE FOOTER TEXT

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Accessing Stuff: Sofia

Find what we own: books, videos, articles �
REQUEST material from Quebec University Libraries & libraries around the world�
Try quick topic searches��
Introductory Video:

Searching Sofia

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Requesting stuff from other libraries: Sofia

Quick How-to Videos:

Requesting Books (print books)

Requesting Articles & Chapters (online)

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Accessing Stuff: Google Scholar set up

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Citations & References

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Thoughts about citing and citational practices

This is a challenge for all of us: Reflect on the way you approach referencing the work of others in your own writing, presenting and thinking. Whose work do you build on to make arguments ... Who are you citing, and why do you cite them (and not others)?�Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang, Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández,"Citation Practices" Critical Ethnic Studies, April 2015

I believe that bibliographies and endnotes and references and sources are alternative stories that can, in the most generous sense, centralize the practice of sharing ideas about liberation and resistance and writing against racial and sexual violence. �Katherine McKittrick, "Footnotes (Books and Papers Scattered about the Floor)", Dear Science and Other Stories, 2021

See also, from our Critical Information Literacy Toolkit: Who's Citing Whom and Inclusive Voices

THOUGHTS ABOUT CITING

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SCHOLARLY CONVERSATION

Diagram from https://www.connectedpapers.com/

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CITATION BASICS

Next set of slides adapted from those of Aeron MacHattie, Teaching & Research Librarian

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REMINDER:

Use a CITATION STYLE GUIDE!��Examples:

Chicago quick style guide

APA quick style guide (for articles, books, chapters)

More style guides with more details & examples

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HOW, WHEN & WHERE ��TO CITE

HOW

Use only one citation style per paper
Use automatic citation generators (optional)
Use a citation style guide (APA, MLA , Chicago)
Identify what your source is before you cite it

WHEN

Information or facts that are not common knowledge

ex. the Eiffel tower is in Paris vs. the Eiffel tower receives 7 million visitors per year
both “direct quotes” and paraphrasing

WHERE

In-text citations at the end of the sentence
End-of-text citations in a list of sources (References)

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Come at the end of the sentence where you quote or paraphrase a source

Refer the reader to a complete list of sources at the end of your paper

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS: DIRECT QUOTES

Hakkinen and Akrami (2014) found that “individuals are receptive to climate change communications, regardless of ideological position” (p. 65).

APA

Hakkinen and Akrami (2014) found that “individuals are receptive to climate change communications, regardless of ideological position” (65).

Chicago

author-date

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS: PARAPHRASING

People from any ideological background are open to hearing about climate change (Hakkinen & Akrami, 2014).

APA

People from any ideological background are open to hearing about climate change (Hakkinen and Akrami 2014)

Chicago

author-date

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END-OF-TEXT CITATIONS: REFERENCE LIST

Come at the end of your paper in an alphabetized list of all the sources you used�
Consist of thorough citations containing all information needed to successfully identify each source�
Sometimes called a bibliography (Chicago notes & bibliography), references (Chicago author-date, APA) or works cited (MLA)

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END-OF-TEXT CITATIONS EXAMPLE:�APA JOURNAL ARTICLE REFERENCES

References

Doherty, T. J., & Clayton, S. (2011). The psychological impacts of global climate change. American Psychologist, 66(4), 265-276.

Hakkinen, K., & Akrami, N. (2014). Ideology and climate change denial. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 62-65.�

McCright, A. M., & Dunlap, R. E. (2011). Cool dudes: The denial of climate change among conservative white males in the United States. Global environmental change, 21(4), 1163-1172.

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END-OF-TEXT CITATIONS EXAMPLE:�CHICAGO AUTHOR-DATE JOURNAL ARTICLE REFERENCES

Reference List

Doherty, Thomas. J., and Susan Clayton. 2011. “The psychological impacts of global climate change.” American Psychologist 66, no. 4: 265-276.

Hakkinen, Kristi, and Nazar Akrami. 2014. “Ideology and climate change denial.” Personality and Individual Differences 70: 62-65.�

McCright, Aston M., and Riley E. Dunlap. 2011. “Cool dudes: The denial of climate change among conservative white males in the United States.” Global environmental change 21, no.4: 1163-1172.

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BOOK CHAPTERS: APA & CHICAGO

Guillen, R. (2017). Growing Justice in the Fields: Farmworker Autonomy and Food Sovereignty. In D. G. Peña, L. Calvo, P. McFarland, & G. R. Valle (Eds.), Mexican-origin Foods, Foodways, and Social Movements: Decolonial Perspectives (pp.235-250). Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.

APA

Guillen, Rosalinda. “Growing Justice in the Fields: Farmworker Autonomy and Food Sovereignty.” In Mexican-origin Foods, Foodways, and Social Movements: Decolonial Perspectives, edited by Devon Gerardo Peña, Luz Calvo, Pancho McFarland, and Gabriel R Valle, 235-250. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2017.

CHICAGO

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TIPS FOR PARAPHRASING

Make sure you aren’t keeping the same structure as your source quote and only replacing a few words with synonyms (Thesaurus plagiarism)
Try reading the quote you want to paraphrase, setting it aside and writing it in your own words
Any set of words in the same order as your source needs quotation marks

Practice paraphrasing and other quotation skills with the library research skills tutorial

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RESOURCES AND HELP

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AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED CITATIONS

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BIBLIOGRAPHIC MANAGERS

Programs that build a database of your research material.

At Concordia we use: ZOTERO

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REMINDER:

Use a CITATION STYLE GUIDE!��Examples:

Chicago quick style guide

APA quick style guide (for articles, books, chapters)

More style guides with more details & examples