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Based on the characteristics of academic database keywords, diagnose the flaw in Sarah's conclusion and outline how she should modify her search strategy to successfully locate relevant literature.
Case context: A psychology student, Sarah, is searching an academic database for literature on how parental conflict affects toddler behavior problems. She searches the exact phrase 'parental conflict toddler behavior problems' and retrieves only two articles. Frustrated, Sarah concludes that almost no research exists on this topic and decides to abandon her research question.
Question: Based on the characteristics of academic database keywords, diagnose the flaw in Sarah's conclusion and outline how she should modify her search strategy to successfully locate relevant literature.
Sample answer: Sarah's flaw is assuming that a single, highly specific search query represents the entire body of literature on her topic. Because academic database keywords are often author-supplied or highly specific rather than standardized, other relevant articles may use different terminology. Sarah should modify her search strategy by experimenting with different word combinations (such as 'parental disagreement' or 'marital discord') and altering the levels of specificity (such as broadening 'toddlers' to 'children' or 'early childhood') to locate more records.
Key points:
- Sarah incorrectly assumed a single, specific search combination would retrieve all relevant literature.
- Academic database keywords are author-supplied or highly specific, not standardized, leading to terminology variation.
- A researcher must experiment with alternative word combinations (synonyms) to locate relevant papers.
- A researcher must try different levels of specificity (broadening or narrowing terms) to successfully locate literature.
Rubric: The response must explain that Sarah's search failed because database keywords are often author-supplied and highly specific, meaning different authors use different terms for similar concepts. It must also suggest that she experiment with alternative word combinations (synonyms) and different levels of specificity (broadening or narrowing terms) to find more articles.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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