INFORMATION LITERACY AND DATABASE SEARCH 1
Information Literacy and Database Search Activity
Tracey Joseph
Argosy University
Advance Academic Study and Writing_M7000-A03
Instructor Susan Adragna
November/10/2016
Information Literacy and Database Search Activity
The purpose of writing this paper is to search for empirical articles that can find meaningful application in the topic of interest, which pertains to counselors’ perception of issues surrounding domestic violence. The paper will also be a description of be findings from the comprehensive search process and conclude with identification of four empirical research articles related to the perceptions of counselors about domestic violence. This studyI will propose one relational question related to the topic of interest, while discussing some additional keywords utilized during the search, name the databases used for the search, explain Boolean connectors and their significance, examine results from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis and conclude with a concise analysis of the four articles.
One relational question related to the selected topic is: “What factors do counselors consider most important drivers of domestic violence[O1]?” The key words from the research question variables used to conduct the search are domestic violence, intimate partner violence and counselors’ perceptions towards domestic violence. Additional keywords from the thesaurus included verbal abuse by spouses, counselor attitudes on domestic violence and counselor views on domestic violence.
Two databases utilized for conducting the literature search were EBSCO Host and ProQuest Central. These databases have a huge number of scholarly articles related to the research topic of counselors’ perceptions of domestic violence. They are also easy to navigate and the format of these databases areformat of these databases is easily searchable. Lessons learned from the EBSCO Host database tutorial included the link between substance abuse and domestic violence from the standpoint of the counselor and interventions that can help in reducing cases of intimate partner violence.
Boolean connectors are words used for defining relationships between the search terms. These connectors play a critical role in improving the results of the search irrespective of whether the person is using advanced or simple search. The three main Boolean connectors are and, not and or. For the selected topic, the connector “and” was the most useful in defining relationships between the search terms. Specifically, the typed words were “counselor perceptions and domestic violence”. These key words yielded numerous results, which helped in identification of the most important articles after further refinement.
The ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Thesis revealed a number of published articles related to the topic of perceptions of counselors towards domestic violence. Of the approximately 813 dissertations and theseis, many of them investigated counselor’s views on the causes of domestic violence, the nature of domestic violence and their views on the efficacy of interventions targeted towards minimizing domestic violence.
The four empirical research article related to the research question and topic are by Banks and Fedewa (2012), Orosco, Nievar and Middlemiss (2012), Peterman and Dixon (2013) and Chartas and Culbreth (2011). All these articles are qualitative in nature and they have great relevance to the proposed topic/research question. The article by Banks and Fedewa (2012) is important since because it highlights how counselors perceive domestic violence in opposite sex versus same sex marriages. It also provides a comprehensive literature review that can be beneficial when completing the research. The article by Orosco et al. (2012) is similarly important. This articleThe authors reveals the importance of counselor participation in the lives of women who have been victims of domestic violence. In addition, it identifies various strategies that counselors perceive to be the most important in helping the domestic violence victims. Peterman and Dixon (2013) offereds an extensive literature review on the issue of intimate partner violence among couples from the same sex. The research article by Chartas and Culbreth (2011) is also relevant since because it highlights effective counseling techniques for victims of domestic violence and attitudes held by counselors on the causes of domestic violence. For example, it reveals that counselors view substance abuse as a major cause of domestic violence among families.
References
Banks, J., & Fedewa, A. (2012). Counselors' Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence in Same-Sex Versus Opposite-Sex Relationships[O2]. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 40(4), 194-205. Retrieved from retrived on (2016, Novembe,08)
Chartas , N., & Culbreth , J. (2011). Counselor Treatment of Coexisting Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse[O3]: A Qualitative Study[O4]. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 22(1), 2-11. Retrieved from retrived on (2016, November, 08)
Orozco, A., Nievar, M., & Middlemiss, W. (2012). Domestic vViolence in Mexico: Perspectives of Mexican cCounselors. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 43(5), 751-762. Retrieved from retrived on (2016, November, 07)
Peterman, L., & Dixon, C. (2013). Domestic Violence between Same-Sex Partners[O5]: Implications for cCounseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 81(1), 40-47. Retrieved from retrived on (2016, November, 08)
[O1]This is not a relational question—this is a qualitative question—it is ok but you need to know that relational questions are quantitative
[O2]Lower case
[O3]Lower case
[O4]Lower case
[O5]same