Guide to Library Research on Aging Topics

A tutorial from the IOA Information Center

Contents:
About this Guide
Getting Started: Aging Terminology
Finding a Literature Review
Using a Bibliographic Index
Locating the Items You Have Identified
Finding Demographic Data
Finding Web Sites & Web Documents
Universal Search Tips

About this Guide

This guide is a service of the UNC Institute on Aging Information Center. It is written primarily for higher education students in North Carolina.

Getting Started: Aging Terminology

When you do library research, it is very important to understand and use the appropriate terminology in your searches. For example, if you are interested in locating information on long term care, you would need to know about the many terms typically used in that field, such as assisted living, continuing care, etc., so that you can construct thorough searches. One of the best ways to learn about proper terminology is to read an encyclopedia entry or chapter in a handbook. Examples of these resources include:

Bengtson, Vern L. (ed.), et al. (2009). Handbook of theories of aging, 2nd ed. New York: Springer Pub.
Binstock, Robert H. & George, Linda K. (eds.) (2006). Handbook of aging and the social sciences, 6th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Birren, James E. & Schaie, K. Warner (eds.) (2006). Handbook of the psychology of aging, 6th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Capezuti, Liz (ed.), et al. (2008). The encyclopedia of elder care : the comprehensive resource on geriatric and social care, 2nd ed. New York: Springer Pub.
Johnson, Malcolm Lewis (ed.) (2005). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Masoro, Edward J. & Austad, Steven N. (eds.) (2006). Handbook of the biology of aging, 6th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Schulz, Richard (ed.), et al. (2006). The encyclopedia of aging: a comprehensive resource in gerontology and geriatrics, 4th ed. New York: Springer Pub.

Finding a Literature Review

Often, but not always, you can find an article that contains a literature review of the most current thinking on a subject. These are an excellent source for library research because they provide citations to other key articles.

There are several ways to find a literature review:

Sometimes, a current article on the topic will begin with a review of the relevant literature, so try browsing through current journal articles.
Try searching for journal articles on a topic that also have the phrase literature review in the title, abstract, or subject terms (see the next section on Using a Bibliographic Index).

Using a Bibliographic Index

Bibliographic indexes are databases and/or lists of published literature. They are most often used to identify journal articles on a specific topic or written by a specific person. Indexes typically include abstracts (summary of the content) for each item, and may also include the full-text of the item. Indexes are either electronic or print format.

Electronic Indexes on Aging:
1. AARP AgeLine
  This is the primary index of aging-related materials. It is a database that covers books, periodicals, reports and more from 1978-present. Read more information on AgeLine.
2. Other Electronic Indexes
  Since aging covers many disciplines, you should also search databases related to your specific discipline. For example, CINAHL indexes nursing and allied health literature and ECONLIT indexes economics literature. You'll find a list of available indexes on your library's web site. If you need help figuring out which index to use, ask a librarian.
Print Indexes on Aging:
1. Abstracts in Social Gerontology
  published quarterly from Sage Publications
2. Brief Bibliography Series
  a series of annotated bibliographies on different topics (i.e. elder law, employment and aging, etc.) published by AGHE, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
3. Excerpta Medica. Section 20: Gerontology and Geriatrics
  a serial publication with abstracts of recent articles focusing on biomedical aspects of gerontology and geriatrics

IMPORTANT: Searching bibliographic indexes is one situation where understanding and using proper terminology is critical. First, you must be knowledgeable about the typical terms used for the topic you are researching (see section above on Getting Started: Terminology). For example, if you are researching the topic of long term care, then you must understand terms such as assisted living, continuing care, etc. in order to search thoroughly. Second, you must be aware that each index or database has its own standards for preferred subject terms, often listed in a thesaurus. In order to find what you want, you have to know the preferred term they use to describe it. For example, the AARP AgeLine index does not use the word women; instead they use their preferred term females. See the section below on Universal Search Tips for more help.

Locating the Items You Have Identified

Once you have a specific title(s) to locate, there are several tools available:

Search the library catalog of your library to see if they own the book, journal, or other item. The library catalog should be able to tell you whether you have online/electronic access to the item. Here are links to library catalogs:

Many bibliographic indexes now include the full-text of recent journal articles. Otherwise, you'll need to find the print copy of the journal using the library catalog (see #1 above).
Use our Gerontology Journals Finder to figure out where to locate a specific journal title, either in full-text or abstracted.

Finding Demographic Data

Library research often includes locating demographic data or statistics to illustrate trends.

If you are looking for quick figures on aging in North Carolina, try our Quick Facts About Aging in North Carolina.

If you are looking for major data sets on aging, try our list of Data Sets.

Finally, you will find pointers to many reports on aging demographics by searching AGELIB. Try using the subject keywords: demographic data, downloadable demographic data, Census reports, North Carolina, and/or United States.

Finding Web Sites & Web Documents

Web sites can be a good source of "gray literature" on aging. Gray literature refers to publications that are not part of the mainstream publishing system, and typically includes things like reports, working papers, government publications, etc. There is a wealth of information and data in these publications -- if you can find them!

A great place to start locating web sites and web documents is AGELIB, the IOA's database of aging resources. We specifically designed this database to include web-based resources on aging. Here are some tips for finding web resources in AGELIB:

To find web sites (i.e. home pages for organizations), select Web Sites from the drop-down box at the top of the search form.
Or, to find web-based documents (i.e reports that are available on the web), select Documents & Reports from the drop-down box at the top of the search form, and search for the phrase 'http' in the URL field.

Universal search tips

These are tips that should apply to most searching situations:

Read the search instructions or tips provided. This sounds obvious, but each database and/or index works differently.
If a database has a thesaurus or index of search terms, use it. The thesaurus will tell you the proper word(s) to use when searching. For example, the AgeLine thesaurus makes clear that elderly is not a proper search term and that older adults should be used instead.
Many databases use Boolean logic and common search operators (check the instructions!). These can improve your search results. For example:
- use AND to find articles with BOTH words included
  e.g. elderly AND depression
- use OR to find articles with AT LEAST ONE of the words included
  e.g. males OR females
- use NOT to find articles EXCLUDING that word
  e.g. drugs NOT abuse
- use truncation to retrieve all words with the same root. For example, gerontol* would find gerontology and gerontologist. Standard symbols for truncation may be *, #, $, or + depending on the database.
Ask a librarian for help with good search strategies. It is especially helpful to talk with a librarian who is knowledgeable about your subject area. The library staff at the IOA Information Center are knowledgeable about aging!