For this week's assignment, you will learn how to search for and locate a quantitative article involving multiple regression testing that relates to your discipline by:

• choosing an appropriate subject database
• conducting a search with relevant keywords
• identifying a quantitative research article that uses multiple regression testing

Start your search by entering a database that fits your subject area with these steps:

1. On the Library Homepage, click the Research by Subject drop-down.
 

2. Click on the subject area that matches your program of study from the list.

3. Once you have clicked on a subject, scroll down until you see the list of databases and click on the title to enter the database.

Note: The databases are organized with the largest collections at the top of the list, so selecting the first database is generally a good way to start.

Once you are in a database, you will see a search screen with multiple search boxes. We need to set up our search:

• We will use the keyword multiple regression to find articles that use that methodology.
• You may also want to search with keywords that describe a topic related to your discipline. You do not have to type in a topic, but if you do, keep the topic broad.

We will build an example search below for articles that use multiple regression with the topic of posttraumatic stress disorder in the database called PsycINFO:

1. In the first search box, type:

"multiple regression"

Note: The quote marks "glue" the words together as an exact phrase.

2. For this example topic, type in the second box:

posttraumatic stress disorder

Note: Some methodologies are rarely used for certain research topics. You may need to broaden your search topic to find a study that uses this methodology.

The search boxes will look like this:

3. Click Search.

4. Look in the article titles and Subjects to determine if the methods used in the article include multiple regression. For this method, you will most likely need to look in the article abstract for the phrase "multiple regression":

Refer back to the Evaluate your results box for Week 1 for the steps to see an article's abstract.

Note: Articles may use more than one method in their quantitative analysis of data.

Try it and test yourself:

Use our database SAGE Research Methods to find information about quantitative methodologies, including multiple regression:

Here are the steps to search inside SAGE Research Methods Online for more information on multiple regression:

1.  From the Library homepage, click the Start Your Research link in the toolbar along the top of the page.

2. In the Search by Type box, select the Dictionaries & Encyclopedias link, and then click on the brown Encyclopedias & Handbooks tab from the column on the left side of your screen.

3. In the top Find Encyclopedias and Handbooks box, click on the Sage Research Methods Online link.

4. Type the method into the search box:

multiple regression

5. Click the Search button.

You will now see your results with a definition of the multiple regression method above the results list. It will look like this:

• This resource from our search gives an overview of the method:

Segrin, C. (2010). Multiple regression. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of research design (pp. 845-849). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781412961288.n253