Kinesiology

For more controlled and focused searching, try these other databases to find scholarly articles in Kinesiology.

Keyword searching - With a keyword search you look for a word, no matter where that word appears. If you like, you can specify that the word be in a particular field (e.g. the title, author, or subject), but it can be in any position (beginning, middle, or end).

• Think of other words which express the same concepts as those you're looking for.  Keep in mind that the system searches for the exact letters you type, and not the general ideas they express. The system doesn't think. So you have to plan for single and plural, more specific and more general terms, nouns, adjectives, and verbs, etc.

For example, for the topic 'cardiorespiratory adaptations to exercise in older adults'', keywords to consider may include:

Concept 1: Cardirespiratory adaptations - physiological adaptations (broader); cardiorespiratory responses (related); oxygen consumption (narrower)

Concept 2: Exercise - activity (broader); training (related); walking (narrower)

Concept 3: Older adults - adults (broader); elderly (related); octogenarians (narrower)
 

• To search for a phrase many databases require quotations marks around the words. Otherwise, the database assumes an AND between the words and will search for them seperately. Keep in mind every database is different so you should check the HELP section to see how that database searches phrases.
  
  E.g. "cardiorespiratory adaptations"
   

• Truncation and wildcards are used to find variations of words.
  
  Truncation will find any ending for the root of a word. The truncation symbol in most journal databases is the asterisk *.
  
  E.g. exercis* will find  exercise or exercising or exercises or exercised
   
• Wildcards are used within a word, to represent any letter. In the Web of Science the wildcard symbol is ?. 
  
  E.g. p?ediatric will find pediatric or paediatric
   
• Combining Keywords
  
  When you use AND, you are specifying that both terms must be found in every item found

E.g. "cardiorespiratory adaptation*" and exercis* and "older adult*"
 

When you use OR, you are specifying that items have either of the terms, but not necessarily both. Use an OR between synonymous or similar terms for a concept.

E.g. elder* or "older adults" or elderly or octogenarian

Some databases provide search forms so that you don't need to type in AND or OR. For those that don't, you need to place parentheses around those terms that have OR between them.

E.g. ("cardiorespiratory adaptation*" or "physiological adaptation*") and (exercis* or training or walking) and (elder* or "older adult*" or octogenarian*)

E.g. Web of Science Search Screen.  To organize a search strategy, you can use one search box per concept. Notice where the ANDs and ORs are located.


 

Narrowing your results

Check the database for ways to limit your results to:

• Language – e.g. English
• Publication Type e.g. Empirical study, case study
• Scholarly articles/Peer Reviewed articles
• Date range

Check the record where your search terms matched. The best matches for topics are in fields like Subject or Title. Search specific fields if there is an Advanced or Expert search option.

Use Subject Headings or Descriptors if available to increase the relevancy of your results

Add another concept to your search using the Boolean operator “AND”

Research Tip:  When you find a good article, use it to find others.

• Look at the cited references (i.e works cited or bibliography).
• Look at the list of citing articles.  Click on "Times Cited" in the Web of Science.
• Check for other articles written by the same author(s). Author names are hyperlinked in most databases.
• Use the "View Related Records" function to find related articles.
• Scan the abstract and keywords/subject headings for new terms to search.

Getting the Full-Text

Sometimes the database you are searching also provides full text journals. In this case you may see below or next to the citation a 'Full-Text' link to the article.

If you do not see a Full-Text link, this does not always mean we don't have the article. It may be available from another source. In this case, to determine if Trent has the full-text of an article, click on the GetIt!Trent icon. This icon can be seen near each citation in a database.

Note: If you see the notation below a citation, “ Trent Library does not have this journal”, please ignore as it is not always accurate. GetIt! Trent will be able to better tell you if we have the journal.

If an article is not available, you can request an InterLibrary Loan (ILL) through RACER. Keep in mind articles via ILL are not available overnight, so this service is only useful if you have enough time to receive the article before your project is due. We recommend that you allow 7-10 days. For more information and to register for an account please go to the RACER web site.

Too few articles:

• Check for typos and spelling. Consider using both American and British spellings (eg. behaviour or behavior).
• Remove long phrases.
• Make sure you're using a database that is likely to include information on your topic.
• Try using other synonyms and alternate words joined by the Boolean Operator 'OR' (e.g. aboriginal or indigenous or First Nations).
• Check your Boolean logic.  Are you using 'AND' when you should be using 'OR'?
• If you have found at least one good article, look at the references of this article to find other related articles OR use the 'Find citing' or 'Find related' buttons when available in the databases.

Too many articles:

• Add another concept to your searching using the Boolean operator 'AND'.
• Add Limits (e.g. Peer Reviewed, Date of Publication, Language, Publication Type, etc.).
• Check your Boolean logic. Are you using 'OR' when you should be using 'AND'?
• When Keyword searching, try searching just in the Title field. This is not recommended for all searches, as you will eliminate relevant articles that don't have those keywords in the title, but it will likely find a few articles to get you started.
• If you're searching in a database that covers all subjects (e.g. Academic Search Elite, Web of Knowledge), look for a database that is subject specific.

Below is a list of some of the most important journals in Kinesiology listed in order of influence (Knudson, 2015). Journal titles with an asterisk (*) are not available at Trent so the link provided is to the journal homepage where abstracts may be viewed and sometimes the full-text of articles if published as open access.  Articles to which Trent University does not have access may be ordered through the interlibrary loan service RACER.

Sports Medicine* (Trent has limited access, 2003-2011; see journal website for titles/abstracts to all articles)
American Journal of Sports Medicine
International Journal of Behavior, Nutrition and Physical Activity
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise*
Physical Therapy
British Journal of Sports Medicine* (Trent has limited access-1970-2007; see journal website for recent titles/abstracts)
The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy*
Sociology of Sport Journal*
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy
Gait & Posture
Journal of Biomechanics
Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology*
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
Clinical Biomechanics
Journal of Athletic Training
Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research
Journal of Physical Activity and Health*
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance*
Journal of Sports Sciences
Journal of Electromyography and Kine siology
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
International Journal of Sports Medicine
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
The Sport Psychologist*
Clinics in Sports Medicine*
Sport, Education and Society
Journal of Motor Behavior
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education*
Adaptive Physical Activity Quarterly*
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine*
Journal of Physiotherapy
Physical Therapy in Sport
Pediatric Exercise Science*
American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation*
Human Movement Science
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine
Physiotherapy

This list of journals is from:  Knudson, D. (2015). Influential kinesiology journals: The view from outside the field. The Physical Educator, 72 (1), 168-178.

Interlibrary loan is a system that allows you to request material from other libraries to be sent to Trent for you to borrow. Normally, there are no costs to use the ILL service. Plan ahead because it can take a few days or even weeks for material to be sent, depending upon availability.

Visit the Interlibrary Loan page for more information.