Using Library Resources for your Dissertation

Using Library Resources for your Dissertation Gareth Johnson [email_address] Tue 8 th PM Apr 2008

Session Outline Part I - Overview of services, help, resources and accessing information Reminder of available Library services Overview of key subject information resources available Explain access to physical and electronic information Part II – Creating effective searching strategies, worked examples and explore for yourself! Introduce successful approaches to searching Explore Boolean logic and truncation Examine refining and limiting search results Review searching the Web and evaluating sites Hands-on time for yourself Time for questions at end of each section

Services: Your Key Contacts Hywel Williams (Education Librarian) ( [email_address] ) Tel: (+44) 0116 252 5048 Distance Learners Enquiry service [email_address] (+44) 0116 252 5051 http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/

Services: Library Website Provides a lot of online information Contact information What support and help is available Information resources & catalogue Leicester e-Link for journals Passwords for off-campus access to resources Distance learning support Dedicated section Details of all services open to you

Resources: Library Catalogue Accessible globally without a password Offers simple and more advanced searches Links to other library services Access your library record on-line Tips Use author/title search when you know an item E.g. drennan risk management Use subject search to find books on specific topics Advanced searching options Boolean logic & Truncation $ e.g. educat$ for education , educated etc

Resources: Bibliographic Dbs To find specific articles in journals Need to search bibliographic databases Each one indexes lists of bibliographic information for publications Such as journal articles, reports, theses and some books Some overlap in coverage Bibliographic information normally comprises: Author, title, source (journal title), year, volume, page numbers & abstract summary Not full text of articles

Resources: Bibliographic Dbs Key Education bibliographic databases British Education Index (BEI), ERIC, Australian Educational Index (AEI) Each one specifically covers literature in the field of education and training Web of Knowledge Covers all subjects Best when researching cross-disciplinary areas PsycINFO For educational psychology articles Subject Rooms Lists other useful databases Portal to trusted educational resources on the web Includes guidance, tutorials and contacts

Resources: Open Access A move from academics annoyed over journal prices No passwords, subscriptions or access restrictions Full text (not just abstracts) in most cases Researchers make articles available for free Outside of journals and held in online repositories 100,000s of articles Still include peer-reviewed materials Very useful when journal not available Can be searched easily OpenDOAR Search or BASE Demo!

Accessing: Information Resources Off Campus www.le.ac.uk/library/digital/authentication.html Start at Library Home Page Digital Library Demo! Education Indexes Web of Knowledge

Accessing: Journal Articles Use Leicester e-Link to check if journal is available Links on Library Web page, Catalogue and from databases If articles are not available via Leicester e-Link Try finding an Open Access version Check the library catalogue to see if available in print Request a photocopy through document supply Limits 20 requests a year paid for by Library Additional ones may be purchased No more than one article from a single journal

Accessing: Books (Worldwide) Search Library Catalogue to see if we have the text Postal Loan Service Up to 4 books by post on loan for 6 weeks You are responsible for costs incurred when returning Short Loan and Reference items cannot be borrowed by post Alternatively individual chapters (or 5%) of texts can be photocopied for you

Accessing: Other Libraries Take advantage of access schemes SCONUL Access scheme Application form on Web site Tips Check opening hours before you go Search online catalogues beforehand Have your Leicester ID or library card with you If unsure contact Leicester Enquiry service Take money (for photocopying) Remember – their rules bind you not ours!

Searching for Journal Articles Part II

Searching: Types of Search Author Search When you are looking for material published by key names in a field Identified in lectures, books, review journal or other articles Question: To find an article by Dr Gawen RT Jenkin Search on Jenkin G* May or may not publish with middle initials Journals may or may not other initials Keyword/Subject Search When you are looking for material on a particular subject Need to be systematic in your searches Ensures accurate results and avoid information-overload

Searching: Planning a Strategy Step by step process Step 1 Consider resources Step 2 Identify keywords Step 3 Build search Step 4 Test search Step 5 Refine results Step 6 Evaluate Step 7 Locate and read! Revise search

Searching: Concepts Question: Find out about Emergency Planning Management Identify the important concepts and words in the question: managing planning emergency Very simple example!

Searching: Keywords & Variants Think about variations of the keywords you’re using… thesaurus.reference.com can be useful Managing supervising, administrating, overseeing, organise, direct, control Planning organisation, strategy, coordination Emergency accident, exigency, danger, disaster, risk Not all of these might be appropriate!

Systematic: Truncation Saves typing! Picks up multiple terms from foreshortened word-stem Accident Accidents Accidental Accidentally acciden* Some resources use other symbols

Systematic: Boolean Logic Allows more sophisticated searching than keywords alone AND emergency and management <- focuses down OR emergency or management <- broadens a search NOT emergency not management <- eliminates terms (handle with care!)

Systematic: Boolean Logic AND This is used to combine search terms to narrow your search emergency and management emergency management

Systematic: Boolean Logic OR This is used where various terms might describe the same object emergency management emergency or management

Systematic: Boolean Logic NOT This is used when you wish to exclude a word from your search emergency management emergency not management Eliminated articles of possible interest

Systematic: Parentheses () disaster and planning or management Is NOT the same as disaster and (planning or management) Order of precedence (mathematical) Generally (first-last) NOT AND OR Search 1 = 16,249 results (broad, inaccurate) Search 2 = 104 results (specific, focussed) Parentheses isolate elements of searches Simple rule of thumb OR linked statements inside brackets

Refining: Revising Searches (emergency or disaster) and management Simple, will find a broad range of results Not all will be relevant to the topic (emergenc* or disaster*) and manag* Better, will find more accurate results May need to limit/refine ((emergenc* or disaster* or risk) and (organis* or strateg* or coordinat* or manag*)) not earthquake* Best! But might need tweaking…

Refining: Tools & Filters You can also use limits/filters To narrow and focus your search results E.g. by date or publication type Can include before or after a search Depends on the database software Helps avoid potentially overwhelming levels of results Easier to chose the pick of the crop

Next Steps: Internet Searching Use more than one search engine They use different searching algorithms Results can be quite different Use the advanced search features (E.g. on Google & Yahoo) Phrase searching – “ Phrase ” Search a specific field e.g. title or URL Limit by language, file type, domain Use the options for specific media e.g. images, groups, news…etc.

Next Steps: Google Scholar “ Searches specifically for scholarly literature ” No definition as to what Google classify as scholarly! There are some odd gaps/omissions http://scholar.google.com Often links to full text Might not link to the version of the full text available to the University On-campus e-link option will show whether you can access the full text for free Good first place to see what is available and what keywords to use But use bibliographic databases in your subject too!

Next Steps: Evaluating Websites Intended Audience Is the site aimed at researchers or the general public? Authority and Reputation Is the resource well known? Is it an academic site? Is it factual or opinion based? Does the information have a basis in research and is a bibliography provided? Subject Coverage Is the site an overview or does it cover the subject in-depth? Currency Has the site been recently updated?

Next Steps: Top Tips Explore resources yourselves Experiment with searches Get in contact with the library for support General assistance (e.g. books, accessing resources and general difficulties) Contact the enquiry service Expert advice and assistance with searching information resources Contact the Education Librarian If in doubt – ask!

Next Steps: Top Tips Remember to record The sources you used The keywords and searches you used Full references citations Keep a back up Tools to help Record or import citations using software EndNote or RefWorks are used on campus Learn your departmental style See Library pages for more help

In Conclusion Library provides access to physical and electronic resources The library catalogue contains books on broad topics of interest Use bibliographic databases and other resources when looking for specific subject information Time invested searching increases the quality of results

Using Library Resources for your Dissertation

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