Using Library Resources for your Dissertation
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Transcript of Using Library Resources for your Dissertation
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Services: Your Key Contacts
Hywel Williams (Education Librarian)– ([email protected])– Tel: (+44) 0116 252 5048
Distance Learners Enquiry service– [email protected]– (+44) 0116 252 5051
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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!
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Accessing: Other Libraries
Take advantage of access schemes– SCONUL Access scheme– Application form on Web site
Tips1. Check opening hours before you go2. Search online catalogues beforehand3. Have your Leicester ID or library card with you4. If unsure contact Leicester Enquiry service5. Take money (for photocopying)6. Remember – their rules bind you not ours!
Questions?
Searching for Journal Articles
Part II
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Searching: Concepts
Question: Find out about Emergency Planning Management – Identify the important concepts and words in the
question: managing planning emergency
– Very simple example!
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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!
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Systematic: Truncation
Ore Ores Ore* Orebody
•Saves typing!
•Picks up multiple terms from foreshortened word-stem
Accident
Accidents
Accidental
Accidentally
acciden*
Some resources use other symbols
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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!)
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Systematic: Boolean Logic
AND– This is used to combine search terms to narrow your
search
emergency and management
emergency management
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Systematic: Boolean Logic
OR– This is used where various terms might describe the same
object
emergency management
emergency or management
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Systematic: Boolean Logic
NOT– This is used when you wish to exclude a word from your
search
emergency management
emergency not management
Eliminated articles ofpossible interest
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
Systematic: Parentheses ()
1. disaster and planning or management– Is NOT the same as
2. 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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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…
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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.
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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!
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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?
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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!
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/distance/
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
Questions?