Finding Information

for Level 2 Physics Undergraduates

Aims of the session

To help you

• Search effectively

• Use Databases

• Become aware of other online resources

Which sources of information will you need for your research?

Resources

• Books & E-books

• Journals & e-journals

• E-prints

• Conference proceedings

• Theses

• Internet pages

• News sources

• Statistics

• Official publications

• Patents

• Specialist reports

• Organisations/Contacts

• Discussion groups

• Academics & librarians

Effective searching

• Definitions and synonyms e.g. information, data, facts, statistics

• Adjacency or refine e.g. “Institute of Physics”

• Boolean operators: AND, OR & AND NOT

Effective searching

• Truncation: e.g. physic** to locate physics, physical, physicist etc.

• Wildcards e.g. organi?ation

• Proximity e.g. molecul* within 3 atom*

• Advanced search option/ help

Keyword search strategy

AND

OR colo?r

butterfl*

lepidoptera

AND NOT

moth*iridescen*

“diurnal insects”

The physics behind butterflies’ iridescent colours

“photonic crystal*”

UK

Results

• Anon (1998) ‘Iridescence in Lepidotera’, Physics Review [online] Available at: http://newton.ex.ac.uk/research/emag/butterflies/iridesc-text.htm (Accessed: 20/10/06).

• Joannopoulos, John D., Robert D. Meade & Joshua N. Winn (1995) Photonic crystals: molding the flow of light. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Activity

• In groups or on your own use the sheet to plan a search strategy for your essay.

• You will use this when exploring online resources later in the session.

Using the Library Catalogue

• Can be searched using a variety of methods– Author/Title (combined) for known item– Keyword– Classmark and Subject search for related

records

• Save searches and email results

Journals

• Information on very specific topics

• Research outputs

• Up-to-date information

• Print and/or electronic versions catalogued by JOURNAL title

• Check date coverage

Databases

• Search for wide range of journal articles

• Some full text

• Use ConneXions to see if Durham subscribes to the content

• Consider variety of databases e.g. Institute of Physics Journals, Web of Knowledge, Science Direct

Other online resources• E-prints

• arXiv, PhysNet

• Conference proceedings

• News• Infotrac, LexisNexis

• Images• Bristol Biomedical Image Archive

• Statistics and dataOnline resources

Evaluating Websites

• What to look for– Who is the author?– Is the material biased?– Who is hosting this web page?– When was it posted or last updated?– Is there a bibliography or further references?

• Use subject gateways e.g. EEVL, PSIgate

Web page Reference

• Author(s) (If available. If not use Title) (Year of publication or last update) Title. Available at: URL. (Accessed: date).

• e.g. Bunn, T. (1995) Black holes FAQ. Available at: http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq.html (Accessed: 1 October 2006).

References and Bibliographies

• ALWAYS keep a full and accurate record of your information sources

• E-mail references for saving

• Make sure you refer correctly to other authors within your work

• Avoid plagiarism

Where to get help

• Enquiries Desk on Level 2

• Email Enquiries http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/enquiries/

• Academic Support Team

Richard Pears and Laura Jeffrey

What Happens Next

• First connect to the internet

• From the Library home page click on:

Subject Information | Physics | Information skills | Level 2 training

• Please fill in Online Evaluation at bottom of this page