leeds university library mindmaps and literature searching for undergraduates angela newton...

Leeds University Library

MindMaps and literature searching for undergraduates

Angela Newton

[email protected]


The lingo

MindMaps– “…the Swiss army knife for the brain”

(Buzan, 1993) Concept maps Brainstorming Radial thinking Knowledge map


The students Second year Environment students writing a mini dissertation

on a pre-defined topic Prior IL sessions at Level 1:

– Introduction to using the Library– Introduction to using Web of Science

Short attention span! Keen on web resources! Not good at exploring unknown databases! “Many students skip over the planning stage of a search,

and are poor at selecting the right sources and search terms.” (Webber 2002)


Topics Is the Montreal Protocol Working? Realities of land degradation in Africa Environmental influences on benthic macro-

invertebrates Economic growth and environmental quality Linking Global Thinking with Local Action in the Food

System Corporate social responsibility Attitudes to sustainability Environmental management and sustainability in the

public sector


Aims of the session

Engage students in planning & executing a literature search – Thinking about keywords– Talking to one another about their subject– Trying some new search techniques (e.g.

Boolean)– Exploring new databases

Give them inspiration and practical help for their assessment, a mini dissertation


Solution

MindMaps help to construct keywords prior to database searching

Group work to combat boredom and create discussion

Small room (22 workstations) to make the session more manageable

x3 practical tasks in 15 minute chunks


Materials for the workshop

PowerPoint slides Example of a complete MindMap on a

generic topic (A3) MindMap for each dissertation topic with

some basic starting points (A3) Worksheet with instructions for each task Referencing leaflet Post-its


Advantages of using MindMaps in literature searching

Easy to explain and easy to do No right or wrong answers Novelty No special equipment required Creates discussion Fosters creative thinking Must be done with paper and pen Easy to see what they know and where the gaps in their

knowledge are Non-linear thinkers Colourful Dynamic


Problems with the workshop

Non-visual thinkers may struggle with MindMaps

Requires energy and enthusiasm (even at 9am on a Friday morning!)

Students need to turn up in groups Only one copy of the map per group Can require a lot of preparation


I’m more confident about…

I’m still not very confident about…


Student feedback

(I feel) Much more confident however, didn't realise how unconfident I actually was.

I feel fairly confident with all of the tasks in today's session and feel comfortable with using these research methods for my future work.

Still not very confident in choosing a database.


Old dog, new tricks

Literature searching Problem solving Making a visual representation of an

organisational structure Report writing Minute taking Revision Creating presentations

leeds university library mindmaps and literature searching for undergraduates angela newton...

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