using library resources for your dissertation

Using Library Resources for your Dissertation

Gareth Johnson

[email protected]

Tue 8th PM Apr 2008

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


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



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

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


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

Ore Ores Ore* Orebody

•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!)



AND– This is used to combine search terms to narrow your

search

emergency and management

emergency management



OR– This is used where various terms might describe the same

object


emergency or management



NOT– This is used when you wish to exclude a word from your

search


emergency not management

Eliminated articles ofpossible interest


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


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

Questions?

using library resources for your dissertation

Technology

library resources

articles available

test search step

build search step

educational resources

library web page

types of search author

library card