Welcome to Edinburgh University Library

Christine Love-RodgersChristine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.uk

C.H.S.S Library Consultancy Team

ACE Research Methods 2010

Summary of today’s session

• The Main Library in 2010• Tips for making the most of the Library

• Your Research Strategy• Online Library Resources for Architecture, History of Art, Music

• Other Academic Resources

What’s new?

The Main Library in 2010

Getting In

Access is by swipe-card. Remember to bring your Library Card!

New longer opening hours in semester time – until 2.30am

Self-Issue and Return

New for Sept 2010 – you can now self issue Music Scores & CDs. (Please take fragile items to Helpdesk)

We have an easy to use system for the self-issue and return of books. Self-issue is also available on Floors 2 and 4.

Journals

Current and bound back issues of journals are now on the Lower Ground Floor.

Lending Stock – Floors 2 and 4New for 2010 -History of Art & Architecture books are shelved at N on Floor 2.

Music Books, Scores and CDs are shelved at M on Floor 2. There is a new purpose built listening and playing area.

Study Space in the LibraryNew for 2010 – Postgraduate only study space on Floor 5.

Tips for making the most of the Library

Did you know that you can :•Recommend books for the library?•Ask for books to be moved to another location or missing items replaced?•Set up alerts to e-mail you when new materials in your area become available?•Request one to one help from your liaison librarian?

Recommending Books for the Library

•Q1. These books would be useful to my future research and the library seems to have a gap in this area•A1. Use the Student Book recommendation form•Q2. I need this book urgently for my research and the Library doesn’t have it•A2. Either obtain it via Inter-library loan OR ask your supervisor to recommend it as urgent using the Staff recommendation form•Q3. I need this journal for my research and the library doesn’t subscribe to it•A.3 Contact your liaison librarian to request. We will check if it is available locally (e.g. NLS, ECA) and may suggest that as an alternative to subscribing

Help with using the Library

IS.Helpdesk@ed.ac.ukor, face-to-face, Ground Floor

Help with IT related issuesIS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk

or, phone 0131-6515151

Christine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.ukHSS-Consultancy@ed.ac.uk

Help with your study/research

Find your way onlineFind the Library home page & catalogues•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/library

Find what’s available for your subject•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/subject-guides

Find e-journals•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/ejournals

Find your way online : Getting In

•Via MyEd

•Library catalogue

•Library Online web page

Planning Your Search StrategyWhat is your research question?

. Think about the scope and limits of your search (date, language, country, etc).

. Define some subject keywords and phrases.

. Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to refine your search.

. Try “snowballing” from things you already have.

Let’s look at a research question -

“Noise is a sound which is out of place”

(Gurney 1999)

What is the influence of music, sound and noise in

the urban landscape?

Keywords – a summary

• Think of related terms.• Think of synonyms.• Abbreviations• Watch out for UK/US spellings (e.g. colour, color).

• Homonyms (same word or phrase but different meaning, depending on the subject e.g. “election”).

• Variant terminology (farmers markets (UK) greenmarkets (USA).

• Changes in terminology. (Aborigines, First Nations, Native Peoples).

• Consider variation in word endings.

Noise

Urban

Cit*

Think of some subject keywords to try

Music

Sound

Landscape

Truncation - a summary

• Truncation allows you to look for all forms of keyword….plurals, variant endings.

• Type in start of word plus the truncation or abbreviation symbol

($ * ? #) depending on the search tool or database you are using.

e.g. child* will find child, childhood, childs, children, childrens

Record contains both A and B

Record contains A but not B

Record contains either A or B

Now the scary bit! Boolean Searching

Using Online Library Resources

•Via Searcher

• Library Databases for Architecture

•Databases by subject

A result from Avery …

Snowballing?

Just one useful article can lead you to more:

Search for other writings by the same author and co-authors.

Follow up on references used by author in their bibliography.

Look for the article in databases. Note keywords assigned to it and use them to run a new search.

Use “cited by” or “more like this” feature if there is one.

An Article to “Snowball”…

Atkinson Roland (2007)

Ecology of sound: the sonic order or urban space

Urban Studies Vol. 44 No. 10 p343-355

A result from Web of Knowledge …

Other Academic Resources

• Theses

• Inter-Library loans

• Using other libraries

Before you start – plan your search

Finding theses• Find out about British theses using Index to

Theses.

• International theses can be located using Dissertations and Theses

Find these databases on the library website at:http://www.lib.ed.ac.

uk/resources/databases/findlits.shtml#t

Finding theses in full text online

• ERA – Edinburgh University Theses 2005-

http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/index.jsp

• EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service

http://ethos.bl.uk/

Useful websites for finding foreign theses

• Australian Digital Theses Program http://adt.caul.edu.au/ • Center for Research Libraries foreign

dissertationshttp://www.crl.edu/catalog/dissertationSearch.asp• Cybertesis.net http://www.cybertesis.net/index-en.html • DART-Europe E-theses Portal (DEEP) http://www.dart-europe.eu/basic-search.php

Finding printed theses• Post 1985?

– http://catalogue.lib.ed.ac.uk/

• Pre 1985?– Handlists in Centre for Research Collections

• Theses from other universities?– http://catalogue.lib.ed.ac.uk/

Resources Beyond Edinburgh University Library

• Inter-Library loans– http://illiad.lib.ed.ac.uk/illiad/

• National Library of Scotland– http://www.nls.uk

• COPAC– http://www.copac.ac.uk

Good luck with your studies.

Christine Love-Rodgers

C.H.S.S Library Consultancy Team

Christine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.uk