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library skills tutorial for life science honours, dbs pharmacy graduate students conducted by : hew yik sua

Objectives. Learn how to :devise effective literature search strategyidentify and utilize relevant reference databasesfamiliarize with the services and resources available in the NUS Libraries. At the end of this briefing, you would be able to

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library skills tutorial for life science honours, dbs pharmacy graduate students conducted by : hew yik sua

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    1. Library Skills Tutorial for Life Science Honours, DBS & Pharmacy Graduate Students Conducted by : Hew Yik Suan Manager Medical/Science Library 23 August 2007

    3. At the end of this briefing, you would be able to … initiate a systematic approach on conducting research – e.g. how to use Boolean operators to construct search strategy identify relevant reference databases for your research project perform the search effectively in the relevant reference databases (Web of Science & BIOSIS Previews)

    4.

    5. How to initiate a literature search? Start with a simple / quick literature search in LINC. Follow with an extensive search in relevant reference databases.

    6. How to construct the search statement?

    7. Research Topic : Altruism in Animals

    8. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences One of the most comprehensive reference sources for life sciences It comprises of more than 3,000 specially commissioned, peer-reviewed articles from 5,000 contributors from all over the world Updated monthly

    9. Altruism Behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense Selfless concern for the well being of others The practice of thinking of the needs and desires of other people instead of your own Sacrifice, if necessary of life itself, so that others, offspring or other genetically close younger relatives, may survive or otherwise benefit.

    10. Search Concept Research Topic: Altruism in Animals

    11. Search Statement Boolean operators OR is used to indicate that any of the terms may be present AND is used to indicate that both terms must be present

    12. Use Boolean operators to formulate the search statement For example: (altruis* OR unselfish behavi* OR selfless) AND (animal*) NOT (Ant* OR Formicidae OR Hymenoptera) altruism, altruist, altruistic behavior, behaviour, behavioral animal, animals, animalia (Latin word)

    13. Recap: 1. Identify your research topic 2. List the keyword, synonyms & broader terms 3. Use Boolean operators to construct the search statement 4. perform the search in the relevant reference databases

    14. Search Relevance How do you know that the search is relevant? You may consider the following questions : Does the item give an overview of your topic? Does the item cover one or some aspects of your topic? Does the item cover the situation in the country and place that you are covering?

    15. Search Relevance Internet Resources Is Google search sufficient and relevant for your topic of interest and satisfy your information needs Large amount of irrelevant material. Search engines do not search in every part of the Internet, esp. into the contents of many of the online databases

    16. Evaluating Sources How good are the sources? In evaluating your sources, you may wish to consider the following general criteria: Suitability (Does the source contain the information you need?) Authority (What are the author’s credentials? Is it done by the experts in that field?) Accuracy (Are the information, data or methods reliable? Are you able to contact the author of the document to verify details, if necessary?) Objectivity (How objective is it? Is it peer reviewed? Determine if the document is a mask for advertising. If it is, the information may be biased.) Timeliness (Is the information up-to-date? What was the date of last revision?)

    18. Question: Do you think searching one reference database is sufficient for your research topic?

    19. Answer : No. Searching one database may not be sufficient. Conduct the search in a few other relevant databases to get a wider coverage and perspective.

    20. Abstracts and Indexes Biomedical & Life Sciences Reference Databases in E-Resources: Web of Science – Science Citation Index Expanded BIOSIS Previews PubMed Zoological Record SciFinder Scholar

    21. Web of Science Multi-disciplinary databases to search for specific articles. Covers about 8,700 high impact research journals Unique by its citation search Coverage begins from 1900. NUS Libraries subscribes from 1980 onwards Updated weekly

    22. BIOSIS Previews The important reference database in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Coverage also includes traditional areas of biology, such as botany, zoology and microbiology, as well as related fields such as plant and animal science, agriculture, pharmacology and ecology Interdisplinary fields such as biochemistry, biophysics, and bioengineering are also included. From 1980 to the present Updated weekly Modules : LSM4231 Structural Biology LSM4232 Advanced Cell Biology LSM4241 Functional Genomics LSM4251 Plant Growth and Development LSM3253 Plant Physiology

    23. Free site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ A leading medical database produced by the National Library of Medicine Covers fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, the health care system and preclinical sciences Modules: LSM3212 Human Physiology LSM4223 Medical Microbiology LSM3222 Human Genetics & Infectious Diseases LSM4224 Free Radicals and Antioxidant Biology LSM4213 Neurobiology LSM4243 Tumour Biology, etc

    24. Zoological Record Covers all aspects of zoology including behavior, biochemistry, development, ecology, evolution, feeding and nutrition, genetics, morphology, parasitology, reproduction, systematics, techniques, physiology and zoogeography Available on the web from 1978 – present Modules : LSM4262 Tropical Conservation Biology LSM4252 Animal Development & Reproduction LSM1103 Biodiversity

    25. SciFinder Scholar The world's largest and most up-to-date collection of chemical information, including biochemistry, organic chemistry, macromolecular chemistry, applied chemistry, chemical engineering, physical, inorganic, analytical chemistry, agricultural sciences and biomedical sciences Includes journal articles, patents, books, technical reports and conference papers Updated daily and contains data starting from 1905 Modules : LSM3231 Protein Structure and Function CM1121 Basic Organic Chemistry LSM4233 Chemical Biology LSM4242 Protein Engineering

    26. NUS Libraries Portal

    27. NUS Libraries Portal

    28. E-Resources Online Guide for Biological Sciences http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/sg/sc/biol/biol.html

    29. This PowerPoint presentation is available via http://libpweb1.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/BioSc.ppt

    30. Handouts 1. Powerpoint notes http://libpweb1.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/BioSc.ppt 2. 2-pages guide : Web of Science (Basic & Advanced search) 3. 2-pages guide : BIOSIS Previews

    31. Useful Writing Guides Cite right : a quick guide to citation styles – MLA, APA, Chicago, the sciences, professions, and more Charles Lipson/ C. Lipson. – university of Chicago, 2006. (PN171 Foo.Li 2006) (CL Books) The concise handbook for technical writing / C.T. Brusaw, G.J. Alred, W.E. Oliu. –St. Martin’s Griffin, 1996. (T11 Brs) (SC Reference 9) A short guide to writing about biology / J. A. Pechenik. – 5th ed. - Pearson Longman, 2004. (QH304 Pec 2004) (MD/SC books) A student handbook for writing in biology / K. Knisely. – W. H. Freeman, 2002. (QH304 Kni 2002) (SC Reference 5) A student’s guide to writing a scientific paper : how to survive the laboratory research report. /by Alan A. Gubanich. – 3rd ed. - Kendall/Hung Pub. Co., 1998. (T11 Gub) (SC Reference 9) Successful scientific writing : a step-by-step guide for the biological and medical sciences /J. R. Matthews. – 2nd ed. - Cambridge University Press, 2000. (R119 Mat) (MD/SC Books) The write right guide : a NUS writing guide / C. Low & D. Pan. - 5th ed. – Singapore : Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning, NUS, 2003. (PE1408 Low 2003) (SC Reference 9) Writing and presenting research / Angela M. Thody. – Sage Publications, 2006. (LB2369 Tho 2006) (CL Books, HML Books) Writing papers in the biological sciences / V.E. McMillan. – 3rd ed. - Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. (QH304 Mcm) (MD/SC Books) Writing research papers : a complete guide / J. D. Lester. - 11th ed. – Longman, 2005. (LB2369 Les) (SC Reference 9, CL Books) Writing science through critical thinking / M. F. Moriarty. Jones & Bartlett Pub., 1997. (T11 Mor) (MD/SC Books) Writing with confidence : writing effective sentences and paragraphs/ A. Meyers. – 7th ed. - Longman, 2003. (PE1408 Mey 2003) (Sc Reference 9) Your research project : a step-by-step guide for the first-time researcher/ N. Walliman. – 2nd ed. - SAGE, 2005. (LB2369 Wai 2005) (CL Books)

    32. Come to the Information Desk Tel : 6516-2454 Hew Yik Suan (Mrs) slbhewys@nus.edu.sg Tel: 6516-2548

    33. Thank you All the best in your research !

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