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Study Projects PJS30

Study Projects PJS30. Lecture 3 : Literature Searching + Bibliographic Databases. Literature Searching. Paradoxically, ICT has made finding information both easier and more difficult.

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Study Projects PJS30

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  1. Study Projects PJS30 Lecture 3 : Literature Searching + Bibliographic Databases Project Lecture 3

  2. Literature Searching • Paradoxically, ICT has made finding information both easier and more difficult. • 30 years ago, little or no IT to help, all material in hard copy and indexes/micro-fiches searched by hand. • Today extensive IT to help but proliferation of information means finding material still difficult but for different reasons. Project Lecture 3

  3. Books & Journals • Most academic work published in book or journal form • Books in Library searchable via online Library Catalogue. • The same for Journal articles • Books shelved by Dewey number (123.4567) • Journals shelved by Title • What if book/journal not in Frewen Library? Project Lecture 3

  4. Books: Inter-Library Loan system • This enables you to borrow book from any UK Library or the British Lending Library – holds copies of all books published in UK. • You may use (up to a reasonable limit) the Inter-Library Loan system. Free to students – costs departments £5 • Journal articles normally photocopied and can be kept. • ILLs can be applied for online or via the General Reference Desk in the Frewen Library • Forms require staff approval & signature (Supervisor normally). Project Lecture 3

  5. e-Books • University Library subscribes to several e-book initiatives • ebrary is the biggest of these with 23,000 titles • Available on-line with full text • See Library website for details….. Project Lecture 3

  6. Bibliographic Databases • How do we find what has been written on a subject? • Find books and journal articles – most new academic knowledge published in journals so these are important for projects. • How do we know which journals, and where to look? • Use Bibliographic Databases Project Lecture 3

  7. What is a Bibliographic Database? • A database that indexes information about academic publications – books, reports, websites but mostly journal articles. • The bigger databases indexes hundreds or even thousands of journals each containing many hundreds of articles, as well as books. • These databases are usually specific to a particular area, e.g. medicine, Geography, etc. but increasingly they are being linked together making searching easier. Project Lecture 3

  8. What is a Bibliographic Database? There are two main types of index that work in different ways: • An Abstracting Index • A Citation Index Project Lecture 3

  9. Abstracting Indexes • Abstracting Indexes are so called because as well as the bibliographic details about a book or article – Author, date, title, publisher, etc. they provide a short summary of the article (the Abstract) which allows you to see whether it is useful to you. • Abstracting indexes can be searched like any database by fields such as: name, keyword, title, date, publisher, journal title, subject, and so on. • Advanced searches use Boolean operators such as: AND, OR & NOT. Also Truncation ** and Wildcards ?? Project Lecture 3

  10. Citation Indexes • Abstracting Indexes allow you to search back in time from any point to find material. • Citation indexes allow you to search forward! • Citation Indexes list citations, i.e. where and who has cited a particular article in their work. • Imagine you find a key article published on your topic in 1995 by Fred Smith. • If the article is important it will have been referenced (and cited) in articles published since that time on the topic which may also be useful. Project Lecture 3

  11. Citation Indexes • A Citation Index allows you to search for articles published since 1995 that reference the piece by Fred Smith. • Thus you should be able to find many more useful, and more up-to-date work on the topic. • In general terms the more citations an author, or article gets, the more important or significant it is. Project Lecture 3

  12. Which databases will I need? • Depends on your subject, but here are a few likely ones: • ISI Web of Knowledge: Web of Science – which contains: Social Science Citation Index + The Arts & Humanities Citation Index • Silver Platter Arc Service – which contains: Art, Film, Politics, Science & Technology and Sociology. • BIDS International Bibliography of the Social Sciences • BIDS Silver Platter INSPEC – Information Science Project Lecture 3

  13. Which databases will I need? • Computer & Information Systems Abstracts • ERIC – Education index • Educational Research Abstracts – Educational Technology • Science Direct – Business, Management & Accounting Project Lecture 3

  14. Which databases will I need? • Your Supervisor, or a Librarian will be able to give you advice. • Looking through the Subject Directories on the Library Website should allow you to choose the most useful. • Library website and Information & Study Skills Service provide workbooks on using Bibliographic Indexes – use them they are excellent. Project Lecture 3

  15. The Athens account • Many Bibliographic Databases are online and not held by the Library – and some e-Journals too. • Many require a password to gain access because they have to be paid for by the University. • Mostly this is via what is known as an Athens account which provides you with a username and a password. • All Project students should set up an Athens account if they have not got one. • Can be done online via Library website: http://www/port.ac.uk/departments/studentsupport/library/onlineresources/athensaccounts/ Project Lecture 3

  16. Full-Text Service • Increasingly, some complete (full text) journal articles are available online. • New software will inform you if this is the case. • When searching a bibliographic index, if you see the Locate button, you may click on it to obtain, for free, the full text of an article. Project Lecture 3

  17. Internet Searching • Less good for academic articles but still a good source. • Lots of institutional, professional and government publications online. • Problem off accuracy, authenticity and authority though! • Journals & Books peer-reviewed. Most internet material is not. • Go through a tutorial on internet searching before you start to use material on the web. • A new search tool on the web is Google Scholar Project Lecture 3

  18. Google Scholar • Still only in Beta form but excellent nevertheless. Project Lecture 3

  19. Other Sources Don’t forget other, less traditional sources of information which may be useful such as: • Newspapers and Magazines • Trade/Professional Journals • Government Publications • Past Projects • Professional organizations/bodies • Company Reports • Bloggs Project Lecture 3

  20. Other Sources • Finally, there is an expert human resource you can call on in the form of a University Subject Librarian. In our case it is: Andy Barrow (x3236) – Frewen Library andy.barrow@port.ac.uk NB. He’s better looking in real life ! Project Lecture 3

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