The power of digital literacy

1. The power of digital literacy Comprehensive user education to successfully navigate the Internet Part 3- Databases, E-journals Course developed by University Library of Debrecen

2. Overview • Topics covered: • E-journals and databases • metasearch engines • citaion index and impact factor • evaluating internet resources

3. Electronic journals • It should meet the bibliographic definition of journal • –according to AACR2 the definition of a journal is “A publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations and indented to be continued indefinitely” • Is accessible through Web • •Has the features of a journal, magazine or a newsletter • Should preferably have an ISSN number (See www.issn.org)

4. E-journals - Caharacteristics Web presentation

5. Benefits of E-journals Benefit to users –Independent of space and time –Interact with other electronic resources –Save user’s time (Ranganthan’sfourth Law) –Provides value addition such as searcheability, supplements, formats unavailable in print formats –Accelerated publication –Can be read by multiple users simultaneously –Can not be mutilated, stolen, lost vandalized etc etc.

6. Problematic issues Drawbacks –Coverage may not be as complete as in print format –Authentication issues –Archival issues and long term preservation –Users technology does not always keep up with e-journal technology –Temporary unavailability due to technical reasons –Managing e-journals require much more skilled manpower

7. What is a database? • A database is a collection of information, in this case journal articles, arranged in individual records which can be searched by computer. Some journal databases also include conference papers, book chapters, reports, dissertations, books and other types of information. • Journal Ddatabases collect together articles in a subject area. The subject could be general (eg. education) or more narrowly defined (eg. Australian criminology). • Journal databases generally provide a reference or citation - enough information to allow you to find the article. The citation would normally include: the title and author of the article; the journal name, volume and issue numbers, pages and date; subject headings and often an abstract (summary) of the article. Sometimes the full text of the article is also available.

8. Database vs. Internet • Database • Most subject specific databases index the main academic literature of that subject area. Articles indexed on databases are likely to contain more reliable and more thoroughly researched information than material on the Web. • Well indexed - - each article is given seperate subject headings • Access mostly through subscription • Web • Searching the Web you can also find a lot of irrelevant and unsubstantiated information. • Not thoroughly indexed • Available for everyone

9. Types of Databases Databases can be organized by the scope of the information they contain. General interest databases include information from several different subject areas and disciplines. Discipline specific databases include information for several related subject areas. Subject specific databases focus on providing information for one particular subject.

10. Database features • Basic Searches • search box only searches one field • useful to determine how big the collection of articles related to the topic • helpful when doing a known item search • Advanced Searches • give more control to the user, allows for a more refined search • multiple search terms in multiple fields can be searched for simultaneously. • should be used when the collection of interested articles is large and needs to be narrowed • useful when information from more than one field would help in locating items of interest

11. Database features • Limits • control the available articles by specified parameters, for example, by date, format, material type, language, or location • helpful to eliminate records that are outside the selected limits, • Controlled Vocabulary • Some use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) or Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), but there are also some that create their own controlled vocabulary. • help to refine the search and direct the search into the appropriate area • Other Features • Search within results. • Analyze results. • Search history. • Search by taxonomic data. • Related articles and links.

12. Database features Descriptor : A termassigned as an access point in the bibliographic record representing a document to indicate one of the subjects of its text (subject heading). Free-text search: A search in which natural language words and phrases appearing in the text of the documents indexedare used as search terms, rather than terms selected from a list of controlled vocabulary Keyword: A significant word or phrase in the title, subject headings (descriptors), contents note, abstract, or text of a record in an online catalog or bibliographic database that can be used as a search term in a free-text search to retrieve all the records containing it. Subject heading The most specific word or phrase that describes the subject, or one of the subjects, of a work, selected from a list of preferred terms (controlled vocabulary).

13. Database features Theasurus: an alphabetically arranged lexicon of terms comprising the specialized vocabulary of an academic discipline or field of study, showing the logical and semantic relations among terms Library of Congress Subject Headings Since 1898, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LSCH) list now listing over 280,000 subject headings, is considered the most comprehensive list of subject headings in the world Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a controlled vocabulary thesaurus of terms created by the National Library of Medicine and used for PubMed (MEDLINE) article records

14. Finding articles Article Search Engines by Subject Most article search engines are specific to particular disciplines. Use the lists your library provide to find the search engines most useful for your subject.

15. Finding articles General Article Search Engines EBSCO Host General, multidisciplinary database covering all scholarly disciplines, with many general and popular magazines and news sources. Coverage varies, mostly from the 1990s forward, but also includes some much older journals and magazines. ISI Web of SCience Indexes journals in the Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts & Humanities. In addition to keyword searching, you can search for articles that cite a known author or work. The index extends back to 1945 and is updated weekly.

16. Finding articles When you're looking for magazine or journal articles, search engines can be helpful, but other specialized search tools are often a better bet—particularly in the academic, scholarly and sci-tech areas. Google Scholar is an effort by Google to point you to either a summary or, occasionally, the full text of "scholarly" articles and books. Scirus is an interesting hybrid; it includes both summaries of scientific/technical journal articles and selected science-oriented web pages. You can also choose to search only articles or only web sites. PubMed is the well-known bibliographic database in the field of medicine built and maintained by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

17. E-journal collections An institution’s search directory offering you comprehensive listings of all electronic journals subscribed to by the institution. Seraching and accessing all subscribed full text articles through one search platform

18. Evaluating sources Factors of critical evaluation Suitability Scope: What is the breadth of the article, book, website or other material? What coverage of the topic does the source provide? Audience: Who is the intended audience for this source? Assumptions can be made about the depth of analysis based on the intended audience. Timeliness: When was the source published? Currency is more important in some disciplines than others.

19. Evaluatuing sources • 2. Authority of the source • What qualifications the author has to write on this subject. • What education and experience does he or she possess? • Is the author affiliated with a reputable organization or institution? • Is this author considered an expert in this field? • Have they published other materials on this subject?

20. Evaluating sources Authority of the sources Locating other books by an author: If the author's name is hyperlinked in the database, click on that link to see if there are any other books by your author in that database. Biographies: Biographies may be useful for learning about an author's background and qualifications.

21. Evaluating sources • 3. Objectivitiy • It is important to determine whether a source presents a balanced perspective. • Is the author's point of view presented as the only one? • Are other viewpoints addressed in an impartial way? • What evidence is used to support the argument, where does it come from, and is it credible? • Is the reasoning sound or are faulty reasoning techniques used? Is there a logical sequence to the argument or presentation of information?

22. Evaluating sources • 4. Accuracy • It is ethical practice in scholarly circles to cite your sources. • Examine the origin of the evidence presented by examining the footnotes, works cited list, reference list or bibliography with a critical eye. • 5. Reviews • Examining what reviewers say about a source can yield insight and perspective including: • A brief summary of the content and conclusions • Adiscussion of the strengths and weaknesses • An evaluation of the significance of the work in relation to others in the field

23. Evaluating sources 5. Primary vs. secondary research. Primary research presents original research methods or findings for the first time. Examples include: A journal article, book presentingnew findings and new theories, usually with the data A newspaper account written by a journalist who was present at the event he or she is describing is a primary source A secondary research does not present new research but rather provides a compilation or evaluation of previously presented material. Examples include: A scientific article summarizing research or data An encyclopedia entry A textbook

24. Evaluating sources 6. Scholarly or Popular publication?

25. Peer-review Science has a system for assessing the quality of research before it is published. This system is called peer review. Peer review means that other scientific experts in the field check research papers for validity, significance and originality – and for clarity. If the journal’s editor thinks it is suitable for their journal they send the paper to other scientists who research and publish in the same field asking them to: •Comment on its validity – are the research results credible; are the design and methodology appropriate?•Judge the significance - is it an important finding? •Determine its originality - are the results new? Does the paper refer properly to work done by others? •Give an opinion as to whether the paper should be published, improved or rejected (usually to be submitted elsewhere).

26. Peer-review Researcher submit manuscripts to journal editors or publishers • Publisher’s staff • •check to ensure manuscripts fall within the subject scope • of the journal or publisher • determine whether manuscriptsshould be sent on toacademic editors Editors and editorial boards • review the manuscripts submitted to them, for qualityand fit with the scope of the journal or publisher • decide on the experts in the relevant field from whom they will seek assessments

27. Peer-review Peer reviewers • examine and assess the application for such mattersas research design and methodology; and validity,accuracy, originality and significance of findings • make a recommendation to accept, reject, or to ask theauthors to make modifications and resubmit Editors • consider reviewers’ assessments and recommendations • decide to accept or reject, orinvite authors to respond to comments and suggestions Authors respond to comments and suggestions

28. Exercises