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GEOLOGY STUDENTS February 2011

LIBRARY TRAINING: WHERE & HOW TO FIND INFORMATION FOR YOUR RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT/PROJECT Pavlinka Kovatcheva, UJ Sciences Librarian, APK pkovatcheva@uj.ac.za. GEOLOGY STUDENTS February 2011. PRESENTATION OUTLINE. Library orientation - Geology Subject Portal 2 . Steps in online searching

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GEOLOGY STUDENTS February 2011

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  1. LIBRARY TRAINING:WHERE & HOW TO FIND INFORMATION FOR YOUR RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT/PROJECTPavlinka Kovatcheva, UJ Sciences Librarian, APKpkovatcheva@uj.ac.za GEOLOGY STUDENTS February 2011

  2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE • Library orientation - Geology Subject Portal 2. Steps in online searching 3. Searching techniques • Electronic Databases & Internet • Reference Techniques • Conclusion

  3. UJ Library Portal (http://www.uj.ac.za/library)

  4. UJ Sciences Librarian Portalhttp://ujsciencelibrarian.pbworks.com/

  5. GEOLOGY SUBJECT PORTALhttp://ujsciencelibrarian.pbworks.com/Geology

  6. STEPS IN ONLINE SEARCHINGhttp://ujsciencelibrarian.pbworks.com/Getting-Started-with-your-Research Step 1 Identify your topic Step 2 Identify the main terms or keywords Step 3 Combine terms by using Boolean Operators Step 4 Locate and access the Library Resources Step 5 Select an appropriate source Step 6 Ongoing evaluation of the search results Step 7 Refine your search Step 8 Gather citations for your sources Step 9 Stop searching and start writing

  7. STEP 1IDENTIFY YOUR TOPIC • Identify your topic • Narrow your topic - Look up your topic in general and specialised subject encyclopedias. What you find will provide you with more specific topics, and possible approaches or angles to take in your paper • Write down your topic - Develop several questions that you plan to answer in your paper or speech. This is an important step because your questions will become topic sentences for your outline. If you write leading questions, it’ll be easier to come up with a list of answers and issues to address in your project

  8. STEP 2IDENTIFY THE MAIN TERMS OR KEYWORDS • Brainstorm for a list of search terms/ keywords • Think of words and phrases related to your topic. Consider broader and narrower terms, and synonyms (words that have the same meaning). • Look up these terms in dictionaries and thesaurus. You may want to look them up in subject specific dictionaries and encyclopedias. • Establish logical relationship between the keywords, by making use of different Searching techniques (AND, OR) • Are there any specific names (authors, geographical locations, etc.) that would focus my search?

  9. MAKE USE OF THE THESAURUS Keyword searching is not always the most effective or efficient approach. Different authors use different words to describe the same concept or topic. Trying to think of all the possible ways a concept could be expressed by different people takes much mental effort, and chances are that you'll still miss a few. Instead, let the database itself help you. Most databases have a Thesaurus with lists of selected words or phrases. Known as "controlled vocabulary," it is used to describe concepts. The single word or phrase listed in the Thesaurus can replace all the words you might try to think of yourself.

  10. STEP 3 COMBINE TERMS BY USING BOOLEAN OPERATORS • When searching the UJ Library Catalogue, the Databases or the Internet websites, using Boolean Operators helps you broaden or narrow your search and its results. - AND narrows your search, - OR broadens your search, and - NOT excludes certain terms Use truncation symbols (usually ? or *) to capture all forms of words (e.g., educat? will retrieve education, educating, and educators).

  11. STEP 4 LOCATE AND ACCESS THE LIBRARY RESOURCES Go to:UJ Library webpage (http://www.uj.ac.za/library) Click on:Subject Collections Then select: Science Librarian Portal or go directly to:http://ujsciencelibrarian.pbwiki.com/ Most databases can be accessed remotely (from home). Only Surname, student number&PIN will be requested for access. Click on: UJLink (http://ujlink.uj.ac.za) To search for the print collections in the library, and also to search simultaneously multiple resources (print AND electronic)

  12. STEP 5SELECT AN APPROPRIATE SOURCE • For background, basic information consider: - UJ Library catalogue: to search for print general and subject specific encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference books. - Databases: to search for electronic reference works, such as: Oxford Reference Online, Oxford English Dictionary, Combined Chemical Dictionary, AccessScience(McGraw),Encyclopedia of Energy, Gale Virtual Reference Online, etc.

  13. Finding Information in Books • Find books for overview & retrospective information on the Assignment topic For Print Books search the UJ Library Catalogue (UJLink). Recommended books are also placed on the Reserve “Short Loan” Collection (Library Foyer). Used only in the Library for 2h. For Online Books search the Databases (Remote Access, Multiple users) • CRC ENVIROnetBASE Online Books on Biogeography, Ecology, Ecosystems, etc. • My iLibrary Access to ONLINE BOOKS is also available through UJLINK

  14. UJ LINK: Course Reserves for GeologyRecommended & Prescribed books on Reserve “Short Loan” Collection (Library Foyer). Used only in the Library for 2h. http://ujlink.uj.ac.za/search/r

  15. UJ LINK: Search for Books with the New DEWEY Classification system

  16. New Classification System for Books: Deweyhttp://bpeck.com/references/DDC/ddc_mine500.htm

  17. Online Book & References Collectionshttp://ujsciencelibrarian.pbworks.com/Online-Books

  18. STEP 5SELECT AN APPROPRIATE SOURCE • Find Current Information - For current information consider the use of the Electronic Bibliographic and Full-text databases available in the library - Additional search from Internet: Consider searching selected Internet websites, such as: Google Scholar; Scirus; etc.

  19. STEP 6ONGOING EVALUATION OF THE SEARCH RESULTS • Evaluation determines how effectively and efficiently the information need was satisfied. • Evaluate the sources you’ve found, paying attention to their relevance, purpose, value, accuracy, and authors’ credibility. • Remember that Internet sources should also be evaluated for bias and inaccuracies, and you should pay attention to whether the sites present facts or opinions. • As you start to create an outline of your project or paper, note areas where you need more information.

  20. STEP 7 REFINE YOUR SEARCH • You need to be prepared for unexpected search results (too much or too little information retrieved) • If your search did not yield enough results, try searching a broader terms. If your search yield too many results, use narrow terms. Make sure you are using Boolean operators correctly • Use alternative keywords (synonyms) • Try different databases • You won’t necessarily use everything you find. As a rough guide, find twice as many sources as your lecturer requires. For example, if your lecturer asks you to find 5 items, aim for 10. This allows you to choose from plenty of sources rather than being stuck with too few or relying on an incomplete collection of sources

  21. STEP 8GATHER CITATIONS FOR YOUR SOURCES • As you’re doing research, you should write down bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, date of publication, etc.). This will enable you to be prepared to create a “Bibliography” or “Works Cited” list. • In books, you’ll find this information collected on a “title page,” one of the first few pages. Online journals print this information at the top/bottom of the page. Print journals usually have this information on their covers. • Web pages are inconsistent about this information, so ask for help if you have trouble locating it.

  22. STEP 9STOP SEARCHING AND START WRITING • How do you know when you have enough information? • This is hard to judge, but you need to do more research if you still have questions about what you’re reading or if there are names and ideas that you’re not sure about. • Once you have all the information you have gathered it is time to start writing • If you still experience problems, contact your Subject Librarian for assistance

  23. SEARCHING TECHNIQUES • SEARCH STRATEGY • Understand what is required • Identify the concepts • Translate the concepts into keywords • BOOLEAN OPERATORS ( AND, OR , NOT) • TRUNCATION ( * ) • WILDCARD CHARACTER ( ? ) • PHRASE SEARCH ( “ “ ) • USE OF PARENTHESIS ( )

  24. BOOLEAN OPERATORS:AND, OR , NOT • DEFINITIONS OF BOOLEAN OPERATORS • Boolean operators are the words used to group, combine, or intersect terms when searching databases. Boolean operators provide a way to tell a computer how to combine your keywords/ terms. In other words, they refer to the logical relationship among search terms. • The operators used more frequently are AND & OR and not so frequently NOT. They are used to combine search terms to broaden or narrow the results of a search. OR is more, AND is less.

  25. BOOLEAN OPERATOR: AND Using AND tells the database to look for all the words on either side of the AND. Thus, a search for "success AND adult learners AND distance education" would retrieve only records in which every one of the terms appears. The more words you connect with AND, the fewer records the database will retrieve. AND means "I want only documents that contain both words."

  26. BOOLEAN OPERATOR: OR • OR The more terms or concepts we combine in a search with OR logic, the more records we will retrieve. • Using OR tells the database to look for any one of the words on either side of the OR. • Thus, a search for "success OR achievement OR progress OR goals" would retrieve records in which any one of the terms appears. • OR means "I want documents that contain either word; I don't care which word."

  27. BOOLEAN OPERATOR: NOT Although NOT is considered a connector, it probably should be called "The Eliminator." Use it very carefully, as it excludes any terms that follow it. You may end up losing valuable information when you use NOT. NOT logic is used to exclude a particular concept/term. We retrieve only records in which ONLY ONE of the terms is present.

  28. TRUNCATION ( * ) After identifying all the possible relevant search terms, decide whether you are going to use Truncation to EXTEND the search strategy. Truncation may be used to restrict the search to WORD STEM ( right truncation) geolog* will retrieve information on geology, geological, geologist, etc. mineralog* will retrieve information on mineralogy, mineralogical, mineralogist, etc.

  29. WILDCARD CHARACTER ( ? ) Wildcard can be helpful when you are unsure of the correct spelling of a word. A wildcard is the insertion of a question mark symbol in place of a letter that you do not know. wom?n will search for both women and woman Use wildcard to retrieve words that are used differently in American and English languages. organi?ation will find organiSation and organiZation

  30. PHRASE SEARCHING (“”) Phrase searching, use the quotation marks to search for results that contained those words together, rather than search for all instances of each separate word: “economic geology” ; “South Africa” “igneous petrology”

  31. USE OF PARENTHESIS ( ) The use of parenthesis is very important in the grouping of search terms, not only for clarity on search terms representing the same concept, but also for instructing the computer in WHAT ORDER the search should be executed. (Achondrites OR Stony meteorites) AND occurrence The word occurancewill be combined with both terms before creating the final set

  32. ELECTRONIC DATABASES & INTERNET • Difference between Bibliographic & Full-text databases • Bibliographic databases & the Research plan • How to find FULL-TEXT journals in the library • How to find a specific journals electronically: A-to-Z list • Electronic Databases (Bibliographic & Full-text) • How to search the electronic databases for articles/references

  33. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIBLIOGRAPHIC AND FULL-TEXT DATABASES Bibliographic Database A bibliographic database is an online database that lists sources of information and describes the information, but that does not include the text of the information itself. It contains only references to various types of documents such as journal articles, books, conference papers and reports. Full-text database A full-text database holds the complete text of original sources. The user can read the article, print, e-mail or download a copy. NOTE: Full-text databases also provides access to abstracts only (Some journals have Publishers restrictions for displaying the full-text articles)

  34. HOW A BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE SEARCH FITS INTO A RESEARCH PLAN • A search of a bibliographic database is the first step in investigating a new research area or refining a research project. • Surveying the previous research enables you to pinpoint topics for further research or replication of that research. • You can also use a search to locate general articles and books on your topic to broaden your understanding of it and to learn about recent developments. • After your research is complete, you can use a bibliographic search as an efficient way to find articles on your topic that were published since your initial search, in order to incorporate these recent findings into your report. • Once references are retrieved from a bibliographic databases, you need to try and find the full-text articles.

  35. HOW TO FIND SPECIFIC JOURNALS IN PRINT AND ONLINE: : UJLink Search for Print & Electronic Journals per TITLE

  36. HOW TO FIND SPECIFIC JOURNALS ELECTRONICALLY: A-to-Z JOURNAL LIST

  37. MULTIDISCIPLINARY FULL-TEXT DATABASES • Academic Onefile (Infotrac) • Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost) • JSTOR (Retrospective database, 3-5 years back file) • MasterFILE Premier (EbscoHost) • SA E-publications ( South African journals) • ScienceDirect ( Elsevier Publ. journals) • SpringerLink(Springer and Kluwer Publ. journals) • Wiley Online Library

  38. SCIENCE DIRECT DATABASE

  39. SCIENCE DIRECT FEATURES:Full Abstracts; Sort by Relevance/Data; View Related Articles; Search Feeds; Search within Results; Full-text options

  40. WILEY ONLINE LIBRARY (full-text, 1997+)

  41. SPRINGER LINK DATABASE

  42. SUBJECTS BIBLIOGRAPHIC & FULL-TEXT DATABASES • Geology • Data Metalogenetica (repository of mineral deposits) • GeoRef (Bibl. Database) • GeoScienceWorld (35 full-text journals) • SAGEOLIT (Bibl. Database) • Chemistry • ACS (American Chemical Society) (full-text) • RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry) (full-text) • SciFinder (Bibl.) • Physics • APS Prola (full-text) • Institute of Physics (IOP) (full-text)

  43. SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHIC & FULL-TEXT DATABASES • Mathematics • MathSciNet (full-text) • IT • ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) (full-text) • Academic Onefile (incl. Computer database) (full-text) • Safari Tech Books Online (300 full-text e-books) • Engineering • ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers (incl. full-text) • CRC ENGNetBase (e-books) • Engineering Village2 (incl. Compendex, Inspec) • IEEE Xplore (incl. full-text) • Referex (e-books)

  44. GEOREF & GEOSCIENCE WORLD DATABASES: QUICK SEARCH

  45. GEOREF & GEOSCIENCE WORLD DATABASES: ADVANCED SEARCH

  46. GEOREF & GEOSCIENCE WORLD FEATURES:Quick & Advanced search screen; Select Document type; Retrieve both full-text and references only; Thesaurus terms;PDF & HTML full-text; Once the article is open, on the right side of the screen you can find: alerts & e-mail options; Citing articles; Google Scholar author search results

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