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Research using published sources

Research using published sources. Literature searching and bibliographic referencing. Role of secondary sources in research:. Some research will be totally dependent on published materials historical research overviews conceptual studies

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Research using published sources

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  1. Research using published sources Literature searching and bibliographic referencing

  2. Role of secondary sources in research: • Some research will be totally dependent on published materials • historical research • overviews • conceptual studies • most research will require some use of published sources • to provide context • to provide benchmarks • to offer comparison

  3. Literature searching for MA/MSc: • Remember the scope of the dissertation • not a doctoral thesis • searching need not be exhaustive • BUT • you should have enough sources: • to properly reflect the state of affairs in your topic • to represent any differing viewpoints • to include all important publications, projects or initiatives

  4. Systematic searching: • You will almost certainly need to include: • monographs • journal articles • web based material • you may also need (for example) • theses and conference papers • legislation • statistics

  5. Searching for monographs: • Bibliographic databases don’t usually cover books • large library catalogues are a better source • COPAC is a good place to look for book titles • specialist library catalogues may be more extensive in terms of foreign material and non-standard formats

  6. Some book databases: • COPAC www.copac.ac.uk • union catalogue of 24 universities + national libraries • British Library www.bl.uk • this and other big libraries have specialised catalogues independent of the main catalogue • Library of Congress www.loc.gov • For foreign language material: • National library catalogues • www.ifla.org

  7. Commercial book databases: • Not as comprehensive as catalogues • may be better for new and forthcoming publications • College library has Books in print: • be very wary of e-booksellers sites

  8. Searching for journal articles: • The primary source for journal material is the bibliographic database • general databases can provide a good starting point, and enable cross-disciplinary searches • College Library databases often link to full text

  9. General periodical databases: • Provide access to journal references • many include conference papers and other formats • zetoc • Web of knowledge • Current contents connect • JStor

  10. Specialist LIS databases: • LISA • LISTA • Current awareness abstracts (Library and information management) • H.W.Wilson databases available via the Art Fulltext link on MetaLib • remember print resources for older material • Library literature • hardcopy LISA

  11. Subject specialist databases: • The College Library has huge numbers of these • Useful ones may include: • Historical abstracts • INSPEC • Early English books online • ERIC

  12. Electronic journals: • Individual journals can be searched • agents’/publishers’ websites can offer cross-domain searching • Swetswise • Taylor and Francis • Ingenta • Emerald fulltext

  13. Web-based material: • Managed portals and hubs (RDN - www.rdn.ac.uk) • search engines • a quick way to find research publications, reports, government and official publications • use with discretion! • don’t rely on these alone • Good search engines

  14. Alltheweb www.alltheweb.com Altavista www.altavista.com Ask Jeeves www.askjeeves.com Google www.google.com Lycos www.lycos.com Hotbot www.hotbot.com Teoma www.teoma.com • Profusion www.profusion.com • SurfWax www.surfwax.com • Vivisimo http://vivisimo.com • Kartoo www.kartoo.com • Fazzle www.fazzle.com

  15. Search tips and hints: • Don’t make initial searches too complex • modify searches in the light of results • opt for more obscure keywords • remember to search for synonyms • not all search software works in the same way • advanced searches usually offer field specific searching and Boolean search

  16. Use results to inform more searches • look for additional keywords • identify important authors or researchers • note key journals • don’t expect to find everything you need at the first attempt • follow up references in articles and use hypertext links

  17. Bibliographic referencing How to get it right

  18. Bibliographic referencing: • Why reference? • to add authority to your dissertation • to support and reinforce your arguments • to enable readers to follow up the sources themselves • to acknowledge other writers’ work • failing to do this can constitute plagiarism and have legal implications

  19. What needs to be referenced? • direct quotations • allusions to content of other works • statements of fact often need to be supported by documentary evidence • this needn’t be taken to extremes in the case of common knowledge

  20. What should be included in a reference? • For a book: • The name(s) of the author(s) • the title of the work • the place of publication • the name of the publisher • the date of publication

  21. Bookreference:

  22. Journal references should include: • The name(s) of the author(s) • the title of the article • the title of the journal • the date of publication • the volume and issue numbers • the numbers of the first and last page

  23. Journal reference:

  24. Website references should include: • The name of the creator of the website • the name of the website • the url • the date of creation (or the last update) • the date that you accessed it • some of these may be hard to establish for individual websites, so you may have to omit details

  25. Website reference:

  26. Remember: • Referencing is not cataloguing • you don’t have to include any physical description or other elements • the order and punctuation of elements may differ from standard cataloguing practice

  27. Referencing styles: • There are many hundreds of referencing styles • they usually differ in minor details • SLAIS allows you to use whichever you wish • you can follow an established style, or use your own • referencing software such as Reference Manager (Endnote, ProCite, etc.) can do the work for you • the important point is to apply the style consistently

  28. Variations in citation styles of different scholarly journals: Adams JQ, Lincoln A, van Buren M, Truman HS: An imaginary conversation. J Hist Fant 76:204-212, 1976 Adams, J. Q.; Lincoln, A.; van Buren, M.; Truman, H. S. An imaginary conversation. Journal of Historical Fantasy 1976 , 76 (11), 204-212. Adams JQ, Lincoln A, van Buren M, Truman HS. An imaginary conversation. J Hist Fant 1976 November 5;76(11):204-12. Adams,J.Q., Lincoln,A., van Buren,M., and Truman,H.S. 1976. An imaginary conversation. Journal of Historical Fantasy 76(11):204-212. ADAMS,J.Q., LINCOLN,A., VAN BUREN,M., TRUMAN,H.S., 1976. "An imaginary conversation", Journal of Historical Fantasy, 76, S. 204-212. Adams JQ, Lincoln A, van Buren M, Truman HS. 1976. An imaginary conversation. Journal of Historical Fantasy76: 204-212.

  29. Basic types of referencing: • There are two main sorts of referencing: • Footnotes/endnotes • Author date systems • numerical systems also occur, but more infrequently

  30. Footnotes and endnotes: • These are the same thing, except for their position in the text; footnotes appear on the same page as the reference, endnotes follow on from the text • when you want to make a reference you put a superscript number in the text • the full reference follows an equivalent number at the bottom of the page, or at the end of the piece • Word will do much of this for you • strictly speaking, there is no need for a separate bibliography, but you may like to include one

  31. Footnotes:

  32. Footnotes:

  33. Footnotes:

  34. Author-date systems: • When you want to refer to a source, you put the author’s name, and the date of the publication, plus the page reference, in parentheses, or brackets, in the text • author-date is sometimes called parenthetical referencing • at the end of the text, you provide a list of the references in alphabetical order of authors’ names

  35. Reference list in author-date system

  36. Is simple and straightforward suits references to monographs and journal articles most suitable for references to personal authors Is better for unauthored works particularly suitable for mss. and websites word processor will ‘manage’ the placing and numbering for you Author-date versus Footnotes

  37. Forms of reference: • The form of a reference varies slightly if it is: • a footnote/endnote • a reference in a bibliography • a reference in a list for the author-date system

  38. Footnotes:

  39. Bibliography:

  40. Reference list (author-date):

  41. Op. cit., loc. cit., and ibid. • The use of op. cit. (opus citatum/opere citato = the work cited/in the work cited), to mean a work previously referenced, is now generally discouraged • loc. cit. (loco citato = the place cited) is sometimes used if the reference is to the same page in the previously referenced work • ibid. (ibidem = the same) may be used for one or more subsequent references to the same work • none of these should be necessary with author-date systems

  42. Things to remember: • Keep punctuation, including capitalization of initial letters, consistent • Don’t cut and paste from other sources without adjusting the style

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