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Slide 1: EN4271: Library Resources for Research Ruby Seng Resource Librarian (ELL) rubyseng@nus.edu.sg
Slide 2: Outline • • • • • • • Information Sources & The Research Process Advanced Searching Techniques Search Statements LINC+ vs. LINC, Google Scholar Databases Troubleshooting & Evaluating Information Sources Materials Not Found in Library, Endnote, Getting Help 2
Slide 3: Information Sources & The Research Process 3
Slide 4: Information Sources • • • • • • Books Conference papers Internet sources Journal articles Newspapers Theses & dissertations 4
Slide 5: Books vs. Journals Books • overview of topic / introductory reading • book chapters: range of topics & viewpoints by different authors • editorial process • less current? Journal Articles & Conference Papers • focused arguments about one or few topics • often single viewpoint by one or co-authors • peer-review • more current? 5
Slide 6: The Research Process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify key concepts in the research topic List keywords, synonyms, related words & variant spellings Create a search statement Search for sources using LINC & databases Get more sources by checking references 6
Slide 7: Advanced Searching Techniques • AND, OR, NOT, *, ( ), “ ” 7
Slide 8: Advanced Searching: AND, OR, NOT 1. AND: both terms must be present (refine) A B cats AND dogs 1. OR: either terms may be present (expand) A B 1. NOT/AND NOT: exclude a term cauti cats OR dogs on! A B cats NOT dogs 8
Slide 9: Advanced Searching: * Use asterisk * for variant forms of a word • e.g. monarch* = monarchy, monarchies, monarchist, monarchic, monarchial • e.gs. wom*n = woman, women colo*r = colour, color 9
Slide 10: Advanced Searching: ( ) Use paratheses ( ) for: •grouping similar or related words •prioritising e.g. (kingship OR monarch*) AND Shakespeare = kingship AND Shakespeare = monarch* AND Shakespeare search within ( ) first, then combine with “Shakespeare” using the Boolean operator AND 10
Slide 11: Advanced Searching: “ ” Use quotation marks “ ” for searching a phrase e.g.: pride and prejudice: 2851 results “pride and prejudice”: 1105 results 11
Slide 12: Search Statements • Synonyms & Related Keywords • Search Statements 12
Slide 13: Synonyms & Related Keywords Social networking media Blog* Facebook Twitter Second Life social Modern fiction AND chick lit women Popular fiction AND women Post-feminist fiction Quotations Language purple Metaphors prose 13
Slide 14: Search Statement (1) cultural identity in Disney computer animated movies cultural identity computer animated ethnic identity, racial identity, social identity, heritage… computer animation, computer assisted animation… search statement: (cultural identity OR ethnic identity OR racial identity OR social identity OR heritage) AND Disney AND (computer AND animat*) 14
Slide 15: Search Statement (2) Ian Fleming’s novels in cold war Britain Ian Fleming James Bond anti-Soviet, anti-communism, iron curtain, Soviet American relations cold war search statement: (Ian Fleming OR James Bond) AND (cold war OR anti-Soviet OR anticommunism OR iron curtain OR Soviet American relations) AND Britain 15
Slide 16: LINC, Databases & Google Scholar • LINC+/LINC vs. Databases • LINC+ vs. LINC • Google Scholar 16
Slide 17: LINC+/LINC vs. Databases • LINC+/LINC: search for resources in the library’s collection, i.e. books, journals, audio-visual materials, theses, etc. • databases: search for journal articles, book chapters & reviews, conference proceedings, etc • most databases provide citations & abstracts; some have full-text articles (or links) 17
Slide 18: LINC+ vs. LINC LINC+ LINC • search many fields (title, author, keyword, subject) • good for browsing & discovery • search one field (title, author, keyword, subject, call no., ISBN) etc • good for precise search 18
Slide 19: Google Scholar • aim: single search engine for scholarly literature • may include links to free PDF articles • good for quick research However: • not all results come from scholarly sources • many link to publishers' websites which require subscriber login 19
Slide 20: Google Scholar • use the proxy bookmarklet to access full-texts • note: only for resources subscribed by NUS Libraries HANDS-ON http://bit.ly/nuslibproxy 20
Slide 21: Databases • MLA International Bibliography • Literature Online • Project Muse • 19th Century • Proquest Dissertations & Theses 21
Slide 22: Specialised & General Databases Literature & Language Databases • • Literature Online MLA International Bibliography General Databases • • • • • • • 19th Century Masterfile Arts & Humanities Citation Index (WOS) Humanities Abstracts JSTOR Periodicals Index Online Project Muse Proquest Dissertations & Theses 22
Slide 23: DB #1: MLA International Bibliography DEMO • Modern Language Association of America (MLA) • scholarly books & articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore and linguistics • coverage: literature from all over the world, works on literature transmitted orally, in print, or in audio-visual media 23
Slide 24: DB #1: MLA International Bibliography DEMO Subject: type morrison, toni Name of work: beloved 24
Slide 25: DB #1: MLA International Bibliography DEMO 25
Slide 26: DB #2: Literature Online • >350,000 works of English & American poetry, prose and drama • biographies, bibliographies, articles, monographs, literary criticism and reference sources • searches content from MLA International Bibliography, ABELL, JSTOR 26
Slide 27: DB #2: Literature Online 1. select authors 2. search for Morrison, Toni 27
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Slide 29: 1. select criticism & reference 2. select criticism 29
Slide 30: number of results click to mark record 30
Slide 31: DB #3: Project Muse HANDS-ON • full-text access to over 400 high quality humanities and social sciences journals from over non profit 100 scholarly publishers • literature journals: 124 31
Slide 32: DB #3: Project Muse chick lit Modern fiction AND women Popular fiction AND women Post-feminist fiction HANDS-ON chick* AND “chick lit” lit* 32
Slide 33: DB #3: Project Muse HANDS-ON 33
Slide 34: DB #3: Project Muse HANDS-ON email or export saved marked records mark records 34
Slide 35: DB #4: 19th Century Masterfile • "Index of Indexes”: over 11 million citations • largest resource for historical research prior to 1925 • > 60 subject indexes to periodicals, newspapers, books, US Congressional Record, US and UK Government Documents, US Patents 35
Slide 36: DB #4: 19th Century Masterfile 36
Slide 37: DB #4: 19th Century Masterfile keyword search exact phrase 37
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Slide 40: DB #4: 19th Century Masterfile 40
Slide 41: DB #5: Proquest Disserations & Theses HANDS-ON 41
Slide 42: DB #5: Proquest Disserations & Theses HANDS-ON no. of results mark records for email or export to EndNote sort results by relevance 42
Slide 43: DB #5: Proquest Disserations & Theses HANDS-ON 43
Slide 44: Other DBs: Notable Mentions • Empire Online • Factiva http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/n/factiva.html • Perind http://libpweb1.nus.edu.sg/lion/d/perind.html • Oxford English Dictionary 44
Slide 45: NUS Academic Exercises Use advanced keyword: 45
Slide 46: Recap, Troubleshooting & Evaluating Information Sources 46
Slide 47: Recap  use synonyms and related words  create search statement using keywords plus AND, OR, NOT, ( ), *, “ ”  select fields e.g. article title, abstract  limit search by type (article, books, reviews), date, peerreviewed, etc  sort results by relevance Quality (Relevance) vs. Quantity 47
Slide 48: Troubleshooting Search Results You may encounter: • too many results  use more keywords • too few results  add synonyms • too many irrelevant results  exclude keywords that are too general • no results  use more general keywords, reduce number of keywords or redefine your research topic Quite often, you’ll need to refine your keywords through some trial and error. If you need help, check with your professor or ask a librarian!  48
Slide 49: Evaluating Information Sources • relevance: to your topic • authority: reputable publisher, society or organisation; author’s credentials, institutional affiliation • accuracy: methods of research; means to verify data; support by references • comprehensiveness: range of viewpoints to support arguments • objectivity: biasness • currency: up-to-date • scholarly: peer reviewed, cited 49
Slide 50: Miscellaneous • Materials not found in library • EndNote • Getting Help 50
Slide 51: Materials Not Found in the Library Document Delivery Services (DDS) • e-forms • must be approved by supervisor • 3 requests per year (honours) Recommend purchase of new books • e-forms • no endorsement from supervisor needed • approximately 1 to 3 months to process 51
Slide 52: EndNote A bibliographic management software that: • stores and organizes references from many sources eg. library catalogues, databases etc • inserts these citations into a Word document • formats your references according to citation style Step by step guide for EndNote: http://libpweb1.nus.edu.sg/lion/e/endnoteGuide.html 52
Slide 53: Getting Help Phone Email 6516-2029/30 rubyseng@nus.edu.sg (ELL queries) askalib@nus.edu.sg (general queries) Walk in Guides information desk (CL, level 5) Library Instruction Online (LION) Subject Guide 53
Slide 54: Thank You!