Comprehensive user education to successfully navigate the Internet Part 3- Databases, E-journals...
28
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
Comprehensive user education to successfully navigate the Internet Part 3- Databases, E-journals Course developed by University Library of Debrecen
Comprehensive user education to successfully navigate the
Internet Part 3- Databases, E-journals Course developed by
University Library of Debrecen
Slide 2
Topics covered: E-journals and databases metasearch engines
citaion index and impact factor evaluating internet resources
Slide 3
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)
Slide 4
Web presentation AdvantagesDiadvantages HTML More options for
linking, searching and supplementing the text Loads quickly as file
size is smaller then than PDF Easy to index More labor intensive to
produce Troublesome to print fragmented documents Requires a
separate production process form that of print journal Display may
change with different browsers PDF Stable manageable and
cost-effective for publishers Familiar look for users Easy
conversion of legacy print Requires additional plug-in i.e. Acrobat
Reader Large Files can cause annoyance with slow bandwidth
Slide 5
Benefit to users Independent of space and time Interact with
other electronic resources Save users time (Ranganthansfourth 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.
Slide 6
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
Slide 7
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.
Slide 8
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
Slide 9
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.
Slide 10
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
Slide 11
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.
Slide 12
Descriptor : A term assigned 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 indexed are 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).
Slide 13
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
Slide 14
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.
Slide 15
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.
Slide 16
When you're looking for magazine or journal articles, search
engines can be helpful, but other specialized search tools are
often a better betparticularly 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.
Slide 17
An institutions 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
Slide 18
Factors of critical evaluation 1.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.
Slide 19
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?
Slide 20
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.
Slide 21
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?
Slide 22
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
Slide 23
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
Slide 24
6. Scholarly or Popular publication? ConsiderScholarlyPopular
Type of Publication? Academic journal (peer- reviewed General
interest magazine Author?Expert on topicJournalist or amateur or
professional writer Audience?Scholars and students of the journal's
discipline or particular subject area General public Goal?To
inform/updateOften to entertain Time lag (currency)? Peer reviewed
articles: 6 months+ from submission date of manuscript Very current
Article length?Often longer than articles in popular publications
Usually short; 1-3 pages
Slide 25
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 journals 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).
Slide 26
Researcher submit manuscripts to journal editors or publishers
Publishers staff check to ensure manuscripts fall within the
subject scope of the journal or publisher determine whether
manuscripts should be sent on to academic editors Editors and
editorial boards review the manuscripts submitted to them, for
quality and fit with the scope of the journal or publisher decide
on the experts in the relevant field from whom they will seek
assessments
Slide 27
Peer reviewers examine and assess the application for such
matters as research design and methodology; and validity, accuracy,
originality and significance of findings make a recommendation to
accept, reject, or to ask the authors to make modifications and
resubmit Editors consider reviewers assessments and recommendations
decide to accept or reject, or invite authors to respond to
comments and suggestions Authors respond to comments and
suggestions