Systematic and critical information search

Roskilde Universitetsbiblioteklørdag 22. april 2023

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference manager 8. Use the library…1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

What, why and how?

What?• Academic study is based on a mix og different usually text genres. These are the the source

on which you build a foundation for your assignments and project work.• This course is about how to think methodologically and reflexive about information and

literature search in relation to research literature and policy documents.

Why?• Ensures that you finde the most relevant material• Gives you an overview of the field of study• Increases your arguments and persuasiveness • Is the foundation of informed inclusion and exclusion discissions• Enables you to treat a subject in a scholarly manner

How?• The answer is ahead!

Case: CSR ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference manager 8. Use the library…1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Starting a place…

1. Own experiences and knowledge is obviously the first stepping stone.

CASEA TED-talk about corporate social responsibility or have seen a documentary on the matter – are these valid and citable academic sources? Your supervisor tells you that its also termed CSR.Moving to the searching….

2. Google is often useful in the beginning. It is never sufficient to stop with Google. Texts at Google are not quality checked and therefore deemed to undergo you critical scrutiny before application in the project.

CASEGoogling ‘CSR’ Wikipedia pops up. In a Wikipedia article you find links the different sources. Are these OK to use?

a. http://www.unglobalcompact.org/COP/ b. "McDonald's Corporation CSR information". Mcdonalds.com.c. McWilliams, Abagail; Siegel, Donald; Wright, Patrick M. (March 2006).

Corporate Social Responsibility: International Perspectives (PDF). Working Papers (0604). Troy, New York: Department of Economics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Use the information you already have…

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference manager 8. Use the library …1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Get the overview…

1. Look up topics in a library reference work ( or external database) and get a sound academic definition and references for further reading.

CASECSR is ie. Found in Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology and ”Corporate Social Responsibility” in Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management

2. Find news- and journal articles in Infomedia (danish) , Bibliotek.dk (danish) og international news at PressDisplay. Gives you an easy-read overview.

CASECSR has lots of different names. So try to spot other related real-life-terms in articles.

3. Find student projects from former years. The can tell you a bit about how to do a project and what sources they used for investigating their problem.

CASESearching for ”CSR” at the library and you will find the project The Institutionalization of CSR ”CSR i forbrugernes øjne”. They have a good reading list at the bottom telling you about ie. Novo Nordisk which could be a case…

Find central terms, define and find a case

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference managers 8. Use the library …1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Search strategies…1. Subject search is obviously used for tieing your search to the relevant keywords with in your project problem

description and other interresting topics you encountered along the way when screating an overview of the field (slide 3). Remember to combine several keywords to cover cross-disciplinary topics and also both English and Danish terms.

CASE If you are interested in a specific part of an issue you can search like this ”CSR AND global*” at quicksearch at rub.ruc.dk. You would in example find ”Corporate social responsibility : readings and cases in a global context”

2. Chain search can help you find texts with point of departure in already known material or just a topic.

CASE when searching for a book or topic you can jump to SUMMON and use the filters on different subjects to narrow you results: In example ”sociology” AND ”journal article”.

3. Citation check enables you to use a text and find out who has used this later on. The is the opposit of look at the reference liste where you look backwards in time. Google Scholar and some external databases as Web of knowledge are good for this.

CASE The former booktitle is really central to the project. On Google scholar you can see its been cited 5 times in other publications.

4. Book reviews in academic journals are often useful in terms of giving perspective to a certain work and vary your arguments in general.

CASE The book Organizing America: Wealth, Power, and the Origins of Corporate Capitalism is maybe deemed relevant to the project. Instead of reading it all you can assess it first. Its avaliable as ebook or printed book and in SUMMON there are heaps of book reviews

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference manager 8. Use the library…1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Policy papers

In regard to public bodies it might be useful to look at some of these levels• Folketinget (Parliament)• Ministerier (ministeries)• Styrelser (Authorities)• Regioner (Regions)• Kommuner, (Municipalities)

In regard to NGOs and international organizations it might be useful to look at some of these• WTO - World Trade Organization• WHO (World Health Organization)• International Monetary Fund (IMF)• Danida Publications• OECD iLibrary• ECLAS • ESO (European Sources Online)

You will need the primary sources from public authorities or corporations – not just descriptions about or interpretations. Also Google is fine for locating these institutions and organisations – but the documents must be retrieved on the official sites to make sure you got the most recent

CASENews paper articles will for example reveal that UN has recommendations the corporate social responsibility and that there is law dictating companies to report on their annual CSR effort in Denmark. This means that you could look at the UN library for further texts from this particular agent. If you hadn’t read the article you might not have considered UN at all in this matter …

Source documents from public bodies, private companies or civil society

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 7. Reference manager 8. Use the library …1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Citations, literature lists and plagiarism

Cite your sources correctlyhttps://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/reference_tool/index-core.php

Academic must.do – making the literature list…http://studiemetro.au.dk/en/standardsforacademicpapers/moreaboutstandardsforacademicpapers/http://vip.iva.dk/tutorials/referencer/liste.htm

Plagiarism is cheating...http://www.en.stopplagiat.nu/

BookRoeder, K. et al. (1987). Public relations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Chapter in a bookBøgh Andersen, P. (1986). Semiotics and informatics: Computers and media. I: P. Ingwersen, L. Kajberg & A. Mark Pejtersen (Eds.), Information technology and information use: Towards a unified view of information and information technology (s. 34-47). London: Taylor Graham

WebsiteDynamite Associates. (1998, 1. april). Blow it up! [Hjemmeside for Dynamite Associates]. Lokaliseret den 1. maj 1998 på http://www.dynamite.com

Example name-year method (APA)

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 8. Use the library…7. Reference manager1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Reference managers• Collect sources• Organize texts and literature• Write – Do citations automatically• Share in you project group

Try Mendeley which is freeTry RefWorks which we have subscription for

Why?• Time saver!!!!!• 1:1 relation betweeen in-text citations and your literature list• Overview of the project texts• Work systematically with your sources• Recycle and reuse texts for next projects

3. Get the overview2. Starting a place 4. More strategies 5. Where are policy papers 6. Citations 8. Use the library …1. What…?

Systematic and critical information search Roskilde University LibraryFebruary 6, 2014

Use the library

• Study at the library. We have both group and individual workspaces AND hammocks!

• Ask a librarian about help for finding material for the project or assignment – Meet us at the library monday – friday from 9.00 – 17.30 (open til midnight with access-card)

• Get advice and information Mail us (rub-vejl@ruc.dk)

• Fast responses for minor questions - Chat or write us on Facebook

7. Reference manager

Thanks!

Roskilde Universitetsbiblioteklørdag 22. april 2023